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the leash assembly for a leash which can be extended and retracted to walk animals , as shown in fig1 , comprising a housing 16 with a handle 5 to carry the leash assembly . fig2 reveals housing 16 contains a spool 28 onto which the leash 10 is wound and which leaves the housing 16 through an exit opening 4 . spool 28 has a set of multiple teeth 26 and 24 located on outside with a corresponding set of teeth on the opposite side of the spool 28 . on the not - shown opposite side , the positioning and orientation of the spool teeth are symmetrical and parallel to the view seen in fig2 . furthermore , a brake button 14 is provided in order to block the leash spool 28 and thus form a leash part in any desired length . at its free end , the leash is provided with a not - shown connecting hook . under the spool plug 29 is a not shown spring against whose force the spool 28 can rotate . according to this , the leash assembly corresponds to a normal mechanically retractable leash assembly and needs no further explanation . the brake button 14 in fig2 is mounted in the leash housing 16 so that it can move inward , as seen by the arrow on fig4 or outward back toward its fully disengaged position as seen in fig2 . the movement of the brake button 14 runs approximately radially to the leash spool 28 . the bottom part of the brake button 14 is a pivot brake tip 11 which is mounted to the upper portion of brake button 14 using a brake pin 17 which facilitates the pivot brake tip 11 rotational movement . furthermore , pivot brake tip 11 rests in a neutral position of engagement under the bi - directional force of a bi - directional spring system comprised of a spring force 13 toward an outward disengaged orientation and spring force 15 toward an inward engaged orientation . the opposing spring force 13 and 15 work in unison to hold pivot brake tip 11 in a neutral position when brake button 14 in conjunction with pivot brake tip 11 are fully disengaged from spool 28 . from the neutral position of pivot brake tip 11 , the tip is capable of rotating either inward or outward as it pivots on brake pin 17 . fig3 shows the leash spool 28 rotating in the direction of arrow 31 during leash 10 extension in the direction of arrow 32 with brake button 14 in conjunction with pivot brake tip 11 in a fully disengaged position from spool 28 . fig4 demonstrates full brake engagement , when brake button 14 is pushed inward in the direction of arrow 35 , pivot brake tip 11 in fig2 contacts one of the spool tooth braking surfaces 27 , which are oriented mostly radially from the center of the spool , resulting in brake activation which prevents the spool 28 from rotating in either the direction of extension or retraction thus preventing leash 10 from lengthening or shortening . pivot brake tip 11 , upon contacting spool tooth braking surface 27 during rotation in the direction of extension , rotates inward in the direction of arrow 37 toward a parallel orientation with brake button 14 . as pivot brake tip 11 rotates inward , spring force 13 in fig2 is pushed in the direction of force of spring force 15 . during full brake engagement , the bottom of pivot tip 11 is in contact with both spool tooth braking surface 27 and spool rotational surface 33 . fig5 demonstrates semi - brake engagement during which brake button 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 is positioned such that the bottom of pivot brake tip 11 is in contact with spool tooth 26 without being able to contact spool rotational surface 33 . when brake button 14 is pushed inward in the direction of arrow 35 in fig4 , pivot brake tip 11 in fig2 contacts one of the angled spool tooth surfaces 25 , resulting in pivot brake tip 11 rotating outward as seen in arrow 34 from its neutral position . as pivot brake tip 11 rotates outward , spring force 15 in fig2 is pushed in the direction of force of spring force 13 . in fig5 , spool rotation is in the direction of retraction as seen by arrow 38 causing leash 10 to shorten in the direction of arrow 36 . with brake button 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 in the position of semi - brake engagement , pivot brake tip 11 , upon no longer making contact with spool tooth surface 25 , rotates back to its neutral position under spring force 13 and spring force 15 which places the bottom of the pivot brake tip between spool outer surface 22 and spool rotation surface 33 . this position allows pivot brake tip to rotate in the direction of arrow 34 during spool rotation in the direction of retraction seen in arrow 38 , or pivot brake tip 11 , upon contact with spool tooth braking surface 27 during spool rotation in the direction of extension as seen in arrow 31 of fig3 , can rotate in the direction of arrow 37 in fig4 to assume brake tip orientation as seen in fig4 and prevent spool rotation in the direction of leash extension . in fig6 , brake button 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 are in the fully engaged position in relation to spool 28 with the bottom of pivot brake tip in contact with both spool tooth braking surface 27 and spool rotational surface 33 resulting in spool rotation prevention . brake lock 12 is pivoted on brake pin 21 and moved into position in the direction of arrow 41 on the top of brake lock 12 where the bottom of the brake lock 9 seen in fig2 is in contact with brake button notch 40 resulting in brake lock 12 affecting full brake engagement with spool 28 . until brake lock 12 is subsequently moved out of fully engaged position , spool 28 cannot move and leash 10 can neither lengthen or shorten . leash 10 is now a fixed length which can end up with slack if the distance between the pet and pet owner is reduced . in fig7 and fig8 , brake button 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 are in the semi - engaged position in relation to spool 28 with the bottom of pivot brake tip in contact with spool tooth braking surface 27 and not with spool rotational surface 33 resulting in spool rotation prevention in the direction of extension as seen in fig3 arrow 31 . brake lock 12 is pivoted on brake pin 21 and moved into position in the direction of arrow 42 when brake lock 12 is moved from the fully engaged position shown in fig6 , or from the opposite direction after moving brake button 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 into semi - engaged position with spool 28 . the bottom of the brake lock 9 seen in fig2 is in contact with brake button notch 39 resulting in brake lock 12 affecting semi - brake engagement with spool 28 . as with brake 14 in unison with pivot brake tip 11 in semi - brake engagement described in fig5 previously , spool 28 is prevented from rotating in the direction of leash extension while allowing spool rotation in the direction of spool retraction . fig9 - 13 are a series of views demonstrating operation elements of the adjustable brake actuation system . the brake actuation system in fig9 demonstrates compact size and energy transfer efficiencies within the leash system which also impact the component integrity during operation . the transfer of energy from spool 28 to brake 14 through the brake actuation system is low enough to allow for all components to be made of plastic , if desired , without concerns of design failure . in fig9 , housing 62 is connected to housing 16 . the brake actuation system is linked to brake button 14 at brake mount 60 . white the brake actuation system can activate the brake without direct linkage , the linkage is used to enhance operational and structural efficiencies . adjustment dial 18 directly drives auger 66 and shaft 64 . when adjustment dial 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow show in fig1 , setting stop 68 , which is threaded to move along auger 66 , moves relationally and directionally as indicated by the arrows . the position of setting stop 68 is directly translated to meter guide 7 in fig1 . meter guide 7 can be viewed through meter window 6 and translated by meter 8 . meter guide 7 is positioned alongside meter 8 to designate the adjustment setting and moves in parallel with the meter guide . after adjustment dial 18 is rotated to move setting stop 68 into the position by the pet owner , setting stop 68 remains in position on auger 66 . fig1 reveals optional dial guides 20 on adjustment dial 18 . in fig1 , as spool 28 rotates in the direction of leash extension 32 , spool gear 30 rotates in the same direction which rotates gear 67 which is connected to auger 63 and directly drives auger 63 . brake actuator 69 is threaded and mounted to auger 63 . as spool 28 rotates , auger 63 rotates causing brake actuator 69 to move in the direction indicated in fig1 . as auger 63 rotates in the direction indicated by the rotation of gear 67 in fig1 , brake actuator 69 moves along auger 63 until surface 72 makes contact with surface 71 . as directional rotation continues from fig1 , fig1 shows brake actuator 69 exerting force on setting stop 68 in the direction of the arrows which translates to moving dial auger 66 , dial 18 and brake button 14 with pivot brake tip 11 in the direction of the arrows indicated . this force translation is moving brake button 14 with pivot brake tip 11 toward spool 28 . as dial auger 66 moves , auger shaft 64 and auger shaft 65 move respectively through housing guides 70 and 61 . fig1 shows continued rotation from fig1 with respective continued component movement until pivot brake tip 11 attached to brake button 14 is brought into position to engage one of the spool tooth braking surfaces 27 on spool 28 . pivot brake tip 11 rotates into position to prevent spool rotation in the direction of extension . conversely , if after spool 28 is prevented from rotating in the direction of extension , leash retraction were to ensue , spool rotation would be in the opposite direction and brake actuator 69 would begin to move in the opposite direction than previously indicated and brake button 14 with pivot brake tip 11 would move out of position which had previously prevented rotation of spool 28 . fig1 - 17 are a series of views demonstrating operation elements of the non - adjustable brake actuation system . this design alternative has same operation principle as with the adjustable brake actuation system featured in fig9 - 13 , but does not include an adjustment dial system . instead , this design incorporates one preset for the maximum length leash 10 to extend from spool 28 in order to improve , safety and product integrity by not allowing leash 10 to extend to its fastening point . the fastening point is a point of high stress and design weakness and product failure in other leashes . fig1 shows the leash housing with no dial . the design can accommodate and utilize a meter , meter window , and meter guide , but they are not required for operation . in the non - adjustable brake actuation system , fig1 shows shaft 75 without threads , since stop 76 is in a fixed position on shaft 75 . as in the adjustable brake actuation system featured in fig9 - 13 , brake actuator 69 travels along auger 63 in response to auger rotation featured in fig9 - 13 . in fig1 , brake actuator 69 moves directionally as the arrows indicate in response to the indicated extension direction of rotation of spool 28 . upon contact from brake actuator 69 to stop 76 as brake actuator 69 continues movement in the direction indicated in fig1 - 17 , stop 76 moves with brake actuator 69 which translates to movement of shaft 75 , brake mount 60 , brake button 14 with pivot brake tip 11 . this results in pivot brake tip 11 engaging one of the spool teeth at its spool braking surface 27 . fig1 shows a cross section view of the leash 10 having remaining length wound around spool 28 at the point of maximum extension of leash 10 as controlled by the non - adjustable brake actuation system . as with the adjustable brake actuation system , the non - adjustable brake actuation system allows for complete manual brake button 14 activation and the operation of the brake lock 12 . normally , such leash assemblies equipped with a leash 10 , as depicted in fig1 , in the shape of a strap have a leash dispenser 4 in the shape of a narrow rectangular slit which can be integrated into the housing as shown in fig1 and through which a leash is guided to the outside . leash dispensers often allow for the leash 10 to twist or fold when running in and out of the leash dispenser 4 which either winds improperly onto the spool 28 or can simply get stuck in the leash dispenser 4 so the automatic function can no longer be ensured . as shown in fig1 d , 18 e and 18 f , the leash dispenser can move with the leash within a limited range of orientation to accommodate the tendency of the twisting or folding leash 10 and better guide the leash in through the leash dispenser 55 and back onto the spool 28 during retraction and out through leash dispenser 55 during leash extension . fig1 a , 18 b and 18 c show cross section of leash dispenser 55 as it is mounted into , and is able to move in , leash housing 16 . in fig1 b , leash dispenser stop 56 is able to move rotationally between housing stop 57 and housing stop 58 during rotation to turn leash dispenser 55 into the directional orientations shown in fig1 d , 18 e and 18 f as needed . fig1 depicts two handle features , an adjustable grip and an accessory clip system . leash handle 5 needs to be designed to accommodate a variety of hand sizes . other designs have attempted to address this problem with fixed ridges . this one size fits all approach does not work and results in discomfort for many whose hands are not compatibly sized . this also translates into a safety issue when a pet owner does not have a good grip on the leash handle 5 . a pet can pull away and the pet owner can lose their grip and let go of the leash handle 5 . by incorporating an adjustable grip guide 80 which can slide along an adjustment guide 81 which sits in handle guide receptacle 85 , pet owners can customize the handle grip to fit any hand size . the adjustment guide 81 allows for comfort and delivers greater control and safety by positioning fingers in their best position to operate the manual brake 14 , brake lock 12 , and adjustment dial 18 . the ease of positioning as indicated in fig1 allows multiple pet owners of different hand sizes to share the product and maximize comfort , control and safety for each person . the accessory clip system in fig1 and fig1 b depict one of several systems to affix accessories to the handle or housing of a leash using a rigid lock system . in this depiction , leash handle 5 has a cut out accessory clip receptacle 83 . accessory clip connector 82 on clip 84 is formed to slide and lock into clip receptacle 83 . fig2 a and 20b emphasize the teeth configuration on spools for leashes . fig2 a demonstrates a uniform tooth pattern found on other leashes . when a leash is being extended at a high rate of speed causing the spool to also turn at a high rate of speed , the uniform top surfaces of the teeth on the spool form a virtual smooth surface into which the brake tip is trying to penetrate during an attempt to engage the brake . the operator of the leash , upon trying to actuate the brake , often experiences skipping of the brake tooth across the top surfaces of the teeth as the brake tries to position itself between the teeth to stop rotation . furthermore , a high vibration of the brake button results which is uncomfortable and may even cause the pet owner to drop the leash handle . there are both safety and comfort concerns as the leash cannot be stopped promptly and may even be released . fig2 b depicts spool teeth of varied sizes . by positioning one or more spool teeth of a varied size , shape , or position , the brake engages promptly , efficiently and smoothly because there is no longer a virtual uniform surface along the tops of the spool teeth when the spool is rotating at a high rate of speed . brake tips of all designs benefit from this spool teeth configuration .
1
sample 1 streptococcus mutans type c and type d are separately cultivated in bhi medium at 37 ° c . for 48 hours , followed by collecting bacteria with centrifugation , at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes , washing 5 times with 0 . 2m of phosphate buffered saline , ph 6 . 0 , and heating at 50 ° c . for 25 minutes . each of type c and type d is adjusted to 2 × 10 9 / ml of the suspensions . mix equal volume of type c and type d . then , freund &# 39 ; s adjuvant equal to total volume of type c and type d is added in it , and then homogenized at high speed . this is a streptococcus mutans antigen . the hens are immunized by three hypodermic injuctions , 1 . 0 ml ( 1 × 10 9 / ml ) of bacteria antigens each time at 2 weeks intervals . eggs are collected from 20 th day after first immunization and sterilized with 75 % alcohol . the yolks are taken out with sieve and stired to even , diluted with 5 fold distilled water , adjusted ph to 6 . 0 , standed at 3 ° c . for 24 hours , and then centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 25 minutes . the supernatant is concentrated by ultrafiltration , eliminating bacteria and lyophilization . this is crude igy extract against dental caries bacteria . three milliliter ( 10 mg / ml ) of crude igy extract are applied on “ deae - sephadex a50 ” column ( 2 . 5 × 35 cm ), eluted with ph 7 . 0 , 0 . 01 m of phosphate buffer containing 0 . 07m of nacl , 20 ml / h . 5 . 0 ml each fraction . the protein peaks are poured . antibody activity are estimated with “ elisa ”. active eluates are poured . adjusted to 20 mg protein / ml . then , 1 . 5 ml of it is applied on “ sephadex g200 ” column ( 2 . 0 × 65 cm ) and eluted with ph 7 . 0 , 0 . 01 m of phosphate buffer containing 0 . 1m of nacl , 8 . 0 ml / h . 5 . 0 ml each fraction . the protein peaks are poured and estimated for antibody activity with “ elisa ”. active eluates are poured , bacteria - eliminated with 0 . 22 μm membrane filtration , and then lyophilized . this is purified igy against dental caries bacteria . sample 2 streptococcus mutans type c and type d are separately cultivated in tty medium at 37 ° c . for 48 hours , collected by centrifugation at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes , washed with ph 6 . 5 , 0 . 15m of phosphate buffered saline 5 times , and heated at 65 ° c . for 25 minutes . then , make type c and type d suspensions , 2 × 10 9 / ml each . mix 2 : 1 volumes of type c and type d suspensions to get mixture ( 2 × 10 9 / ml ) of them . add freund &# 39 ; s adjuvant equal to the volume of the mixture . treat it with high speed homogenize machine to get streptococcus mutans antigens . to get crude igy extract against dental caries bacteria , immunize hens by three injections in wing vein , 1 . 0 ml ( 1 × 10 9 / ml ) of antigens each time , at 2 weeks intervals . collect eggs from 20 th day after first injection . sterilize the eggs by 75 % alcohol . take yolks out by sieve . stir them even . dilute with 6 fold volume of distilled water . adjust ph to 5 . 5 . stand at 4 ° c . for 24 hours . centrifuge at 8000 rpm for 25 minutes . concentrate the supernatant by ultrafiltration , eliminating bacteria and lyophilization . to get purified igy against dental caries bacteria , apply 4 . 0 ml ( 10 mg / ml ) of crude igy on “ deae - sephadex a50 ” column ( 2 . 5 × 35 cm ), elute with ph 7 . 0 , 0 . 01 m of phosphate buffer containing 0 . 06m of nacl , 20 ml / h , 5 . 0 ml each fraction , pour each peask , estimate antibody activity with “ elisa ”. keep the active eluates , eliminate bacteria by 0 . 22 μm membrane filtration and lyophilize . preparation of product of the combination preventing dental caries : take 2 . 0 g of the igy , 0 . 15 g of potassium sorbate , 0 . 8 g of aspartame , and 0 . 15 g of menthol , and 0 . 4 ml of apple essence . add menthol into 100 ml of distilled water and dissolved at 60 ° c . other solid components are dissolved in 450 ml of distilled water , combine both solutions , and then add distilled water to 1 000 ml . take 2 . 0 g of the igy , 0 . 15 g of potassium sorbate , 0 . 8 g of aspartame , 0 . 15 g of menthol , 0 . 4 ml of apple essence , 10 . 08 g gum base and 5 . 08 g of cm - cellulose , and then add substrate material to 1 000 g . take 0 . 1 g of the igy , 0 . 015 g of potassium sorbate , 0 . 015 g of sodium benzoate , 10 . 0 g of glycerol , 8 . 0 g of sorbitol , 2 . 0 g of cm - cellulose , 1 . 3 g of sodium trehalate , 1 . 8 g of sodium lauryl sulfate , 0 . 015 g of menthol , 0 . 015 g of aspartame , 0 . 05 ml of strawberry essence , 47 . 8 g of calcium phosphate 2h 2 o . swell cm - cellulose to dissolve followed by orderly adding other components . stir thoroughly . add distilled water to 1 000 ml . then , stir until it becomes paste . take 0 . 1 g of the igy , 0 . 01 g of sodium benzoate , 8 . 0 g of beeswax , 10 . 0 g of stearic acid , 2 . 0 g of monostearyl glyceride , 10 . 0 g of glycerol , 1 . 0 g of cm - cellulose , 0 . 01 g of menthol , 0 . 05 g of aspartame , 68 . 80 ml of distilled water and 0 . 02 g of strawberry essence . mix beeswax , stearic acid , monotearyl glyceride and glycerol , and heat to 70 ° c ., named solution a . swell cm - cellulose in 50 ml distilled water to dissolve , orderly and igy , menthol , aspartame , potassium sorbate , and streaberry essence . stir thoroughly . add cooled solution a . add distilled water to 100 ml and stir until it becomes paste . add igy of the present invention and potassium sorbate , which final concentrations are 0 . 1 % and 0 . 015 % respectively , into pasteurized fresh milk , homogenize with sterile homogenizer . pour into sterile sucking bottles and store at 4 ° c . take igy of the present invention and potassium sorbate , which final concentrations are 0 . 1 % and 0 . 005 % respectively , in pasteurized fresh milk powder . mix with sterile mixer and package sterily in bags . add igy of the present invention and sodium benzoate , which final concentrations are 0 . 1 % and 0 . 05 % respectively , in pasteurized compounded bean milk . homogenize with sterile homogenier . pour into sterile sucking bottles and store at 4 ° c . sample 10 preparation of igy nutrient bean milk powder add igy of the present invention and sodium benzoate , which final concentrations are 0 . 1 % and 0 . 005 % respectively , in pastuerized bean milk powder . mix with sterile mixer and package sterily in bags .
2
referring now to fig1 to 6 an embodiment of the three - dimensional puzzle according to the present invention is shown in which a total of sixty - two of the building block types , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 , rotate around a metal sphere 1 which functions as the central point of rotation . these blocks form , with their square , rectangular and triangular outer surfaces , the outer surface of the crystal puzzle . the elements 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 , together with twelve hidden building blocks 6 ( see fig3 ) are held to the ball by means of built - in magnetic elements . the magnetic element need not be provided for building blocks 6 because these blocks are held in place by adjacent overlying building blocks 2 , 3 , 4 or 5 . fig2 shows a representation of the embodiment according to fig1 to fig6 detailing the subdivision into slices or layers , over two dimensions . each of the building blocks 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 ( hidden ) in the puzzle simultaneously belongs to three such layers . the layers are perpendicular to one another . fig5 shows the five types of building blocks used in the embodiment according to fig1 to fig6 . to form the surface of the crystal , or &# 34 ; spherical envelope &# 34 ;, the following building blocks are required : six of block type 2 which has an outer face substantially square in shape , twenty - four building blocks of type 3 which has a rectangular outer face , and twenty - four of type 4 and eight of building block 5 , each having a triangularly shaped outer face and twelve of building block 6 . fig6 is a perspective view of the inner sphere 1 while fig6 a illustrates a portion of the &# 34 ; building block envelope &# 34 ; surrounding it . the letters a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i in these drawings serve to indicate the planes of rotation x , y and z which are perpendicular to one another , j - k - l , m - n - o and p - q - r serve to indicate the sectional planes of the subdivision of the surface of the crystal into layers . the planes of rotation and the sectional planes coinciding with the various three - dimensional subdivisions are geometrically identical . fig7 shows a variation of the above - described embodiment of the three - dimensional puzzle according to the present invention . on a sphere 7 , which similarly functions as the central point of rotation , six building blocks consisting of a casing 8 with a curved ( or flat ) bottom and a separate lid 9 , have been fastened by means of a screw 10 and a spring 11 , in such a way that they can be rotated in two dimensions . they are surrounded by the same number of building blocks 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 as in the embodiment according to fig1 to fig6 . the building blocks 3 , as shown in partial cross - section , contain magnetic elements 12 , mounted in any convenient manner on their inner surface , by means of which they are fastened to the surface of the metal sphere 1 . fig8 to 23 represent the preferred embodiment of the internal fastening means according to the present invention . fig8 shows a side and a top view of the upper part of a six - armed central cross which can be used as a central body in lieu of the ball or sphere 1 . the part a consists of a square upper portion 13 having a cylindrical extension 13a extending downwardly therefrom and a separate lid 14 , whose outside surface forms one of the six square outer surfaces of the crystal . part a has an axial bore formed therein including an enlarged recess in portion 13 , so that it can hold the head of a screw 17 , a washer 18 , a spring 19 , and the upper part of a small spring 20 with an appropriate diameter , i . e . smaller than the diameter of the spring 19 ( fig1 ). fig9 shows a side and a top view of one of the intermediate parts 15 of the six - armed central cross . part 15 has a mushroom - like shape , having a bore 17a formed therein receiving the shaft of screw 17 , and a recess 20a for the insertion of the lower part of spring 20 . fig1 shows a top view and side view of the central - most piece in the form of a cross 16 , and is the center of the six - armed central cross . each of its arms is equipped with a female thread to allow insertion of the end of screw 17 . fig1 shows the arrangement of the parts 13 to 20 mentioned above , in one of the arms of the central cross . the arms each serve as support for building blocks 25 and 28 ( fig1 and fig1 ), which are fastened , i . e . inserted , into the open spaces or grooves 21 and 22 formed between elements 13 , 15 and 16 . flanges 23 and 24 function as the locking surfaces for parts 15 and 13 , which transfer the restoring force of the pre - tensed springs 20 and 19 . when building blocks 25 ( described in detail hereinafter ) are inserted in the free spaces 21 , they tense , with their cams 26 , and the spring 20 ( spring 19 is being pre - tensed at the same time ); and in the meanwhile , the intermediate part 15 is lifted off the cross - shaped piece 16 whereby the restoring force of the spring ( or springs ) now affects , via flange 23 , the cams 26 of building blocks 25 . the same process is repeated when building blocks 28 ( also described hereinafter ) are inserted in the free spaces 22 : with their cams 29 they tense the spring 19 ; the upper part 13 , 14 of the intermediate part 15 is raised and the action of the spring can therefore yield a clamping effect , via flange 24 ( see also fig1 and fig1 ). consequently , by using this configuration , the central cross can effectively anchor various pieces of the puzzle to thereby allow other manipulatable pieces of the puzzle to be movable relative thereto . in fig1 to fig1 , the four types of building blocks 25 , 27 , 28 and 30 are shown in three views , front , side and top . to form the crystal , the following building blocks are used : twelve pieces of building block type 25 , eight pieces of block type 27 , and twenty - four pieces each of building blocks 28 and 30 . the inner structure of the crystal is clearly shown in the following figures , i . e . fig1 to 23 , which show the method of mounting , namely the insertion of building blocks 25 , 27 , 28 and 30 into the central cross which serves as the overall supporting structure . with four of the parts 13 to 15 and 17 to 20 , and the cross - shaped piece 16 , we construct first a four - armed cross which extends in one plane ; subsequently , four building blocks 25 ( fig1 ) and eight building blocks 28 are inserted ( fig1 ), whereby the middle layer of the crystal is completed along the selected plane ( fig1 ). as is clearly shown therein , an inner circular channel 31 defined by the surfaces 31a of blocks 25 and an outer circular channel 32 defined by the surfaces 32a of elements 25 and 28a of elements 28 are thus provided . these channels are grooved so as to accept and guide the blocks which comprise the next layer to be added . the next layer is formed by inserting the outside blocks 28 and 30 into the channel 32 ( fig1 ), and the layer is then completed by adding what can be called a package ( fig1 ) consisting of four building blocks 25 and 27 . this can be preformed to facilitate easy placement of these parts into the puzzle . finally , an intermediate part 15 is inserted as part of the structure of the fifth arm of the central cross ( fig2 ). another inset , circular channel 33 ( fig2 ) is consequently created by this second layer for the acceptance and guidance of a subsequent layer of blocks . the construction of the last , or outermost , layer of the crystal starts with the insertion of four building blocks 28 and 30 in the channel 33 . they can be inserted individually or in the form of the previously mentioned package . the fifth arm of the central cross is then completed by the insertion of the upper part 13 , the springs 19 and 20 , the washer 18 and the screw 17 . then , lid 14 is put on ; it is a detachable part in order to make it possible to take the puzzle apart ( fig2 and fig2 ). the first &# 34 ; construction &# 34 ; phase of the crystal is herewith completed . the partially constructed puzzle is then inverted and placed on the outside surface of lid 14 ( fig2 ). the mounting process according to fig1 to 22 is repeated on the opposite side of the puzzle , whereby the construction of the crystal is completed . fig2 shows different variations of the outer form or shape of the puzzle according to the present invention . it is to be noted that the above - described cross arrangement is the same in all of the variations , yet the outer surfaces of the building blocks have merely been altered to provide a more aesthetic or educational purpose to the puzzle . variation a shows each of the six square surfaces of the crystal according to fig8 to fig2 , being equipped with a pyramid having a congruent base , whose side surfaces appear as sections of the extensions of four rectangular surfaces on their short sides , located in an outer layer . these pyramids may be attached in a movable or fixed manner , to the square outer surfaces of the relevant building block . in variation b , each of the twenty - four rectangular surfaces of the crystal according to fig8 to fig2 , is equipped with a prismlike ( wedge ) shape having a congruent base , whose side surfaces appear as figures of sections of the extensions of triangular surfaces adjacent to the long sides of the rectangular surfaces on the side in common with the rotational planes , which touch the rectangular plane with their short sides . these prismlike shapes cannot be moved relative to the building block . in variation c , all thirty - two triangular surfaces of the crystal according to fig8 to fig2 are equipped with upright ( hidden ) or leaning pyramids , restricted by planes which appear through the sectioning of the extensions of all twenty - four rectangular surfaces along their long sides , with all the rotational planes of the puzzle . these pyramids cannot be moved relative to the particular building block . in variation d , all thirty - two triangular and all twenty - four rectangular surfaces of the crystal according to fig8 to fig2 , are equipped with attachments restricted by planes which appear through the sectioning of the extensions of all six square surfaces along their sides , with all the rotational planes of the puzzle . these attachments cannot be moved relative to the block to which they are attached . variation e is obtained when the four corner cubes of the outer layer of a puzzle according to variation d are sectioned in such a way that the intersecting lines are identical with the diagonals of their visible side surfaces . variation f is obtained by reduction of the puzzle size to be bounded by the largest inscribed sphere within variation d . variation g is a puzzle based on variation f , with the addition of cones placed on the partial spherical top surfaces of the relevant blocks . variation h is a three - dimensional puzzle for blind people , created by adding distinct marking ( shown for two layers ) to the crystal of the present invention . the markings can be achieved by adding rivets or similar items , or by cutting out grooves , channels , holes , etc . or any other means . fig2 and fig2 show additional preferred embodiments of the puzzle according to the present invention and additionally show a plane or layer of blocks or cubes in partial rotation along one axis of the crystal . in more particularity , fig2 describes a 5 by 5 cube having an internal mechanism of the present invention as shown in fig1 and 37 . the center piece , shown at 40 , shows three arms of the cross in cross - section showing the internal screw - spring mechanism as described hereinabove . further , middle edge element 42 is provided with spring - loaded bearings 44 to ease in rotational movement and alignment about the central cross . the middle edge elements 42 act as the foundation for the placement of the remaining blocks which make up the individual layers of the cube according to the teachings of the present invention . fig3 shows the top of the intermediate head piece 48 which attaches to the arm of the inner fastening means through the screw - spring mechanism . this piece aids in anchoring the other pieces of the puzzle cube to the inner fastening means . the cube embodiment is further comprised of eight corner elements 50 , twelve middle edge elements 42 as described above , twenty - four corner edge elements 52 , twenty - four corner field elements 54 and twenty - four edge field elements 56 which , when properly arranged about the inner fastening means , can all rotate about the x , y and z axis of the center cross and , hence , about the cube . in order to assemble a cube about the central piece 40 , as stated above , four co - planar arms of the cross are assembled including headpieces 48 attached thereto . middle edge elements 42 are inserted between the arms of the cross and are anchored therein . subsequently , edge field elements 56 are placed in the spaces formed between the headpieces and the middle edge elements 42 . in this manner the middle layer is formed to which subsequent intermediate layers of corner edge elements 52 , corner field elements 54 , and edge field elements 56 can be added on either side thereof . finally , an external layer is added to these intermediate layers by adding corner elements 50 , middle edge elements 42 and corner edge elements 52 to the channel formed in the intermediate layer . subsequently , four corner field elements 54 and edge field elements 56 are added into the square space formed within the external layer . this placing of elements then allows for the completion of the headpiece 48 including the internal spring structure . a top 14 can then be added to headpiece 48 to finish the construction of the six arms of the center piece 40 and thereby complete the formation of the 5 by 5 cube according to the teachings of the present invention . fig2 shows an embodiment in which the shape of the puzzle results from the intersection of two circular cylinders of equal thickness , whose axes form a cross of coordinates with 90 ° angles . drawing a shows three projections of the puzzle , drawing b shows a three - dimensional view , and drawing c presents a top view of the same puzzle , after three of its layers have been rotated . fig2 shows an embodiment in which the shape of the puzzle results from the intersection of three circular cylinders of equal thickness , whose axes form a three - dimensional cross of co - ordinates having 90 ° angles . drawing a and b represent the configuration of the intersection , drawing c is a plan view of this embodiment and in accordance with the teachings of fig3 to 7 . fig2 is a variation of the embodiment of the puzzle according to fig2 . contrary to the previous manner of execution , the puzzle is subdivided -- i . e . the building blocks are arranged -- in such a way that adjacent axes of rotation falling in the same plane are always at 45 ° angles with regard to one another . fig3 shows an embodiment of the three - dimensional puzzle according to the present invention , in which the puzzle has been divided in such a way that none of the axes of rotation are perpendicular to each other . drawing a shows the planes of rotation of the building blocks of a pentagonal surface . drawings b and c show that each plane of rotation belongs always to an opposite &# 34 ; pentagonal pair &# 34 ;. the rotational planes end at the outer surfaces or faces of the pentagonal pieces and at the lines which cut the pentagonal surfaces of the puzzle in half . from the foregoing it is apparent that the objects of the present invention have been fully accomplished . as a result of the present invention , a three - dimensional puzzle has been provided . although a preferred embodiment of the principles of this invention has been described and illustrated in detail herein , it should be realized that the same are not limited to the particular configuration shown in the drawings , and that modifications thereof are contemplated and can be made without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims .
0
the cyanate ester based shape memory polymers ( smps ) are crosslinked based on a monofunctional and multifunctional cyanate ester monomer . it is preferred that the smp is formed from a difunctional cyanate ester and a monofunctional cyanate ester . additionally some embodiments use structural modifiers and catalysts either separately or together to create a smp with a specific transition temperature ( t g ). generally , shape memory polymers ( smps ) are comprised of two essential components ; the back bone polymer , which is comprised of monomeric constituents that undergo polymerization to produce polymers possessing specific glass transition temperatures ( t g s ), and a crosslinking agent . the mixture of monomers can be formulated so that the glass transition temperatures can be tuned to meet different operational needs for specific applications . in cyanate ester materials , the monomer functional groups tri - polymerize , forming a highly crosslinked network synonymous with crosslinked thermosetting systems . cyanate ester monomers possessing dual functionality are those most commonly used to produce such thermosetting resins . different cyanate ester monomers can polymerize with one another , yielding a polymer with a blend of characteristics from the unique polymeric components . when a cyanate ester monomer possessing only one functional group is added to the resin , these monofunctional monomers react via the tri - polymerization with the multifunctional monomers , causing a reduction in the extent of crosslinking in the network by “ capping ” the polymerization sites . this will cause an increase in the length of the polymer chains between crosslink sites , modifying the material to one whose system more closely resembles a conventional smp . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) ethane is the primary multifunctional component of the investigated smp and the monofunctional component of the investigated polymer system is 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester which serves to control crosslink density . additionally , the preferred embodiment may employ a catalyst to assist the polymerization of the two monomers . the amounts of each monomer added will vary depending on the physical properties desired . blends of these two components were varied from 1 : 1 molar mixtures to 4 : 1 for both components . additionally , a metal catalyst was added to facilitate cure in the material . this catalyst was equal for all samples and exists in quantities of 81 parts per thousand of elemental zinc in the material . any multifunctional cyanate ester compound having an average of more than one cyanate ester moiety per molecule could be used as the multifunctional monomer . suitable monomers include but are not limited to : 2 , 2 ′- bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) isopropylidene ; 2 , 2 ′- bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl )- 1 , 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 , 3 - hexafluoroisopropylidene ; 1 , 1 ′- bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) ethane ; 4 , 4 ′- ethylidinediphenyl dicyanate ; bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) methane ; 1 , 3 - bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl )- 1 -( 1 - methylethylidene )) benzene ; bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) thioether ; bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) ether , resorcinol dicyanate , combinations thereof and the like . any compound having one cyanate ester moiety per molecule could be used as the monofunctional monomer . suitable monomers include but are not limited to : 4 - nonylphenyl cyanate ester , 4 - phenylphenyl cyanate ester , 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester , and phenyl cyanate ester . types of catalyst that may be used include , but are not limited to , acids , bases , nitrogen or phosphorus compounds , transition metal salts or complexes , such as metal salts of aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids , tertiary amines , combinations thereof and the like . particularly suitable catalysts include , for example , cobalt octoate , cobalt naphthenate , cobalt acetylacetonate ( co ( acac ) 3 ), zinc octoate , zinc naphthenate , tin octoate , diazobicyclo -( 2 , 2 , 2 )- octane , triethylamine , combinations thereof and the like , often in combination with active hydrogen containing co - catalysts . the co - catalyst both serves as a solvent for the transition metal catalyst and aids in the ring closure of the triazine ring via hydrogen transfer . suitable co - catalysts include alkyl phenols such as nonylphenol , bisphenols , alcohols , imidazoles or aromatic amines . special organometallic initiators such as tricarbonylcyclo - pentadienyl manganese ( cpmn ( co ) 3 ) can also be used to allow the cyanate ester smp resins to be cured by irradiation of uv light or electron beam at a lower curing temperature . these catalysts are employed in amounts of from about 0 . 0001 % to about 2 . 0 %, and more preferably from about 0 . 01 % to about 0 . 1 % percent by weight based on total polycyanate resin . the catalyst may also be used to alter the glass transition temperature of the product . as previously stated , in the preferred embodiment of the present invention 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) ethane is the primary multifunctional component of the investigated smp and the monofunctional component of the investigated polymer system is 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester which serves to control crosslinking density . the constituents of the smp reaction mixture are present such that the monofunctional cyanate ester monomer represents between about 5 % and 80 %, more preferably from 35 % to 60 %, and the multifunctional cyanate ester monomer or monomers represent between 5 % and 95 %, more preferably from 40 % to 65 %, all of the above recited percentages being by weight based on the total weight of the smp mixture ( 100 wt %). the smp reaction mixture is polymerized by reacting the mixture at a temperature in the range of between 20 ° c . and 300 ° c . and a pressure in the range of between about 14 . 7 psi and about 50 psi over a time period in the range of between about 2 seconds and 4 days to produce a crosslinked smp . additionally other curing methods such as e - beam , radiation , light , and other processes could be used to cure the smp mixture . in the preferred embodiment , the polymerization reaction , to produce the thermosetting shape memory polymer of the present invention occurs at a temperature in the range between approximately 150 ° c . and 270 ° c ., more preferably between 180 ° c . and 220 ° c . and a pressure in the range of about 14 . 7 psi over a period of between about 4 hours and about 2 days , more preferably from 18 to 25 hours . the resulting smp has a t g of between approximately 0 ° c . and 300 ° c . additionally , structural modifiers may be used to allow for the smp to be designed for a specific t g , toughness , and flexibility depending on the desired specifications . these structural modifiers can be used with or without a catalyst . examples of structural modifiers include but not limited to those listed below as well as their fluorinated derivatives : poly ( butadiene ), hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( butadiene ), hydroxyl functionalized ; poly ( isoprene ), hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( isoprene ), hydroxyl functionalized ; poly ( chloroprene ), hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( chloroprene ) hydroxyl functionalized ; poly ( tetrahydrofuran ); poly ( terathydrofuran ) bis ( 3 - aminopropyl ) terminated ; poly ( propylene glycol ); poly ( ethylene glycol )- block - poly ( propylene glycol )- block - poly ( ethylene glycol ); poly ( propylene glycol ) bis ( 2 - aminopropylether ); poly ( 1 , 4 - butanediol ) bis ( 4 - aminobenzoate ); chitosan ; poly ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propylen glutarate ) hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( lauryllactam )- block - poly ( tetrahydrofuran ); poly ( dimethylsiloxane ) hydroxyl terminated ; ethylene glycol bis ( propylene glycol - b - ethylene glycol ) ether ; poly ( acrylonitrile - co - butadiene ), amine terminated ; poly ( 1 , 4 - phenylene ether - ether sulfone ) hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( sulfone ) hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( phenyl sulfone ) hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( dimethylsiloxane ), dihydroxy terminated ; poly ( diphenylsiloxane ), dihydroxy terminated ; poly ( dimethylsiloxane - co - diphenylsiloxane ), dihydroxy terminated ; poly ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propylene glutarate ), hydroxyl terminated ; poly ( tetrafluoroethylene oxide - co - difluoromethylene oxide ) ∝, ω - diol ; poly ( vinyl chloride - co - vinyl acetate - co - vinyl alcohol ); 1 , 3 - propanediol 1 , 2 - propanediol ; 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; neopentyl glycol ; 2 - ethyl - 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 2 , 2 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 2 - methyl - 2 - propyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 2 - butyl - 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 1 , 4 - butanediol ; 1 , 3 - butanediol ; 1 , 2 - butanediol ; 2 , 3 - butanediol ; 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 - butanediol ; 1 , 5 - pentanediol ; 1 , 4 - pentanediol ; 1 , 2 - pentanediol ; 2 , 4 - pentanediol ; 2 - methyl - 2 , 4 - pentanediol ; 2 - methyl - 2 , 4 - pentanediol ; 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 , 4 - pentanediol ; 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol ; 1 , 6 - hexanediol ; 1 , 5 - hexanediol 1 , 3 - hexanediol ; 2 , 5 - hexanediol ; 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol ; 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - hexanediol ; 1 , 7 - hexanediol ; 1 , 8 - octanediol ; 1 , 2 - octanediol ; 1 , 9 - nonanediol ; 1 , 10 - decanediol ; 1 , 2 - decanediol ; 1 , 12 - dodecanediol ; 1 , 2 - dodecanediol ; 1 , 14 - tetradecanediol ; 1 , 2 - tetradecanediol ; 1 , 16 - hexadecanediol ; 1 , 2 - hexadecanediol ; 1 , 4 - cyclehexanediol ; 4 , 4 ′- isopropylidenedicyclohexanol ; cis - 1 , 5 - cyclooctanediol ; cis - exo - 2 , 3 - norbornanediol ; 1 , 5 - decalindiol ; 3 - fluoro - 1 , 2 - propanediol ; 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 1 , 5 - pentanediol ; 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - octafluoro - 1 , 6 - hexanediol ; 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 , 6 , 6 , 7 , 7 , 8 , 8 , 9 , 9 - hexadecafluoro - 1 , 10 - decanediol ; 1 , 2 , 6 - trihydroxyhexane ; 1 , 2 - diaminopropane ; 1 , 3 - diaminopropane ; 1 , 4 - diaminobutane ; 1 , 5 - diaminopentane ; 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediamine ; hexamethylenediamine ; dytek a amine ; 1 , 7 - diaminoheptane ; 1 , 8 - diaminooctane ; 1 , 9 - diaminononane ; 1 , 10 - diaminodecane ; 1 , 12 - diaminododecane ; n - methylethylenediamine ; n - ethylethylenediamine ; n - propylethylethylenediamine ; n - isopropylethylenediamine ; n , n ′- dimethylethylenediamine ; n , n ′- diethylethylenediamine ; n , n ′- diisopropylethylenediamine ; n - propyl - 1 , 3 - propanediamine ; n - isopropyl - 1 , 3 - propanediamine ; n , n ′ diisopropyl - 1 , 3 - propanediamine ; 2 - butyl - 2 - ethyl - 1 , 5 - pentanediamine ; n , n ′- dimethyl - 1 , 6 - hexanediamine ; 3 , 3 - diamino - n - methyldipropylamine ; n -( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 3 - propanediamine ; 3 , 3 ′- iminobis ( n , n ′- dimethylpropylamine ); 1 , 8 - diamino - p - menthane ; 5 - amino - 1 , 3 , 3 - trimethylcyclohexanemethylamine ; 2 , 2 -( ethylenedioxy )- bis ( ethylamine ); 4 , 9 - dioxa - 1 , 12 - dodcanediamine ; 4 , 7 , 10 - trioxa - 1 , 13 - tridecanediamine ; 3 - amino - 1 - propanol ; 4 - amino - 1 - butanol ; 2 - amino - 1 - butanol ; 5 - amino - 1 - pentanol ; 6 - amino - 1 - hexanol ; 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol ; 2 -( 2 - aminoethoxy ) ethanol ; 2 -( methylamino ) ethanol ; dl - 2 - amino - 1 - hexanol ; 2 -( ethylamino ) ethanol ; 2 -( propylamino ) ethanol ; 2 -( tert - butylamino ) ethanol ; diethanolamine ; diisopropanolamine ; n , n ′- bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- ethylenediamine ; 2 -( butylamino ) ethanethiol ; 3 - pyrrolidinol ; 3 - piperidinemethanol ; 3 - piperidineethanol ; 3 - piperidinepropanol ; 3 - piperidinebutanol ; 4 - hydroxypiperidine ; 4 , 4 ′- trimethylenebis ( 1 - piperidineethanol ); 4 , 4 ′- trimethylenedipiperidine ; 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidine ; 3 -( 4 - aminobutyl ) piperidine ; n , n ′- bis ( 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethyl - 4 - piperidinyl )- 1 , 6 - hexanediamine ; 1 , 4 , 10 - trioxa - 7 , 13 - diazacyclopentadecane ; 1 , 4 - butanedithiol ; 2 , 3 - butanedithiol ; 1 , 5 - pentanedithiol ; 1 , 6 - hexanedithiol ; 1 , 8 - octanedithiol ; 1 , 9 - nonanedithiol ; 3 - mercapto - 1 - propanol ; 3 - mercapto - 2 - butanol ; 2 - mercaptoethyl ether ; 2 , 2 ′- thiodiethanol ; 2 - hydroxyethyl disulfide ; 3 , 6 - dithia - 1 , 8 - octanediol ; 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropanol ; 3 - methylthio - 1 , 2 - propanediol ; 2 - mercaptoethyl sulfide ; di ( ethylene glycol ); di ( propylene glycol ); tri ( ethylene glycol ); tri ( propylene glycol ); tetra ( ethylene glycol ); penta ( ethylene glycol ); hexa ( ethylene glycol ); 1 , 1 ′ bi - 2 - napthol ; 1 , 5 - dihydroxynapthalene ; 1 , 6 - dihydroxynapthalene ; 2 , 6 - dihydroxynaphthalene ; 2 , 7 - dihydroxynapthalene ; 4 , 4 ′-( 9 - fluorenylidene )- diphenol ; anthrarobin ; bis ( 2 - hydroxyphenyl ) methane ; hydroquinone ; methyoxyhydroquinone ; diethylstilbestrol ; bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) methane ; bisphenol a ; 4 , 4 -( hexafluoroisopropylidene ) diphenol ; 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methylphenyl ) propane ; meso - hexestrol ; nordihydroguaiaretic acid ; hydrobenzoin ; benzopinacole ; 2 , 2 ′-( 1 , 2 - phenylenedioxy ) diethanol ; 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 - phenyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 3 - hydroxybenzyl alcohol ; 1 , 3 - benzendimethanol ; alpha , alpha , alpha ′, alpha ′- tetramethyl - 1 , 3 - benzenedimethanol ; alpha , alpha , alpha ′, alpha ′- tetrakis ( trifluoromethyl )- 1 , 3 - benzenedimethanol ; 3 - aminobenzyl alcohol ; 1 , 4 - benzenedimethanol ; 3 - hydroxy - 4 - methoxybenzyl alcohol ; 2 , 2 ′- biphenyldimethanol ; 2 - benzyloxy - 1 , 3 - propanediol ; 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) phenol ; 4 - hydroxyphenethyl alcohol ; 3 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - propanol ; hydroquinone bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) ether ; homovanillyl alcohol ; 1 , 4 - benzenedimethanethiol ; 1 , 2 - benzenedithiol ; 1 , 2 - benzenedimethanethiol ; 1 , 3 - benzenedithiol ; 1 , 3 - benzenedimethanethiol ; 4 - chloro - 1 , 3 - benzenedithiol ; 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - benzenedimethanethiol ; 3 - tert - butyl - 4 - hydroxy - 5 - methylphenyl sulfide ; 3 - tert - butyl - 4 - hydroxy - 2 - methylphenyl sulfide ; 2 , 2 ′- thiobis ( 4 - tert - octylphenol ); 4 -( methylthio ) benzyl alcohol ; 4 , 4 ′- thiodiphenol ; 4 , 4 ′ thiobisbenzenethiol ; 2 - aminophenol ; 2 - aminobenzyl alcohol ; 2 - aminophenethyl alcohol ; 2 - aminothiophenol ; 2 - aminophenyl disulfide ; 3 - aminophenol ; 3 - aminobenzyl alcohol ; 3 - aminophenethyl alcohol ; 3 - aminothiophenol ; 3 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl ) aniline ; 4 , 4 ′- ethylenedianiline ; 3 , 3 ′- methylenedianiline ; 4 , 4 ′ methylenedianiline ; 4 , 4 ′- oxydianiline ; 4 ″, 4 ′″-( hexafluoroisopropylidene )- bis ( 4 - phenoxyaniline ); 3 - aminophenol ; 4 - aminothiophenol ; 4 , 4 ′ thiodianiline ; 4 - aminophenethyl alcohol ; o - tolidine ; 4 , 4 ′- ethylenedi - m - toluidine ; 5 , 5 ′-( hexafluoroisopropylidene )- di - o - toluidine ; 5 - amino - 2 - methoxyphenol ; 2 - amino - 3 - methylbenzyl alcohol ; 4 , 4 ′- methylenebis ( 2 , 6 - dimethylaniline ); 4 , 4 ′- methylenebis ( 2 , 6 - diethylaniline ); 4 , 4 ′- methylenebis ( 2 , 6 - diisopropylaniline ); 3 , 3 ′, 5 , 5 ′- tetramethylbenzidine ; 1 , 2 - phenylenediamine ; n - methyl - 1 , 2 - phenylenediamine ; 2 , 3 - diaminotoluene ; 1 , 3 - phenylenediamine ; n , n ′- diphenyl - 1 , 4 - phenylenediamine ; n , n ′- diphenylbenzidine ; n - phenyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine ; n - methyl - 4 , 4 ′- methylenediailine ; 3 , 3 ′( hexafluoroisopropylidene ) dianiline ; 4 , 4 ′-( hexafluoroisopropyledene ) dianiline ; 3 , 3 ′- dimethoxybenzidine ; 3 - hydroxydiphenylamine ; n -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - naphthylamine ; 3 , 3 ′- dimethylnaphthidine ; 1 , 5 - diaminonaphthalene ; 2 , 7 - diaminofluorene ; 3 , 7 - diamino - 2 - methoxyfluorene ; 2 - amino - 9 - hydroxyfluorene ; 2 - aminobenzylamine ; 4 - aminobenzylamine ; tyramine ; 2 ′, 6 ′- dihydroxyacetophenone ; 2 ′, 4 ′- dihydroxyacetophenone ; 2 ′, 5 ′- dihydroxyacetophenone ; 2 ′, 4 ′- dihydroxypropiophenone ; 2 ′, 5 ′- dihydroxypropiophenone ; 4 , 4 ′- dihydroxybenxophenone ; 4 , 4 ′- diaminobenzophenone . the glass transition temperature of the shape memory polymer can be also be tailored by altering the mixture of monofunctional and difunctional monomers . the transition temperature can also be tailored by the combination of different difunctional monomers to the mixture such that more than one difunctional or multifunctional monomer is added to a single mixture . the resulting formulations all showed the ability to expand 0 - 20 % of their original size before critical deformation occurred . additionally some formulations showed the ability to expand 0 - 100 % of their original size before critical deformation occurred . the invention will now be further described with reference to a number of specific examples which are to be regarded solely as illustrative and not as restricting the scope of the invention . a 2 : 3 molar mixture of 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester : 1 , 1 ′ bis ( 4 - cyanatophenyl ) ethane was combined . to the mixture was added a sufficient quantity of zinc catalyst complex suspended in nonylphenol to reach 81 parts per thousand of catalyst in the monomer . the described mixture was polymerized by heating through a cure cycle of 80 ° c ., 100 ° c ., 120 ° c ., 150 ° c . for 2 hours each , then 177 ° c . for 4 hours . to prepare the shape memory polymer a mold was fabricated consisting of a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate with a viton ring encompassing the mold area . the reaction mixture formulated above was poured into the area encircled by the viton . the mold was sealed by placing a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate on top of the viton ring . the two sheets of glass were held together by clamps around the edges . the viton spacer also acts as a sealant in the mold . the sample was heated in an oven at 200 ° c . for 4 hours to obtain an smp with t g of 160 ° c . after the sample was cured for the specified period of time , it was removed from the oven and demolded by applying a slight prying force at the edges of the mold . at the conclusion of this polymerization process a transparent orange sheet of a cured shape memory polymer was obtained . a polymeric reaction mixture was formulated by mixing 4 , 4 ′- ethylidinediphenyl dicyanate ( 44 . 2 %), 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester ( 40 . 7 %) and hydroxyl terminated poly ( butadiene ) ( 15 . 01 %) in random order to yield a pale yellow opaque solution . to aid in mixing , the resulting solution was heated at 85 ° c . for 4 hours with intermittent mixing to yield a clear yellow solution . to prepare the shape memory polymer a mold was fabricated consisting of a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate with a viton ring encompassing the mold area . the reaction mixture formulated above was poured into the area encircled by the viton . the mold was sealed by placing a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate on top of the viton ring . the two sheets of glass were held together by clamps around the edges . the viton spacer also acts as a sealant in the mold . the sample was heated at atmospheric pressure in an oven at 165 ° c . for 12 hours followed by a period at 220 ° c . for 5 hours . after the sample was cured for the specified period of time , it was removed from the oven and demolded by applying a slight prying force at the edges of the mold . at the conclusion of this polymerization process a transparent orange sheet of a cured shape memory polymer was obtained . a polymeric reaction mixture was formulated by mixing 4 , 4 ′- ethylidinediphenyl dicyanate ( 52 . 1 %) and 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester ( 47 . 9 %) to yield a pale yellow solution . to aid in mixing , the resulting solution was heated at 85 ° c . for 4 hours with intermittent mixing to yield a clear yellow solution . to prepare the shape memory polymer a mold was fabricated consisting of a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate with a viton ring encompassing the mold area . the reaction mixture formulated above was poured into the area encircled by the viton . the mold was sealed by placing a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate on top of the viton ring . the two sheets of glass were held together by clamps around the edges . the viton spacer also acts as a sealant in the mold . the sample was heated at atmospheric pressure in an oven at 165 ° c . for 12 hours followed by a period at 220 ° c . for 5 hours . after the sample was cured for the specified period of time , it was removed from the oven and demolded by applying a slight prying force at the edges of the mold . at the conclusion of this polymerization process a transparent orange sheet of a cured shape memory polymer was obtained . a polymeric reaction mixture was formulated by mixing 1 , 3 - bis -( 3 ′-( 2 - cyanatophenyl ) propyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane ( 60 . 0 %) and 4 - cumylphenol cyanate ester ( 40 . 0 %) in random order to yield a pale yellow solution . to prepare the shape memory polymer a mold was fabricated consisting of a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate with a viton ring encompassing the mold area . the reaction mixture formulated above was poured into the area encircled by the viton . the mold was sealed by placing a 3 ″ by 3 ″ glass plate on top of the viton ring . the two sheets of glass were held together by clamps around the edges . the viton spacer also acts as a sealant in the mold . the sample was heated at atmospheric pressure in an oven at 150 ° c . for 90 minutes followed by a period at 175 ° c . for 4 hours and then 195 ° c . for 16 . 5 hours followed by 3 . 5 hours at 220 ° c . after the sample was cured for the specified period of time , it was removed from the oven and demolded by applying a slight prying force at the edges of the mold . at the conclusion of this polymerization process a transparent orange sheet of a cured shape memory polymer was obtained . example 1 shows how a catalyst is used to assist the polymerization in obtaining a smp with a t g greater than 150 ° c . example 2 demonstrates the use of a structural modifier to adjust the t g of the smp to a desired temperature . example 3 demonstrates the smp achieved from a mixture of just a monofunctional and difunctional cyanate ester . example 4 demonstrates a smp with a relatively low t g , approximately 20 ° c ., which retains its high strength and is good for use in space applications . the shape memory phenomenon in the vicinity of t g and the ability to set the value of t g by varying the composition over a very broad range of temperatures allows contemplation of numerous applications in varied uses including , but not limited to , molds for contact lenses manufacturing , molds for composite manufacturing , structural deployment devices for remote systems , games and toys , domestic articles , arts and ornamentation units , medical and paramedical instruments and devices , thermosensitive instruments and security devices , office equipment , garden equipment , educative articles , tricks , jokes and novelty items , building accessories , hygiene accessories , automotive accessories , films and sheets for retractable housings and packaging , coupling material for pipes of different diameters , building games accessories , folding games , scale model accessories , bath toys , boots and shoes inserts , skiing accessories , suction - devices for vacuum cleaners , pastry - making accessories , camping articles , adaptable coat hangers , retractable films and nets , sensitive window blinds , isolation and blocking joints , fuses , alarm devices , sculpture accessories , adaptable hairdressing accessories , plates for braille that can be erased , medical prosthesis , orthopedic devices , furniture , deformable rulers , recoverable printing matrix , formable casts / braces , shoes , form - fitting spandex , form - fitting clothes , self - ironing clothes , self - fluffing pillow , deployable structures , space deployable structures , satellites , and pipe replacement for underground applications . in general terms , the smp is prepared from a reaction mixture comprising a monofunctional cyanate ester monomer and at least one multifunctional cyanate ester monomer . the resulting shape memory polymer has a glass transition temperature of greater than about 0 ° c . and is preferably present in the form of a crosslinked thermoset network . in one embodiment of the invention , the multifunctional cyanate ester is a difunctinoal cyanate ester . the difunctional cyanate ester monomer may have the formula ( i ). wherein r is h , alkyl , preferably c 1 - c 12 alkyl , aryl , perfluro , o , so 2 , sir ′ 2 , sir ′ 2 o 2 or other organosiloxane moiety , wherein r ′ can be h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl or aryl , wherein x and y can be the same or different and can be h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , aryl , halogen , nitrile , no 2 , so 2 , cyanate ester , alkyl ether , or aryl ether . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the location of the x , y , and ocn groups may be at any of the ring positions and is not limited . for example , the shape memory polymer can have a symmetrical substitution of the ocn groups in relation to the r groups . also , the ocn groups can be located ortho , para , or meta , relative to r . in some cases , the ocn groups can have an unsymmetrical substitution relative to r . for example , one ocn group may be ortho to r with another ocn group being in the meta position . further , one ocn group may be para and another ortho . para and meta orientations for the ocn groups relative to r may also be mentioned as exemplary . wherein r ′″ is a monovalent polymeric moiety , monovalent hydrocarbyl moiety , preferably c 1 - c 12 alkyl group , aryl moiety such as phenyl or biphenyl , or arylalkyl aryl moiety such as z - m - z wherein z is phenyl and m is an alkyl radical having from 1 - 6 c atoms . wherein d ′ and r ″ are independently selected from an alcohol , primary amine , secondary amine , or thiol moiety or combination thereof . x ′ can be h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , aryl or an organosiloxane moiety . preliminary research indicates that hydroxy end capped polybutadiene and 1 , 12 dodecanediol may be beneficially useful as structural modifiers . while certain features of this invention have been described in detail with respect to various embodiments thereof , it will , of course , be apparent that other modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention , and it is not intended to limit the invention to the exact detail shown above except insofar as there defined in the appended claims .
2
an image storage device is described in one implementation as a photograph storage appliance that copies photographic image data from a first image storage medium , such as a flash memory , to a second image storage medium , such as a rewriteable compact disc or other removable disc format . the photographic image data is generated with a digital camera or a combination still photo and video camera , for example , and maintained with a flash memory component in the camera . when the flash memory is removed from the camera and installed into the photograph storage appliance , the photographic image data is copied to the removable disc for storage and safekeeping . in another image storage device implementation , an electronic photograph album includes an integrated display device to display photographs corresponding to the photographic image data . a flash memory and / or removable disc is installed into the electronic photograph album and the photographic image data is rendered on the display device as one or more photographs . the photographs can be viewed , edited , deleted , selected for copy , and / or communicated to a printing device . an image storage device , such as the photograph storage appliance and the electronic photograph album , provides that photographs obtained with a digital camera are quickly and easily archived from a flash memory component to readily portable and inexpensive recordable and / or rewriteable compact disc media , or to another removable disc format . for example , a rewriteable compact disc ( cd - rw ) can maintain 650 mb to 700 mb of data , whereas flash memory components are designed to maintain only 64 mb or 128 mb of data , and are significantly more expensive than cd - rws . further , the photographs can be wirelessly communicated from the image storage device to a printing device , and can be viewed , edited , and managed with the electronic photograph album having an integrated display device . [ 0014 ] fig1 illustrates various components of an exemplary image storage device 100 that is an appliance device in which image storage can be implemented . image storage device 100 includes components to facilitate copying and storing photographic images from one memory system to another to maintain , or archive , the photographic images . image storage device 100 includes a processor 102 ( e . g ., a microprocessor ) and a memory component 104 , such as a flash memory device , read - only memory ( rom ), or electrically erasable programmable read - only memory ( rom ). processor 102 processes various instructions to control the operation of image storage device 100 and to communicate with other electronic and computing devices . the memory component 104 maintains an operating system 106 and an application program 108 . the operating system 106 can be implemented as an embedded operating system and executed on processor 102 to provide a runtime environment for the image storage device 100 . a runtime environment facilitates extensibility of the image storage device 100 by allowing various interfaces to be defined that , in turn , allow application program 108 to interact with image storage device 100 . in an example implementation , operating system 106 can be implemented with a linux operating system designed for the image storage device 100 . for an appliance device such as image storage device 100 , a linux operating system offers pc file system support with a reduced amount of program code . the application program 108 can be executed on processor 102 and implemented as a software component configured to perform several functions of the image storage device 100 . although application program 108 is illustrated and described as a single application configured to perform several functions , the application program 108 can be implemented as several component applications distributed to each perform one or more functions in the image storage device 100 and / or in an image storage system . image storage device 100 may also include a random access memory ( ram ) 110 for data and information storage . image storage device may also include a firmware component ( not shown ) that is implemented as a permanent memory module stored on memory component 104 , implemented as a component of processor 102 , or implemented with other components in image storage device 100 . although shown separately , some of the components of image storage device 100 may be implemented in an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ). additionally , a system bus ( not shown ) typically connects the various components within image storage device 100 . image storage device 100 also optionally includes a network interface 112 and / or a communication interface 114 . network interface 112 provides a connection between image storage device 100 and a network , such as an intranet or the internet . network interface 112 allows for updating operating system 106 and / or application program 108 with update information received from a data provider connected to the network . communication interface 114 can be implemented as a serial and / or parallel interface , as a universal serial bus ( usb ) interface , as a wireless interface , and / or as any other type of communication interface . a wireless interface enables image storage device 100 to wirelessly communicate image data to a printing device , for example , over an infrared ( ir ), 802 . 11 , bluetooth , or similar rf communication link . a serial and / or parallel interface enables image storage device 100 to interact and communicate with other electronic and computing devices via various communication links , and can provide a data communication path directly between image storage device 100 and a printing device . image storage device 100 may also include a display device 116 to display images , such as photographs or photographic images , for example . display device 116 can be implemented as a graphical display that provides information regarding the status of image storage device 100 and the current options available to a user through a menu structure . display device 116 can also be implemented as an integrated touch - screen display . image storage device 100 includes one or more selectable controls 118 and one or more device indicators 120 . the selectable controls 118 and device indicators 120 can include push - buttons , switches , status indicators , and / or other selectable controls that can be manipulated by a user of the image storage device 100 . although not shown , image storage device can include an internal battery to power the components and operation of the image storage device and / or may include an external plug - in transformer and power supply . image storage device 100 also includes a removable disc memory system 122 and a flash memory system 124 . removable disc memory system 122 can be implemented as a recordable compact disc system drive ( cd - r ) and / or as a rewriteable compact disc system drive ( cd - rw ) that writes image data to a compact disc 126 and reads image data from compact disc 126 . additionally , removable disc memory system 122 can be implemented with other removable disc media standards such as a digital versatile disc ( dvd ), a dvd − r , a dvd − r / w , a dvd + r / w , a dvd − ram , or any number of other media standards , formats , and density capacities . flash memory system 124 can be implemented with a flash memory reader to read image data from a flash memory 128 , such as a flash memory card , a flash memory stick , and similar flash memory components . in the implementations described herein , flash memory 128 maintains photographic image data obtained with a digital camera which is copied to a removable disc 126 for storage and / or for archive purposes . general reference is made herein to image storage device 100 and , although specific examples refer to a photograph storage appliance and an electronic photograph album having particular functionalities , such examples are not meant to limit the scope of the claims or the description , but are meant to provide a specific understanding of the described implementations . furthermore , the described components of image storage device 100 and the appliance devices are merely exemplary , and are not intended to limit application of the claimed subject matter to devices that include only these components . accordingly , other devices having components different from and / or in addition to those described herein can be used in implementing the described techniques and systems . [ 0025 ] fig2 illustrates an exemplary photograph storage appliance 200 which includes one or more of the components of the exemplary image storage device 100 ( fig1 ). photograph storage appliance 200 includes the removable disc memory system 122 and the flash memory system 124 . a universal flash memory connector 202 accommodates various flash memory components to interface the flash memory system 124 with flash memory 128 . photograph storage appliance 200 includes a copy selectable control 204 with an associated copy indicator 206 , and includes a print selectable control 208 with an associated print indicator 210 . when a user selects the copy selectable control 204 , photographic image data captured with a digital camera and maintained with flash memory 128 is copied from the flash memory 128 to removable disc 126 for storage . the associated copy indicator 206 illuminates to indicate that the photographic image data is being copied and / or has been copied from the flash memory 128 to the removable disc 126 . when a user selects the print selectable control 208 , the photographic image data maintained with flash memory 128 is communicated from the photograph storage appliance 200 to printing device 212 via communication interface 114 . alternatively , print selectable control 208 can initiate communicating photographic image data maintained with removable disc 126 from the photograph storage appliance 200 to printing device 212 . in this example , the photographic image data is wirelessly communicated to printing device 212 via a wireless communication interface 114 . the associated print indicator 210 illuminates to indicate that the photographic image data is being communicated to the printing device 212 . although not shown , photograph storage appliance 200 may also include any number of other selectable controls , such as a delete selectable control to initiate deleting photographic image data from the flash memory 128 and / or the compact disc 126 . additionally , photograph storage appliance 200 may include a system update selectable control to initiate updating the embedded operating system 106 ( fig1 ) and / or application program 108 with update information received from a network 214 via network interface 112 . the photograph storage appliance 200 and printing device 212 can also include network communication cards that facilitate communication and photographic image data transfer via network interface 112 and communication interface 114 . [ 0029 ] fig3 illustrates an exemplary electronic photograph album 300 which includes one or more of the components of the exemplary image storage device 100 ( fig1 ). electronic photograph album 300 includes the removable disc memory system 122 ( not shown ) to read photographic image data from removable disc 126 and write photographic image data to removable disc 126 . electronic photograph album 300 also includes the flash memory system 124 ( not shown ) to read photographic image data from flash memory 128 . the electronic photograph album 300 has an integrated display device 302 that displays photographs , or photographic images generated for display from photographic image data stored on removable disc 126 and / or flash memory 128 . the display device 302 also renders a menu 304 of selectable controls 306 through 314 . a selectable menu control 316 initiates displaying the menu 304 on display device 302 and / or scrolling through selectable controls 306 through 314 . a select control 318 can be selected to choose one of the selectable controls 306 through 314 . a selectable copy control 306 can be selected with the select control 318 to initiate copying photographic image data maintained with flash memory 128 to removable disc 126 for storage . a selectable delete control 308 initiates deleting photographic image data from flash memory 128 and / or removable disc 126 , such as a rewriteable compact disc . a selectable print control 310 initiates that photographic image data maintained with flash memory 128 and / or compact disc 126 is communicated from the electronic photograph album 300 to a printing device . a selectable view control 312 initiates displaying a photograph represented by photographic image data on display device 302 . a selectable next control 320 and a selectable back control 322 are selected to display a next photograph on display device 302 or display a previous photograph , respectively . a selectable slideshow control 314 initiates a consecutive display of photographs on display device 302 . the display device 302 can also be implemented as a touch - screen display and the selectable controls 306 through 314 can alternatively be selected with a pointing device 324 . in addition , any number of other selectable controls may be included in menu 304 and / or any other combination of selectable controls 306 through 314 can be implemented as menu 304 . electronic photograph album 300 includes processor 102 and application program 108 ( as depicted in fig1 ) which is executed on the processor to perform operations and functions of the electronic photograph album . for example , application program 108 can be implemented to detect the installation of flash memory 128 , recognize that removable disc 126 is installed , and initiate copying photographic image data from the flash memory 128 to the removable disc 126 . alternatively , or in addition , application program 108 can detect or recognize that only flash memory 128 or a removable disc 126 is installed in the electronic photograph album 300 and initiate displaying one or more photographs on display device 302 . although not shown , electronic photograph album 300 may include an on / off selectable control that , when selected , initiates application program 108 to detect the photographic image memory devices and copy and / or display corresponding photographs . methods for an image storage device may be described in the general context of computer - executable instructions located in computer storage media , including memory storage devices . generally , computer - executable instructions include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types . [ 0035 ] fig4 illustrates a method 400 for an image storage device . the order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation , and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method . furthermore , the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware , software , firmware , or combination thereof . at block 402 , the installation of a first image storage medium is recognized . for example , application program 108 ( fig1 ) recognizes , or otherwise detects , that flash memory 128 is installed into image storage device 100 ( or into either of the photograph storage appliance 200 and electronic photograph album 300 ). additionally , application program 108 can be implemented to recognize when removable disc 126 is installed into image storage device 100 . at block 404 , photographic image data is read from the first image storage medium when the installation of the first image storage medium is recognized . for example , application program 108 initiates that flash memory system 124 read photographic image data from flash memory 128 . additionally , application program 108 can be implemented to initiate that removable disc memory system 122 read photographic image data from removable disc 126 . at block 406 , a view control selection is received to initiate displaying the photographic image data on an integrated display device , and at block 408 , the photographic image data is displayed on the display device . for example , selectable view control 312 ( fig3 ) is selected with select control 318 or with pointing device 324 and one or more photographs represented by the photographic image data maintained with flash memory 128 or removable disc 126 are displayed on display device 302 . at block 410 , a delete control selection is received to initiate deleting photographic image data representing a photograph from the first image storage medium , and at block 412 , the photographic image data corresponding to the identified photograph is deleted . for example , selectable delete control 308 ( fig3 ) is selected with select control 318 or with pointing device 324 to identify a photograph that will be deleted from the flash memory 128 or removable disc 126 and / or to identify a photograph that will not be copied from the flash memory 128 to the removable disc 126 . at block 414 , a copy control selection is received to initiate copying a photograph represented by the photographic image data from the first image storage medium to a second image storage medium . at block 416 , the photographic image data is copied from the first image storage medium to the second image storage medium . for example , selectable copy control 306 ( fig3 ) is selected with select control 318 or with pointing device 324 to initiate copying the photographic image data representing one or more photographs from flash memory 128 to removable disc 126 . alternatively , selectable copy control 204 ( fig2 ) is selected to initiate copying the photographic image data with the components of photograph storage appliance 200 . copying the photographic image data to removable disc 126 includes writing the photographic image data to a digital versatile disc or to a recordable or rewriteable compact disc . copying the photographic image data may also include reading the photographic image data from flash memory 128 and writing the photographic image data to ram 110 ( fig1 ), or to another memory component of image storage device 100 ( or either of the photograph storage appliance 200 and electronic photograph album 300 ). at block 418 , it is indicated that the photographic image data has been copied from the first image storage medium to the second image storage medium . for example , copy indicator 206 ( fig2 ) illuminates to indicate that the photographic image data is being copied and / or has been copied from flash memory 128 to removable disc 126 . although not shown , a copy indication may also be rendered on display device 302 ( fig3 ) to indicate copying photographic image data with electronic photograph album 300 . for example , the selectable copy control 306 may be hi - lighted with shading , a color , a border , or similar discernable indication that the photographic image data is being copied and / or has been copied . at block 420 , a print control selection is received to initiate communicating the photographic image data to a printing device , and at block 422 , the photographic image data is communicated to the printing device . for example , selectable print control 310 ( fig3 ) is selected with select control 318 or with pointing device 324 to initiate communicating photographic image data to a printing device . alternatively , selectable print control 208 ( fig2 ) is selected to initiate communicating photographic image data from photograph storage appliance 200 to printing device 212 via communication interface 114 . communicating the photographic image data to a printing device includes wirelessly communicating the photographic image data to the printing device . at block 424 , it is indicated that the photographic image data has been communicated to a printing device . for example , print indicator 210 ( fig2 ) illuminates to indicate that the photographic image data is being communicated to printing device 212 . although not shown , a print indication may also be rendered on display device 302 ( fig3 ) to indicate communicating the photographic image data from electronic photograph album 300 to a printing device . for example , the selectable print control 310 may be hi - lighted with shading , a color , a border , or similar discernable indication that the photographic image data is being communicated and / or has been communicated to a printing device . although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methods , it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described . rather , the specific features and methods are disclosed as preferred forms of implementing the claimed invention .
7
the basic function of one embodiment example of a metering pump assembly according to the invention is firstly described by way of the circuit diagram in fig1 . the core piece of the metering pump assembly is a metering pump 2 which is designed as a membrane pump , with an associated drive . by way of the control of the drive , and in particular the control of the number of pump strokes and / or the stroke speed , one may set the quantity of the reduction agent delivered by the metering pump 2 , in order to be able to adapt the reduction agent quantity exactly to the requirements with regard to the currently occurring combustion process in the motor . an aqueous urea solution is preferably applied as a reduction agent . the reduction agent is kept ready in a reduction agent tank 4 from which it is suctioned by the metering pump 2 via a suction conduit 5 . in the shown example , in each case a return valve 6 which is an essential constituent of the membrane pump , is arranged in the known manner in front of and behind the metering pump 2 . thus the return valve 6 which in the flow direction is situated in front of the pump , ensures that the reduction agent is not delivered back into the reduction agent tank 4 with a pump stroke . the return valve 6 lying behind the metering pump 2 in the flow direction conversely ensures that on suctioning , reduction agent is suctioned only from the reduction agent tank 4 , and not suctioned back out of the pressure conduit . a return conduit 10 which leads back to the reduction agent tank 4 and serves for bleeding the system on starting operation of the metering pump 2 , branches behind the metering pump 2 and the second return valve 6 at a branching point 8 . an interruption - or shut - off valve 12 , by way of which the return conduit 10 may be closed , so that no reduction agent may flow back through the return conduit 10 to the reduction agent tank 4 , is arranged in the return conduit 10 . in the shown idle condition , the shut - off valve 12 is situated in the open position , in which the return conduit 10 is released . a pressure sensor 14 which detects the fluid pressure in front of the shut - off valve 12 and thus in the pressure conduit 16 behind the metering pump 2 , is arranged in the return conduit 10 and in the flow direction in front of the shut - off valve 12 and behind the branching point 8 . the pressure conduit 16 leads from the metering pump 2 via the branching point 8 to the mixing region or the mixing chamber 18 of a device , in which the reduction agent is impinged or mixed with pressurized gas , in this case pressurized air . a return valve 20 is arranged directly in front of the mixing region 18 in the pressure conduit 16 , i . e . at the end of the pressure conduit 16 . this return valve is held in the shown idle position in a closed position by way of biasing , for example a spring , and a backflow of reduction agent and in particular of pressurized gas from the mixing region 18 into the pressure conduit 16 is prevented . a conduit 22 which leads to the injection nozzle in the exhaust gas system of the motor vehicle connects behind the mixing region 18 in the flow direction . the pressurized air used as a pressurized gas in this shown example is made available by a pressurized air supply 24 of the motor vehicle . such pressurized air supply systems are usually present in lorries , in particular for actuating the brakes . the shown metering pump assembly is connected to this central pressurized air supply 24 , wherein the metering pump assembly on the entry side comprises a solenoid or magnetic valve 26 which selectively connects the pressurized air conduit 28 which leads to the mixing region 18 , to the pressurized air supply 24 or to the atmosphere 30 . the electrically actuated magnetic valve 26 is biased , such that in its idle position , it is kept in the shown position in which the pressurized air conduit 28 is opened to the atmosphere 30 . a pressure regulator 32 and behind this , a throttle 34 are arranged in the pressurized air conduit 28 behind the magnetic valve 26 in the flow direction . the pressurized air conduit at the mixing chamber or the mixing region 18 ends in a return valve 36 which is biased such that it is closed in the shown idle position , and may be opened against its biasing by way of the pressure acting in the pressurized air conduit 28 . it is thus ensured , that when no pressurized air flows out of the pressurized air conduit 28 into the mixing chamber 18 , the return valve 36 is always closed , so that no reduction agent may penetrate from the mixing region 18 into the pressurized air conduit 28 . the shut - off valve 12 in the return conduit 10 is actuated by pressurized air and is connected to the pressurized air conduit 28 via an actuation conduit 38 , wherein the actuation conduit 38 is in connection with the pressurized air conduit 28 between the pressure regulator 32 and the throttle 34 . the actuation conduit 38 ensures that when the magnetic valve 26 is switched over so that the pressurized air conduit 28 is in connection with the pressurized air supply 24 , the actuation conduit 38 is also subjected to pressure . the air pressure prevailing in the actuation conduit 38 then effects a switching - over of the shut - off valve 12 against its biasing , so that the return conduit 10 is closed . the previously described elements which lie within the border indicated by the dashed line d in fig1 , i . e . in particular the metering pump 2 , the shut - off valve 12 , the magnetic valve 26 , the mixing point 18 , the return valves and the conduits connecting these components , are all integrated into the metering pump assembly , so that the metering pump assembly apart from electrical connections to the outside , only has four fluid connections , specifically for the connection to the pressurized air supply 24 , for the connection of the conduit 22 leading to the injection nozzle , for the connection of the suction conduit 5 leading to the reduction agent tank 4 , and for the connection of the return conduit 10 to the reduction agent tank 4 . on starting operation of the system , the magnetic valve 26 firstly remains in its closed idle position ( shown position ) in which the pressurized air conduit 28 is separated from the pressurized air supply 24 . firstly the metering pump 2 is set into operation , which via the suction conduit 5 suctions reduction agent out of the reduction agent tank 4 . the biasing of the return valve 20 in the shown closed position is selected such that with the return conduit 10 opened , the pressure in the pressure conduit 16 is not sufficient to open the return valve against the biasing . since firstly no pressure is present in the pressurized air conduit 28 , the actuation conduit 38 is at first also without pressure , so that the shut - off valve 12 remains in its opened idle position , and the return conduit 10 is opened . in this manner , the metering pump 2 firstly delivers reduction agent from the reduction agent tank 4 and via the branching point 8 through the return conduit 10 back into the reduction agent tank 4 . this serves for bleeding the system on starting operation , i . e . firstly of ensuring that the pressure conduit 15 is completely filled with reduction agent . if the pressure conduit 16 and the return conduit 10 are completely filled with reduction agent , the fluid pressure in the pressure conduit 16 and in the return conduit 10 in front of the shut - off valve 12 reaches a certain limit value , which is detected by the pressure sensor 14 . when this limit value is detected by the pressure sensor 14 , a control switches over the magnetic valve 26 , so that the pressurized air conduit 28 is supplied with pressurized air via the pressurized air supply 24 of the lorry . the actuation conduit 38 is also impinged with pressure by way of this , by which means the shut - off valve 12 is switched over against the spring biasing , and the return conduit 10 is closed in this manner . since now the pressure conduit 16 is no longer open to the reduction agent tank 4 via the return conduit 10 , on further operation of the metering pump 2 , the fluid pressure in the pressure conduit 16 increases to such an extent , that the pressure is sufficient to open the return valve 20 against its spring biasing , so that the reduction agent may flow into the mixing region 18 and is impinged there with pressurized air from the pressurized air conduit 28 . the pressurized air and the reduction agent then together flow through the conduit 22 to an injection nozzle in the exhaust gas conduit of the lorry . on operation , the quantity of the supplied reduction agent may be set by way of the number of pump strokes . the pressurized air flow through the pressurized air conduit 28 into the mixing region 18 is thereby constant . if the installation is taken out of operation , in particular on switching off the vehicle , firstly the metering pump 2 is switched off , so that reduction agent may no longer be delivered from the reduction agent tank 4 . the pressure in the pressure conduit 16 , by way of this reduces to such an extent , that the return valve 20 closes on account of its biasing , and prevents further reduction agent from penetrating into the mixing region 18 . since the magnetic valve 26 at first continues to be open , pressurized air continues to flow through the return valve 36 into the mixing region 18 , and flushes out the reduction agent residues which are still present , via the conduit 22 . if then the magnetic valve 26 is closed by way of switching off the current supply , the pressurized air flow through the pressurized air conduit 28 and the return valve 36 is also switched off , so that the whole system is taken out of operation . in this condition , the shut - off valve 12 again switches back into its idle position , i . e . the return conduit 10 is opened . on account of the arrangement of the return valve 20 , it is ensured that no air may penetrate from the mixing chamber or the mixing region 18 into the pressure conduit 16 . thus one may prevent a crystallization of the reduction agent in the pressure conduit 16 . since furthermore after switching off the metering pump 2 , the mixing region 18 is automatically flushed out by the constant flow of pressurized air in this , one may also prevent a crystallization of reduction agent in the mixing region 18 and in the connecting conduit 22 . the pressure sensor 14 which preferably emits an electrical signal , apart from detecting the complete bleeding of the pressure conduit 16 , also serves for the recognition of further undesired operating conditions . thus one may recognize a blocked return conduit 10 by way of the pressure sensor 14 , specifically when , with an opened shut - off valve , the pressure exceeds a predefined value which may not normally occur with an opened return conduit 10 . the pressure sensor 14 may also detect that the injection nozzle in the exhaust gas conduit of the vehicle is blocked . then , specifically the pressure in the pressure conduit 16 given an opened magnetic valve 26 likewise increases above a predefined limit value , which may not normally occur with a correctly functioning injection nozzle . furthermore , one may also detect whether the reduction agent tank 4 is empty by way of the pressure sensor 14 . then specifically , on operation , the pressure in the pressure conduit 16 sinks below a predefined limit value , which may not normally occur in normal operation with a closed return conduit 10 . an exemplary construction of the premixing device essentially consisting of the mixing region 18 and the return valves 20 and 36 , is described hereinafter by way of fig2 to 5 . fig2 shows a sectioned view of the premixing device 39 in a condition installed into a pump head . the pump head is formed essentially by a central plate 40 and an end - plate 42 bearing on this , wherein flow channels are designed and the premixing device 39 arranged between the plates 40 and 42 . the conduit 22 in the end plate 42 is designed as a connection , to which a fluid conduit which leads to an injection nozzle in the exhaust gas system of the vehicle may be connected . the pressure conduit 16 as well as the pressurized air conduit 28 in the form of channels in the surface and through - holes connecting thereto , are formed in the central plate 40 . the premixing device as a central component comprises a cylindrical bush 44 with a cylindrical inner wall 46 . a necking 48 which divides the inner space of the bush 46 into two parts , is formed in the inside of the bush 44 . the first part of the inner space , proceeding from the necking 48 , widens towards a first end - side 50 of the bush 44 in a funnel - like manner . this region is the actual mixing region 18 or the mixing chamber 18 of the premixing device 39 . recesses or openings 52 which serve as entry openings for the pressurized air are formed in the peripheral wall of the mixing region 18 distributed uniformly over the periphery . the opening surrounded by the necking 48 , in the inside of the bush 44 , serves as an entry opening for the reduction agent into the mixing region 18 . this region is closed by way of a piston 54 with an o - ring 56 inserted into a peripheral groove . thereby , the o - ring 56 , as shown in the fig3 and 4 , may come to bear on the funnel - like inner wall of the mixing region 18 in the inside of the bush 44 in a sealing manner . the piston 54 extends with the piston rod 55 through the necking 48 into the second region in the inside of the bush 44 to the second end - side 58 which is distant to the first end - side 50 . a compression spring which with its first end is supported on the necking 48 , is arranged in the second part of the inner space of the bush 44 . the opposite end of the compression spring 60 which is designed as a helical spring , on a guide bush 62 surrounding the piston rod 55 , bears on a shoulder which faces the necking 48 . the guide bush 62 leads the piston rod and thus the piston 54 in the inside of the bush 44 , in which it bears on the inner wall of the bush 44 . the guide bush 62 is supported via a spring ring 64 on the longitudinal end of the piston rod 55 which is distant to the piston 54 . thus the compression spring 60 presses the piston rod 55 in the direction of the second end - side of the bush 40 , so that the piston 54 is pressed with the o - ring 56 against the funnel - like or conical inner wall of the mixing region 18 . in this manner , the piston 54 which forms the return valve 20 in fig1 , is kept in its idle position in the closed condition , as is shown in fig3 and 4 . the guide bush on its outer periphery comprises longitudinal grooves 66 ( not shown in the fig3 to 5 ), through which reduction agent may flow through the pressure conduit 16 into the inside of the bush 44 to the necking 48 . one prevents reduction agent from flowing past the bush 44 to the outside , by way of the o - ring 58 surrounding the bush 44 at the outside . in the inserted condition , the o - ring 68 seals the outer wall of the bush 44 with respect to the inner wall of the recess , in which the bush 44 is arranged in the central plate 40 . the fluid pressure in the pressure conduit 16 , in the inside of the bush 44 acts on the piston 54 in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the piston rod 55 . with an adequately high fluid pressure in the pressure conduit 16 , the force acting on the piston 54 by way of the pressure , exceeds the spring force of the compression spring 60 , so that the piston 54 with the piston rod 55 is displaced in the direction of the first end - side 50 of the bush 44 , and the piston 54 with the o - ring 56 lifts from the conical inner wall of the mixing region 18 , as is shown in the fig2 and 5 . thus , an annular gap arises between the piston 54 or the o - ring 56 and the surrounding inner wall of the bush 44 or the mixing region 18 respectively , through which the reduction agent may flow into the mixing region 18 . the second return valve 36 of the premixing device 39 is formed by an annular , elastic sleeve 70 which is clamped between the central plate 40 and the end - plate 42 . thereby , in particular , a thickened region at the outer periphery of the sleeve 70 comes to bear on the central plate 40 as well as on the end - plate 42 , so that the pressurized air from the pressurized air conduit 28 may not flow past the outer periphery of the collar 70 . the sleeve 70 at its outer periphery is extended in a sleeve - like manner towards the end - side 50 of the bush 44 in the axial direction , so that a collar 72 is formed . this collar 72 extends inclined in a slightly conical manner to the outer wall 46 of the bush 44 , and comes to bear on this with its free end - side . thereby , the sleeve 70 or the collar 72 are designed in an elastic manner , such that the sleeve in its idle position is sealingly held on the outer wall 46 of the bush 44 , as is shown in the fig2 and 3 . if pressurized air is introduced into the pressurized air conduit 28 , the pressurized air in the central plate 40 , firstly on the outer periphery 46 flows around the whole bush 44 , since the recess accommodating the bush 44 , in the central plate 40 , in the region distant to the pressure conduit 16 , is larger than the outer diameter of the bush 44 . the pressurized air then flows into the region between the collar 72 of the sleeve 70 , and the outer wall 46 of the bush 44 , wherein by way of the air pressure , the collar 72 is pressed away from the outer wall of the bush 44 , so that an annular gap 74 arises between the outer wall 46 and the inner periphery of the sleeve 70 or the collar 72 , through which the pressurized air may flow into the recess 76 in which the bush 44 is arranged in the end - plate 42 . the pressurized air then flows from the recess 46 through the recesses or openings 52 into the mixing region 18 , and from there , together with the supplied reduction agent , flows through the conduit or connection 22 further to the injection nozzle in the exhaust gas system of the vehicle . if the supply of pressurized air in the pressurized air conduit 28 is switched off , the sleeve 70 with its collar 72 again is sealingly applied onto the outer wall 46 of the bush 44 on account of its elasticity . on account of the collar 72 of the sleeve 70 projecting into the recess 76 , a higher pressure in the recess 76 succeeds in pressing the sleeve - like extension or the collar 72 of the sleeve 70 against the outer wall 46 to an even greater extent , and thus in securely closing the return valve 36 . the recesses or openings 52 are designed such that they extend in the longitudinal direction of the bush 44 up to the outer side of the piston 54 . furthermore , the recesses 52 are shaped such that they widen towards the inside of the bush 44 , i . e . towards the mixing region 18 . by way of this , one succeeds in pressurized air which flows through the recesses 52 into the mixing region 18 , completely flowing over the whole mixing region 18 at its inner wall and in particular also the outer side of the piston 54 , so that reduction agent residues may be completely flushed out of the mixing region 18 . the construction of the shut - off valve 12 is hereinafter described in more detail by way of the fig6 and 7 . the shut - off valve 12 is arranged in the central plate 40 in a recess 78 . the recess 78 is formed in the surface of the central plate 40 which is distant to the end - plate 42 , and is closed by the front plate 80 of a drive housing of the metering pump assembly , to which the central plate 40 is attached in a flat manner . the recess 78 on its base is formed in a cylindrical manner , and opens towards the front plate 80 in a funnel - like manner . an inlet connection piece 82 extends from the base of the recess 78 into the recess 78 , centrally in the cylindrical section . the return conduit 10 branching from the pressure conduit 8 runs in the inside of the inlet connection piece 82 , i . e . concentrically to this , such that it is open to the end - side of the inlet connection piece 82 . the end - side of the inlet connection piece 82 which is distant to the base of the recess 78 thus forms a valve seat 84 , on which a valve element 86 designed in a membrane - like manner sealingly bears in the closed condition , which is shown in fig6 . the valve element 86 is designed as a circular membrane , which at its outer periphery 88 is held between the surfaces of the central plate 40 and of the front plate 80 , which are adjacent to one another . the central region of the valve membrane 86 is movable with respect to the periphery 88 in the direction of extension of the inlet connection piece 82 , which is ensured by the elasticity of the membrane . the valve membrane or the valve element 86 comprises a carrier 90 which is enclosed or peripherally injected by an elastic material 92 , which also defines the sealing surface 94 coming to bear on the valve seat 84 . a guide bush 96 which comprises openings 92 in its peripheral wall , surrounding the sealing surface 94 and proceeding from the valve element 86 , extends concentrically to the inlet connection piece 92 . the guide bush 96 is integrally connected to the elastic material 92 , and via this , to the carrier 90 of the valve element 86 . preferably , the carrier 90 and the guide bush 96 are peripherally injected with the elastic material 92 and thus connected to one another with a positive fit . a compression spring 100 in the form of a helical spring is arranged or guided in the inside of the guide bush 96 , so that the compression spring 100 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the inlet connection piece 82 between its outer periphery and the inner periphery of the guide bush 96 . the compression spring 100 with a longitudinal end is supported on the base of the recess 78 , and with the opposite longitudinal end is supported on the valve element 86 at the periphery of the sealing surface 94 . the compression spring 100 is dimensioned such that it presses the valve element 96 into its opened position , i . e . its position distanced to the valve seat 84 , which is shown in fig7 . in this position of the shut - off valve 12 shown in fig7 , the reduction agent which is delivered by the metering pump into the return conduit 10 , may flow through the inlet connection piece 82 and through the annular gap between the sealing surface 94 and the valve seat 84 , into the inside of the guide bush 96 . the reduction agent may flow through the opened end - side distant to the valve element 86 , as well as the openings 98 of the guide bush 96 , into the recess 78 . the reduction agent from the recess 78 , flows through a channel 102 opening at the periphery of the recess 78 , to a connection piece of the metering pump assembly , and from there further through the return conduit to the reduction agent tank 4 . in order to close the shut - off valve 12 , the membrane - like valve element 86 is impinged with the pressurized air from the pressurized air conduit 28 , from its side distant to the inlet connection piece 82 , via the actuation conduit 38 . the air pressure acting on the surface 104 of the valve element 86 moves the valve element 86 against the spring force of the compression spring 100 in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the inlet connection piece 82 to this , so that the valve element 86 with its sealing surface 84 comes to bear on the valve seat 84 in a sealing manner . in this condition shown in fig6 , no reduction agent may flow out of the inlet connection piece 82 into the inside of the recess 78 , so that the return conduit 10 is closed or interrupted by the shut - off valve 12 . the actuation conduit 38 through which the pressurized air flows for impinging the surface 104 , is designed as a channel in the inside of the central plate 40 , which opens out between the central plate 40 and the front plate 80 , in the region of the surface 104 of the valve element 86 . for this , in the shown example , an open annular channel 106 which faces the valve element 86 and in which the pressurized air may distribute , is formed in the front plate 80 , so that the pressurized air acts uniformly on the whole surface 104 . furthermore , the surface 104 is designed in a curved manner , such that in an annular region bordering the peripheral region 88 in a radially inner - lying manner , it is formed distanced to the plane of the surface of the central plate 40 . the opposite central region 108 on the surface 104 of the sealing surface 94 , is designed as an abutment surface , which in the opened condition ( see fig7 ) of the shut - off valve 12 comes to bear on the surface of the front plate 80 , and thus limits the path of the valve element 86 in the opened position . the central region 108 centrically comprises a projection , which for guiding the valve element , engages into a hole in the surface of the front plate 80 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .
8
dynamic element matching (“ dem ”) is a method of randomizing over time the use of individual unit digital - to - analog ( dac ) elements in a dac so that each unit dac element is used ( e . g ., converts a logic “ 1 ” to an analog voltage or current ) equally as often , thereby averaging dac element errors across all of the unit dac elements . as used here , the term dem refers to any type of dynamic element matching . example types of dem include tree - structured dem and data weighted averaging (“ dwa ”) dem . an element that performs dem is called a “ dem encoder .” a typical dem process performed on a series of digital data samples includes rearranging or permuting the order of bits in at least some of the digital data samples , to produce a series of rearranged digital data samples . this is also referred to as “ data sample rearrangement .” preferably , the data sample rearrangement is performed in such a way as to achieve the equal usage of the unit element dacs and the averaging of errors mentioned above . “ shuffling ” is herein used interchangeably and equivalently with the term “ dem .” this is true even if , as in the case of dwa dem , no data sample rearrangement actually occurs before the sample enters the dac . thus , a “ shuffled data sample ” is a data sample that has been through a dem process , even if , as in the case of dwa dem , the sample has not been rearranged before it enters the dac . one “ sample period ” is the time between consecutive samples in an input data stream . an example dem system in which the present invention may be used is discussed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 354 , 159 , filed jan . 30 , 2003 , entitled “ hardware - efficient implementation of dynamic element matching in sigma - delta dac &# 39 ; s ,” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . two common methods of dem are tree - structured dem and data weighted averaging (“ dwa ”) dem . fig1 is a high level block diagram of a state - based swapper system 100 that may be used in , for example , tree - structured dem . state - based swapper system 100 includes a swapper 102 coupled to a state register 104 . state register 104 holds a state value initially set to a value of either “ 1 ” or “ 0 ”. state register 104 sends the state value to swapper 102 over interface 106 . an input data stream 108 including incoming data samples is sent to both swapper 102 and state register 104 at a sample rate fs . each data sample is represented by at least two logic bits . depending on the state value sent to swapper 102 by state register 104 , each of the incoming data samples is either swapped ( i . e ., the order of the logic bits representing the data sample is changed ) by swapper 102 , or passed through dac element 102 without being swapped . if the state value is “ 1 ,” the incoming data samples are swapped . if the state value is “ 0 ,” the incoming data samples are not swapped . each of the incoming data samples in input data stream 108 is also sent to state register 104 . based on the value of each of the incoming data samples , the state value will be updated . the relationship between the incoming data and the state value is shown in table 1 , where x 0 and x 1 can be either single bits or multi - bit vectors representing an input data sample ( e . g ., an input data sample in input data stream 108 ). fig2 is an example of a tree - structured dem system . input data sample 202 contains bits x 0 – x 7 . bits x 0 and x 1 enter swapper 204 . depending on the state s 10 of swapper 204 , bits x 0 and x 1 are either swapped by or passed through swapper 204 to produce 2 - bit bus or vector 208 . similarly , swapper 210 processes x 2 and x 3 according to state s 11 to produce bus or vector 212 , swapper 214 processes x 4 and x 5 according to state s 12 to produce bus or vector 216 , and swapper 218 processes x 6 and x 7 according to state s 13 to produce bus or vector 220 . for ease of description , the term “ bus ” in this example may represent both a bus and a vector . bus 208 and bus 212 then enter swapper 222 . depending on the state s 20 of swapper 222 , buses 208 and 212 are either swapped by or passed through swapper 224 to produce 4 - bit bus 226 . similarly , swapper 228 processes buses 216 and 220 according to state s 21 to produce 4 - bit bus 230 . finally , buses 226 and 230 enter swapper 232 . depending on the state s 30 of the swapper 232 , buses 226 and 230 are either swapped by or passed through swapper 232 to produce 8 - bit output stream 236 . 8 - bit output stream 236 then enters dac 238 . dwa dem is illustrated by way of example with reference to fig3 a and 3b . fig3 a is a block diagram of an example dac 304 including a series of eight unit dac elements 306 – 320 . an updatable pointer 322 points to any given one of the dac elements 306 – 320 . fig3 b is a table 350 including multiple columns , each indicating example data processed by a corresponding dac element . the rows indicate a progression in time from t 0 – t 4 . with reference to both fig3 a and 3b , dwa dem cycles bits through unit dac elements 306 – 320 in a sequential fashion based on data applied to dac 304 . for example , an 8 - bit code sample 302 ( fig3 b ) enters dac 304 . if at time to the pointer 322 points to dac element 310 , then the code sample 302 entering dac 304 at that time to will first be sent to dac element 310 . the position of pointer 322 is updated each time a unit dac element is activated , i . e ., each time a “ 1 ” from the code sample is processed by the dac element . since code sample 302 contains four 1 &# 39 ; s in this example , the pointer 322 will be positioned ( e . g ., updated to point ) at dac 318 when the next code sample 324 enters at time t 1 . this sequential processing continues as shown for each input code sample . because the pointer is updated only after the dac element is activated , each dac element is used as often as every other dac element , reducing any non - linearity . fig4 shows a conventional dem filter , where h ( z − 1 )=( 1 − z − 1 ) is a first - order transfer function used by noise - shaping filter 402 (“ h ( z − 1 ) filter ”). an input sample x ( n ) enters the filter 402 . the filter 402 then performs dem on input sample x ( n ) according to the first - order transfer function to produce first - order output sample y ( n ). fig5 shows a dem filter according to an embodiment of the present invention , where h ( z − 2 )=( 1 − z − 2 ) is a second - order transfer function used by noise - shaping filter 502 (“ h ( z − 2 ) filter ”). the input sample x ( n ) enters the filter 502 . the filter 502 then performs dem on input sample x ( n ) according to the second - order transfer function to produce second - order output sample y ( n ). fig6 shows the effect of the first - order and second - order transfer functions of fig4 and 5 , respectively . fig6 is a graph of the frequency response of the h ( z − 1 ) and h ( z − 2 ) filters , with frequency on the x - axis and magnitude on the y - axis . the h ( z − 1 ) filter is represented by the dashed line ; the h ( z − 2 ) filter is represented by the solid line . due to a limit - cycle effect in the h ( z − 1 ) filter , there are undesired tones in the neighborhood of fs / 2 in the actual output spectrum of the h ( z − 1 ) filter , especially for weak input signals . these tones could be easily mixed down into the baseband of a δ - σ modulator utilizing the filter , and degrade the in - band signal - to - noise ratio (“ snr ”) performance the modulator . this would cause the signal to bear the annoying tones in the output . in contrast to the h ( z − 1 ) filter , the h ( z − 2 ) filter frequency response has a null 603 at fs / 2 . as shown in fig6 , this null 603 substantially removes or eliminates the undesired tones around fs / 2 . there is some in - band snr degradation of the h ( z − 2 ) compared to h ( z − 1 ) as is illustrated in fig6 . the snr degradation is the ratio of the two noise powers since the signal powers are the same for both cases . d = ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ h 2 ⁡ ( z - 1 ) ⁢ ⅆ f ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ h 2 ⁡ ( z - 2 ) ⁢ ⅆ f = ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ ( 1 - ⅇ - j2π ⁢ ⁢ ft ) 2 ⁢ ⅆ f ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ ( 1 - ⅇ - j4π ⁢ ⁢ ft ) 2 ⁢ ⅆ f = ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ sin 2 ⁡ ( π ⁢ ⁢ ft s ) ⁢ ⅆ f ∫ 0 f 0 ⁢ sin 2 ⁡ ( 2 ⁢ π ⁢ ⁢ ft s ) ⁢ ⅆ f = π / osr - sin ⁡ ( π / osr ) π / osr - sin ⁡ ( 2 ⁢ π / osr ) / 2 where osr = 2f 0 t s is the oversampling ratio . d is unity for osr = 1 . in other words , the total noise power is the same for both transfer functions . for osr ≧ 10 , applying taylor &# 39 ; s expansion yields d ≈ ( π / osr ) 3 / 3 ! ( 2 ⁢ π / osr ) 3 / 2 / 3 ! = 1 4 thus 6 db degradation incurs for the tone - removal transfer function for the decent osr . the analysis is based on the assumption that there are no tones for the h ( z − 1 ). since the tones inside the baseband for h ( z − 1 ) add more noise power , the ratio d is usually less than 6 db . fig7 is a block diagram of an example system 700 of the h ( z − 2 )=( 1 − z − 2 ) filter for dem . system 700 comprises an input stage 702 , a first stage 704 , a second stage 706 , and a combiner 708 . an input data stream 710 , having a sample rate fs , includes alternating , evenly spaced in time , even and odd input data samples ( e . g ., x ( n )= x 0 , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , . . . ). typically , each of the data samples is time - spaced from the next by one sample period , or 1 / fs . input stage 702 splits input data stream 710 into an even input data stream 712 and an odd input data stream 714 . even input data stream 712 includes a series of even input data samples ( e . g ., x e ( n )= x 0 , x 2 , x 4 , . . . ) separated in time from one another by two sample periods , or 1 /( fs / 2 ). odd input data stream 714 includes a series of odd input data samples ( e . g ., x 0 ( n )= x 1 , x 3 , x 5 , . . . ), separated in time from one another by two sample periods , or 1 /( fs / 2 ). first stage 704 includes a dem encoder 705 . dem encoder 705 performs a first dem operation on each of the even data samples in input data stream 712 to produce shuffled even data samples ( e . g ., x es ( n )= x 0s , x 2s , x 4s , . . . ) in a shuffled even data stream 716 . second stage 706 includes a dem encoder 707 . dem encoder 707 performs a first dem operation on each of the odd data samples in odd input data stream 714 to produce shuffled odd data samples ( e . g ., x os ( n )= x 1s , x 3s , x 5s , . . . ) in a shuffled odd data stream 718 . combiner 710 combines in an alternating manner the shuffled even data samples in shuffled even data stream 716 and the shuffled odd data samples in shuffled odd data stream 718 to produce an output data stream 720 ( e . g ., x s ( n )= x 0s , x 1s , x 2s , x 3s . . . ). fig8 summarizes this process in a method 800 . in step 802 , a dem operation is performed on each even input data sample in an input data stream having a sample rate fs to produce shuffled even data samples . the dem operations are performed at a rate fs / 2 . in step 804 , a dem operation is performed on each odd input data sample in the input data stream to produce shuffled odd data samples . the dem operations are performed at a rate fs / 2 . steps 802 and 804 may be performed consecutively , in reverse , or at the same time . upon completion of steps 802 and 804 , method 800 proceeds to step 806 , where the shuffled even and odd data samples are combined in an alternating manner . fig9 is a sample implementation 900 of the method 800 . implementation 900 includes a counter and data diverter 902 , an even state register 904 , an odd state register 906 , an even swapper bank 908 , and an odd swapper bank 910 . each swapper in swapper banks 908 and 910 may be used multiple times . an input data stream 912 containing input data samples ( not shown ) enters counter and data diverter 902 . counter and data diverter 902 includes a 1 - bit counter that resets after every other count . therefore , if the counter is at “ 0 ”, the incoming data sample is treated as an even incoming data sample and is sent by the counter and data diverter 902 to the even state register 904 . if the counter is at “ 1 ”, the incoming data sample is treated as an odd incoming data sample and is sent by the counter and data diverter 902 to the odd state register 906 . using the even state register as an example , the even incoming data sample x e ( n ) ( e . g ., x 0 ) is input to a swapper 914 of even swapper bank 908 , along with a swapper state state e ( n ) of the swapper . based on the value of even incoming data sample x e ( n ) and the value of the state state e ( n ), swapper 914 will either shuffle even incoming data sample x e ( n ) or pass it through to its output without shuffling to produce an even output data sample y ( n ) ( e . g ., y 0 ). state e ( n ) is then updated to state e ( n + 1 ) according to the relationship between the value of state e ( n ) and the even incoming data sample x e ( n + 1 ) ( e . g ., x 2 ), as shown in table 1 , supra . a next even incoming data sample x e ( n + 1 ) is input to a swapper 916 of even swapper bank 908 , along with swapper state state e ( n + 1 ), to produce even output data sample y ( n + 2 ) ( e . g ., y 2 ). the odd state register 906 treats odd incoming data samples in the same manner . because of the separation of the even and odd data samples , if the input sample rate is fs , each even and odd data sample is filtered at ½ the sample rate , or fs / 2 . fig1 is a diagram of a second implementation for the tree - structured dem that simplifies and reduces the hardware requirements by removing the counter and data diverter 902 , and replacing state registers 904 and 906 with two shift registers 1002 and 1004 . this implementation is presented in a timeline fashion so that the interaction between the two shift registers over a period of time may be seen as time increases from left to right in fig1 . at time n , register 1002 contains state s ( n ). in a conventional tree - structured dem with h ( z − 1 ) filtering , state s ( n ) would be applied to a next data sample x ( n + 1 ) ( e . g ., x 1 ) at time n + 1 . next data sample x ( n + 1 ) ( e . g ., x 1 ) would be used to generate state s ( n + 1 ). state s ( n + 1 ) would then be applied to a next data sample x ( n + 2 ) ( e . g ., x 2 ), and so on . in the conventional structure , shift register 1004 would not be used . the present invention utilizes h ( z − 2 ) filtering , not h ( z − 1 ) filtering . to implement this , shift register 1004 is used to delay state s ( n ) by one sample period ( 1 / fs ). at time n + 1 , state s ( n ) is not applied to next data sample x ( n + 1 ), but is instead transferred to shift register 1004 , and becomes delayed state sq ( n ). at time n + 2 , delayed state sq ( n ) is applied to next data sample x ( n + 2 ) ( e . g ., x 2 ). to make this more clear , a path 1006 for even - numbered states is represented by the bold arrows , and a path 1008 for odd - numbered states is represented by the dotted arrows . even numbers are represented by the series of n , n + 2 , n + 4 , . . . odd numbers are represented by the series n − 1 , n + 1 , n + 3 , . . . at time n , even input data sample x ( n ) is used to generate even state s ( n ). at time n + 1 , state s ( n ) is delayed and shifts to delayed eve state sq ( n ). at time n + 2 , delayed even state sq ( n ) is applied to next even input data sample x ( n + 2 ). in the same manner , at time n , delayed odd state sq ( n − 1 ) is in shift register 1004 . at time n + 1 , delayed odd state sq ( n − 1 ) is applied to an incoming odd data sample x ( n + 1 ), from which a new odd state s ( n + 1 ) is generated . at time n + 2 , odd state s ( n + 1 ) is transferred to shift register 1004 , and becomes delayed odd state sq ( n + 1 ). since even - numbered states are applied only to even data samples , and odd - numbered states are applied only to odd data samples , the state - delay implementation effectively implements the h ( z − 2 ) filtering for the tree - structured dem . because of this delay , if the input data stream sample rate is fs , each even and odd state is updated at a rate equal to fs / 2 . fig1 summarizes this process in a two - step , repeating method 1100 . in step 1102 , a new state of a swapper is determined based on an incoming data sample and a delayed state of the swapper . then , in step 1104 , the new state of the swapper is delayed for at least one sample period . method 1100 repeats for each incoming data sample . fig1 shows the corresponding state - delayed implementation for dwa dem . like the tree - structured dem , two shift registers 1202 and 1204 are used . for the conventional h ( z − 1 ) filtering , a current pointer position ptr ( n ) contained in register 1202 would be applied to next incoming data sample x ( n + 1 ) ( e . g ., x 1 ) to generate a new pointer position ptr ( n + 1 ). shift register 1204 would not be used . in the present invention , however , the delay shift register 1204 is used to hold the value of ptr ( n ) for one time cycle . as in fig1 , a path 1206 for even - numbered states is represented by the solid arrows , and a path 1208 for odd - numbered states is represented by the dotted arrows . at time n , incoming even data sample x ( n ) is used to generate an even pointer position ptr ( n ). at time n + 1 , instead of being applied to the next input data sample , which would be odd , pointer position ptr ( n ) is shifted to a delayed even pointer position , ptrq ( n ). then , at time n + 2 , delayed even pointer position ptrq ( n ) is applied to next incoming even data sample x ( n + 2 ) ( e . g ., x 2 ). sample x ( n + 2 ) is used to generate a next even pointer position ptr ( n + 2 ). similarly , at time n , the odd pointer position is being delayed in shift register 1204 as delayed odd pointer position ptrq ( n − 1 ). at time n + 1 , delayed odd pointer position ptrq ( n − 1 ) is applied to incoming odd data sample x ( n + 1 ) ( e . g ., x 1 ), which is further used to generate a next odd pointer position ptr ( n + 1 ). at time n + 2 , odd pointer position ptr ( n + 1 ) is transferred to shift register 1204 and becomes delayed pointer position ptrq ( n + 1 ). in this manner , since even - numbered pointer positions are only used with even data samples , and odd - numbered pointer positions are only used with odd data samples , the present invention effects an h ( z − 2 ) filter on the incoming data stream . fig1 summarizes this process in a two - step , repeating method 1300 . in step 1302 , a new dac pointer position is determined based on an incoming data sample and a delayed dac pointer position . then , in step 1304 , the new dac pointer position is delayed for at least one sample period . method 1300 repeats for each incoming data sample . fig1 a is a graph of a simulated dac error spectra for an output signal from a conventional tree - structured dem encoder . it shows a − 40 db fs / 2 tone in the output signal , ten times larger than the input sine magnitude of − 60 db . fig1 b is a graph of a simulated dac error spectra for an output signal from a state - delayed tree - structured dem encoder implementing the present invention . it has no tones at fs / 2 , and its maximum noise level around fs / 4 is below the input signal level of − 60 db , imposing no tone - effect . fig1 is a graph of the integrated narrow - band noise powers of two tree - structured dem systems for the sine inputs with different magnitudes . the graph provides three sets of data : noise power over fs / 2 band for a system using h ( z − 1 ), noise power over fs / 4 band for a system using h ( z − 2 ), and noise power over fs / 2 band for the system using h ( z − 2 ). any extremely high narrow - band noise power is considered to be dangerous , because it could potentially be folded into the baseband of the δ - σ modulator utilizing the filter , either by the inter - modulation between any two adjacent tones or by the reference pin modulation . the noise power is integrated over an fs / 2 / osr range around fs / 2 for h ( z − 1 ) and h ( z − 2 ), respectively . osr = 60 is being used here . also for h ( z − 2 ), it is integrated over the same range around fs / 4 , where the maximum psd occurs . the noise power around fs / 4 for h ( z − 2 ) is about 20 db smaller than noise power around fs / 2 for h ( z − 1 ) for small input levels such as − 45 db or less . for large input signals , although the noise power around fs / 2 appears to be small for h ( z − 1 ), it is actually because the fs / 2 tones spread well beyond the integration range . the fs / 2 tones indeed exist for both the large and the small inputs for h ( z − 1 ), while they do not for h ( z − 2 ). in the present invention , because the odd and even samples of an input data stream independently choose their own unit dac elements , it is more difficult to form the patterns needed for the fs / 4 tones than for the fs / 2 tones . for h ( z − 2 ), normally the noise power around fs / 2 is lower than the noise power around fs / 4 . however , in fig1 , the noise power around fs / 2 for the − 30 db input is higher than the noise power around fs / 4 . it is actually because in this particular case the input dac error spectrum is not flat , having a gradually rising psd from − 90 db at dc to about − 80 db at fs / 2 , due to the random number picked for the dac error in the simulation . there is comparable noise power around fs / 2 and around fs / 4 , when the large input noise power around fs / 2 cascaded with the h ( z − 2 ) filter . however , for the normally flat or almost flat input dac error spectrum , the noise power around fs / 4 is less than the noise power around fs / 2 . fig1 a shows the simulated dac error spectra for a conventional dwa system , with an input sine magnitude of − 48 db . the amplitude is modulated with 40 db fs / 2 tones . fig1 b shows the simulated dac error spectra for a state - delayed dwa system implementing the present invention . no tones around fs / 2 are seen in this plot . also , the noise power around fs / 4 in fig1 b is lower than the noise power around fs / 2 in fig1 a . thus , the present invention makes use of the null at fs / 2 of the h ( z − 2 ) filter to remove the fs / 2 tones produced by convention dem while maintaining a statistical performance degradation of snr less than 6 db compared to the conventional system . although the preferred embodiment uses an h ( z − 2 ) filter , the concept can easily be extended to using higher - order filters . for example , an h ( z − 3 )= 1 − z − 3 filter , having two nulls in the frequency response of fig6 , excluding the nulls at dc and fs , can also remove tones . in this case , there is more than one stage in fig7 , which is combined with the top two branches into the combiner 708 . also , instead of splitting every other sample into even and odd data streams , every third sample would be sent to one of three data streams . in general , an h ( z − n )= 1 − z − n filter has n − 1 nulls , excluding the nulls at dc and fs , and the corresponding structure in fig7 has n branches . unfortunately , there is no real advantage in using filters with orders of more than h ( z − 2 ), because the snr degradation is greater for higher order filters .
7
a turbocharged engine particulate trap system is shown in fig1 and generally comprises a combustion engine 12 , such as a diesel powered internal combustion engine having a plurality of combustion cylinders ( not shown ), for rotatably driving an engine crankshaft 14 . the engine includes an air intake conduit or manifold 16 through which air is supplied by means of a compressor 18 of the turbocharger 20 . in operation the compressor 18 draws in ambient air through an air inlet 22 into a compressor housing 19 and compresses the air with a rotatable compressor impeller ( not shown ) to form so - called charge air for supply to the engine for combustion purposes . exhaust products are discharged from the engine through an exhaust conduit or manifold 28 for supply to a turbine 24 of the turbocharger 20 . the high temperature ( up to 1000 ° c .) exhaust gas rotatably drives a turbine wheel ( not shown ) within the turbine housing 25 at a relatively high rotational speed ( up to 190 , 000 rpm ) to correspondingly drive the compressor impeller within the compressor housing 19 . in this regard , the turbine wheel and compressor impeller are carried for simultaneous rotation on a common shaft ( not shown ) supported within a center housing 26 . after driving communication with the turbine wheel , the exhaust gases are discharged from the turbocharger 20 to an exhaust outlet 29 which includes the pollution and noise abatement equipment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 - 5 , the particulate trap regeneration system comprises an engine exhaust system including a diverter valve 39 and actuator 50 and a diesel fuel burner system including air and fuel supply systems as will be discussed in detail below . the exhaust system comprises a particulate trap 30 , by - bass conduit 36 , muffler 32 and exhaust piping 29 , 34 and 35 . the particulate trap is mounted in the engine exhaust system in parallel with the by - pass 36 . muffler 32 is located downstream of the junction of the flow through the particulate trap 30 and the bypass conduit 36 . the diesel fuel burner 40 is located immediately upstream of the particulate trap inlet . the particular design of the particulate trap is not envisioned as part of the present invention but is generally made of catalyzed ceramic foam elements in a steel enclosure and is designed to offer adequate trapping efficiencies to comply with federal restrictions . as such , it is subject to clogging as particulates are trapped . as shown in fig1 and 2 connections between the burner 40 , trap 30 and diverter valve 39 are made using flanges and held together by with u - band clamps . as shown in fig2 burner 40 is made up of a combustion chamber 41 and a mixing chamber 42 . air from the air supply system , supplied via an air plenum 43 , and atomized fuel from the fuel supply system are mixed in the combustion chamber 41 . the mixing chamber 42 , located immediately downstream of the combustion chamber , provides the length necessary for swirling combustion air to stabilize and mix with cooler air before entering the particulate trap 30 . a spark plug 44 is located in a port near the upstream end of the mixing chamber for burner ignition . the two - way diverter valve 39 directs exhaust flow from the engine 12 through the particulate trap 30 during normal operation and through the by - pass conduit 36 during regeneration cycles . valve 39 is shown to be a flapper arm ( fig1 ) which is attached to and pivoted by a vacuum operated actuator 50 ; however , other types of valves can be used . actuator 50 is spring loaded to hold the flapper arm against the valve seat to allow exhaust flow to the particulate trap 30 . while vacuum is supplied to the actuator , the flapper moves into the bypass position , preventing exhaust flow to the trap and directing through the bypass conduit 36 . during system operation , vacuum supply to the actuator 50 via vacuum pump 51 is triggered at the beginning of the regeneration cycle by actuation of a three - way vacuum solenoid valve 52 by controller 54 . a second diverter valve 55 is located immediately downstream of particulate trap 30 and operates as does diverter valve 39 . during the regeneration cycle the second diverter valve 55 directs the exhaust from the trap 30 through conduit 56 to the atmosphere . during all other periods of operation , diverter valve 55 passes the trap discharge to muffler 32 . controller 54 ( available from texas instruments ; model 520 programmable controller ) is programmed to allow burner operation only when the valve 39 is in the bypass position . this condition prevents the necessity of designing a burner to operate under a wide variety of pressure and flow conditions present in the exhaust stream during different driving modes . because of this constraint , the controller 54 must be able to sense the position of the flapper arm of valve 39 . located within the actuator body are two microswitches ( not shown ) which function as indicators of the actuator rod position . the actuator rod is pivotably connected to flapper arm . one microswitch is triggered when the actuator rod is extended , the other when the rod is retracted . the burner air supply system 46 includes a blower 58 , two air bleed solenoids 60 and 61 , a check valve 62 and an orifice 64 at the air inlet to the burner as shown schematically in fig3 . blower 58 is powered by the vehicle battery ( not shown ) and supplies air to air plenum 43 of burner 40 . air bleed solenoid valves 60 and 61 are located downstream of the blower 58 and function to regulate air supply to the burner for control of burner temperature . controller 54 is programmed such that both solenoids are open at the beginning of the regeneration cycle , allowing some air from the blower 58 to bleed off to the atmosphere . this feature ensures that the fuel - air mixture in the burner is fuel rich during ignition . as soon as the burner is lit , solenoids 60 closes and remains closed for the remainder of the regeneration cycle . the other solenoid valve 61 remains open as the burner temperature increases . when the temperature in the trap 30 reaches a predetermined level ( i . e . 1400 ° f .) as sensed by controller 54 , the second solenoid valve 61 closes so that all of the blower air is fed to the burner 40 . this in turn decreases the fuelair ratio , causing the burner temperature to drop . as the burner inlet temperature falls to a predetermined level ( i . e . 1200 ° f . ), solenoid valve 61 opens and the burner temperature rises to a predetermined maximum temperature ( i . e . 1400 ° f .). by opening and closing solenoid valve 61 in this way , the burner temperature can be held in the 1200 °- 1400 ° f . range as desired for soot oxidation in the trap . check valve 62 , located between the air bleed solenoid valves 60 and 61 and the burner 40 , prevents reverse flow of hot burner or exhaust gases through the air supply system . the controller 54 also monitors the temperature via thermocouple 63 upstream of the check valve 62 to sense any exhaust leakage which may occur through check valve 62 . the fuel supply system 48 includes a fuel supply source 66 , fuel pump 68 , fuel heater 70 , two shutoff solenoid valves 71 and 72 , two pressure relief valves 74 and 75 , a check valve 76 , and a fuel atomizing nozzle 45 as shown schematically in fig4 . fuel pump 68 is run via the engine battery , and since the fuel flow rate required by the regeneration system is so low , some of the fuel is redirected back to the fuel supply reservoir 66 through one or both of the pressure relief valves 74 or 75 . fuel is delivered to the burner combustion chamber 41 through the atomizing nozzle 45 . the nozzle sprays the fuel in a hollow cone pattern at a flow rate of 0 . 5 gallons per hour . a fuel filter 73 is installed upstream of the nozzle to prevent contaminants from plugging the small nozzle orifice . fuel flow is controlled by shut - off solenoid valve 71 . the fuel system can be operated at one of two pressure settings as determined by the two pressure relief valves 74 or 75 . pressure relief valve 74 is generally set to regulate system pressure at approximately 90 psi ( as measured at 79 in fig4 ). this is the normal configuration of the fuel system . a lower fuel system pressure setting is available if air bleed modulation is not sufficient to keep the particulate trap inlet temperature below 1400 ° f . in this case , the controller opens solenoid valve 72 and the two pressure relief valves 74 and 75 , work together to regulate fuel system pressure at approximately 80 psi . since the diesel fuel burner 40 must operate in subzero temperatures , a fuel heater 70 has been incorporated into the fuel supply system 48 . as shown in fig5 the fuel heater 70 comprises a coiled fuel line 80 immersed in a stainless steel can 84 having a water inlet and outlet connection ( 86 and 87 ) through which hot water from the engine 12 circulates . a fuel check valve 76 , located inside the fuel heater can 84 at the nozzle inlet 45 , limits residual fuel drippage through the nozzle into the burner combustion chamber 41 after fuel system shutdown . the regeneration cycle is activated as follows : the pressure drop across particulate trap 30 ( δp t ) is monitored continuously by the system controller and compared to a reference pressure drop ( δp r ) measured across the diverter valve 39 . as soot accumulates in the trap , δp t increases with respect to δp r . regeneration is automatically triggered by the controller when the ratio of δp t to δp r reaches a predetermined value which is an approximate indication of when the trap load limit is reached . this ratio is nearly independent of engine speed and load conditions . controller 54 is also programmed to initiate a regeneration cycle if one has not occurred within a preset operational time interval , the maximum time allowable between regenerations . when the regeneration cycle begins , exhaust gas is redirected by the diverter valve 39 to flow through the by - pass 36 instead of through the particulate trap 30 . controller 54 then activates the air and fuel supply systems and the ignition system to achieve burner light off and temperature modulation . the ignition system , powered by a 12 volt battery , generates a continuous spark for approximately 7 seconds at the beginning of the regeneration cycle after the fuel and air supply systems are activated . the burner lights during this period and is able to sustain combustion without the spark as long as fuel flow is uninterrupted . hot gases from the burner , typically 1200 ° to 1400 ° f . and containing 5 to 10 % oxygen , flow through the trap , oxidizing accumulated particulates . the trap discharges the flow through valve 55 and to atmosphere via conduit 56 during regeneration . at the end of the regeneration cycle , the fuel and air supply to the burner is shut off and the diverter valves 39 and 55 return to their spring loaded position , allowing exhaust to flow through the trap . engine exhaust gas exits the turbocharger turbine 24 and flows to either the particulate trap 30 or through bypass conduit 36 . during vehicle operation the diverter valve 39 directs the exhaust gas to trap 30 where the particulate is filtered therefrom . the filtered exhaust gas is passed to the muffler 32 and then to the atmosphere . when controller 54 senses a predetermined pressure drop across the particulate trap , diverter valve 39 directs the exhaust gas to bypass conduit 36 and muffler 32 to atmosphere . thereafter , controller 54 starts and controls the combustor operation in order to burn the filtered particulate in trap 30 . controller 54 regulates the amount of fuel and air supplied to the combustor by the fuel and air supply systems . this is accomplished by starting the fuel pump 68 and closing bleed air vent 60 and thereafter opening and closing bleed air vent 61 in response to burner combustion temperature . the exhaust products of the regeneration cycle are exhausted to the atmosphere via diverter valve 55 and conduit 56 . various modifications to the depicted and described apparatus will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the foregoing detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention should be considered exemplary in nature , and not as limiting to the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims .
5
referring to fig1 the preferred embodiment of the card package production system printer 100 of the present invention is seen to include a free standing printer module 102 and a card attachment module 104 . referring to fig2 the printer module prints card holder name and address and other account information 106 , on one of three panels 108 , 110 and 112 of a paper sheet carrier 113 , such as the middle panel 110 . the three panels are defined by two pre - weakened fold - lines 114 and 116 . the printer module also prints a bar code 120 representative of information concerning the account on another of the panels , such as the end panel 112 , such as the account number and the number of cards that are to be attached to the carrier 113 . the printer module is controlled by a computer ( not shown ) and controller , described below . the printer preferably prints carriers at a minimum speed of 32 / minute and has a resolution of no less than 300 dpi × 300 dpi . the normal speed of operation is approximately 2000 carriers per hour , or approximately thirty - three carriers per minute . the printer module 102 may be a model play plex printer made by olympus , or equivalent . the details of the printer module form no part of the present invention but reference may be made to operator &# 39 ; s guide for the above identified model ms32nss published by olympus . the operation is described pursuant to the example of the card holder information 106 being located on panel 108 and the bar code 120 being mounted at the location shown on panel 112 . however , the printer is capable of printing both the card holder information 106 and the bar code information 120 at other selected locations on the carrier 113 . the card attachment module 104 is capable of reading the information at other informational locations on the carrier 113 than the example shown in fig2 . the printed carriers 113 from the printing module 102 are passed to the attachment module 104 by means of an inter - module carrier guide 122 . the inter - module carrier guide is better seen in fig5 . referring to fig5 the guide 122 passes carriers 113 from an outlet 124 of the carrier printer module 102 to a carrier inlet 126 of the attachment module 104 . referring to fig1 - 4 , the attachment module takes cards from a stack of pre - embossed cards 128 ′ from a card picker assembly 140 and attaches the pre - embossed cards 128 , such as embossed and / or magnetically encoded credit cards , encoded chip cards , r / f cards , etc . to the carrier 113 at one or more locations 130 and 132 or on like locations on one or more or all of the three panels . it then folds the carrier , as shown in fig3 to form a card package 115 . the details of the card picker assembly forms no part of the present invention , and preferably is substantially the same as the one shown in u . s . patent application of bretl et al ., ser . no . 09 / 081 , 312 , filed may 19 , 1998 , and entitled “ card package production system with a multireader card track and method ”, which is hereby incorporated by reference . the cards 128 generally have an account number and an account holder &# 39 ; s name embossed on the card and the same information encoded on a magnetic stripe on the back of the card 128 . additional information , such as the number of cards to be attached to the carrier may also be contained in the bar code . in addition , the back of the card has the account number and account name encoded in bar code printed on the back of the card . this information is checked for proper encoding and if the coding is not correct or if the coding does not match the encoded information of a carrier to which it is to be attached , the card 128 is passed through the attachment module 104 to a card reject bin 134 . other wise the cards 128 are attached to the matching carrier 113 to form the card package 115 , and the card packages 115 are passed to a card package distribution module 136 for distribution in three different ways depending upon circumstances . in one case , if the card packages 115 are unacceptable due to having too many cards , not enough cards or cards in the wrong location , then they are passed to a card package reject bin 142 . if the card package is correctly prepared and is to be passed directly along a primary card package transport path to an envelope stuffing machine ( not shown ), such as a model series 5 envelope stuffer made by pitney boewes , then the card packages are passed directly to the envelope stuffer through a primary card package outlet 144 . otherwise , the card package 115 is passed to a fifo card package stacker 146 to form a stack of card packages 115 ′. the card package stacker 146 illustrated in fig1 is the one shown and described in detail in the parent application of this continuation - in - part application cited above . reference should be made to the parent application for any details of the operation of the card package production system 100 other than the operation of the stacker 200 and distribution module 202 of which it is a part . referring to fig3 and 4 , the card 128 is attached to the carrier 113 by means of an adhesive label 148 . one side of the adhesive label 148 is attached to the card by a heat activated adhesive , such as releasable adhesive made by maple roll , a division of itw . the other side of the label is attached to the carrier by means of a permanent adhesive . the labels are adhered to a roll of backing paper tape by the permanent adhesive . preferably , the adhesive labels 148 are those made by maple roll note above , or the like . as illustrated in fig4 when the card 128 is lifted off the carrier 113 , the adhesive label 148 remains attached to the carrier 113 and does not adhere to back 128 ′ of the card 128 . this is because the attraction of the permanent adhesive to the carrier 113 is stronger than the bond between the heat activated adhesive and the back of the card and , because in keeping with one aspect of the invention only a middle section of the label is heat activated to provide a “ dead zone ” of nonactivated adhesive at opposite ends of the label 148 . advantageously , once the heat activated label 148 is removed from the back 128 ′ of the card 128 , the heat activated adhesive losses its adhesive qualities unless it is again heated to the necessary minimum activation temperature of approximately 160 - degrees fahrenheit . as seen in fig1 the housing 104 has a flat top on which a computer display monitor 152 and a computer keyboard 154 of the computer ( not shown ) are supported . the computer is protectively contained within the housing section 161 . the computer housing section 161 has a hinged door to enable access to the computer . preferably , the computer that is used to control the card package production system 100 including the attachment module 104 is a model presario computer made by compaq having a minimum processor speed of 333 mhz and a minimum hard drive memory capacity of 4 gb , or the like . the computer controls all of the automatic operations of the attachment module 104 and the printer module 102 , and operated the distribution module in accordance with the flow charts of fig1 a and 17b . referring to fig5 the inter - module guide 122 is aligned with a carrier transport path 164 that extends straight from the carrier inlet 126 toward the card package distribution module 136 . however before the carrier reaches the card package distribution module 136 , it intersects at a right angle with the card transport path 166 that extends from the card tray 140 to an intersection 168 with the carrier transport path 164 . at the intersection 168 , the card attachment station attaches the card or cards 128 to the carriers . the carriers with attached cards are then folded at a folding station to form card packages 115 . the card packages 115 then move along a card package transport path 170 to the card package distribution module 136 and distributed according to the circumstances note above . the card transport path is elevated relative to the carrier transport path and the cards are dropped onto the carriers for attachment . if rejected and not attached , they proceed past the card attachment station along a card reject transport path 172 to the card reject bin 134 . referring to fig6 and 8 , particularly fig7 as the carrier form 113 with one or more attached card 128 enters a second fold station 202 in the card package production module 104 , the carrier form 113 pushes down a lever 204 . a photo - sensor 206 is mounted beneath the lever 204 , and when the lever 204 is in the normal , or up , position as shown in solid line in fig7 light to the sensor 206 is blocked by the lever 204 . however , when the lever 204 is pushed down by the carrier form 113 , the light is unblocked , and the sensor 206 detects light from its associated infrared light source . the computer 198 then responds to the sensor 206 to energize the second fold drive motor . if the particular card package 115 has been identified by the computer 198 as one to be stacked rather than to be passed along the primary card package path to primary card package outlet 144 and to the envelope stuffer 200 , fig5 opposite the primary card package outlet 144 , then simultaneously with the card package 115 being sensed and the second fold motor being turned on , the computer 196 causes the stacker solenoid 210 to be energized to pivot upwardly a stacking platform 212 of a stacking gate assembly 214 to pass the folded card package 115 to the stacker assembly 146 . this position of the stacker gate assembly 214 is illustrated in fig9 and 10 . in fig9 a first card package 115 is in a stacker loading position in which its leading edge is protruding outwardly from a lateral facing card package receiving slot 145 at the bottom of the stacker 144 and hanging over an edge of a horizontal section 240 of a card package support member 242 having an upwardly slanted ramp section 244 while the next card package 115 ′ is being moved into position . once the carrier package 115 has passed through the second fold station 202 , the lever 204 is allowed to fall back down to a sensor light blocking position , and the computer 198 responds to this condition by energizing a transport motor 216 that drives the pinch rollers 218 , and the card package 115 starts being pulled through the pinch rollers 218 . as the card package 115 is pulled though the rollers 218 , the card package 115 blocks passage of infrared light to a stacker sensor 220 . when this occurs , the computer 198 responds to actuation of the sensor 220 to immediately turn on the stacker motor 222 that drives the pinch rollers 224 . as the card package is pulled through the pinch rollers 224 , the card package 115 passes by the stacker sensor 220 . in response to this event , the computer 198 causes both of the stacker motor 222 and the transport motor 216 to turn off to remove drive from the associated pinch rollers . the first card package 115 is then left in the position shown in fig9 and 10 in which it is only partially inserted into the stacker 146 . as seen in fig1 , when the next card package 115 ′ is driven up the ramp 242 it engages the underside of the first card package 115 adjacent the lagging edge . then the card package 115 ′ is advance to the position previously held by the first card package 115 , and the first card package is moved entirely into the card stacker 146 and resting on the bottom 149 of the stacker 146 , as shown in fig1 , with the leading edge 244 of the second card package 115 ′ underlying the lagging edge 246 and being partly received within the inlet slot 145 and supported by the bottom 149 of the stacker 146 . this process is repeated for the insertion of subsequent card packages 115 with each one being interleaved with an earlier card package before being fully inserted into the card stacker , and with each earlier card package being moved fully into the card stacker at the same time a subsequent card package is being moved into the card stacker loading position , as shown in fig1 and 13 . in fig1 , a third card package 115 ″ has not been selected for stacking and the stacking gate has been left in it lower non - stacking position to pass the third card package to the primary card package path on support platform 248 . if the card package 115 ″ is not rejected then it passes through the series of rollers 229 , 234 and 238 to the outlet 144 , as shown in fig1 and 15 . if the computer 196 senses that there is something wrong with the card package 115 such that it should be rejected and not stacked , then the stacker gate solenoid 210 is not energized in response to the lever 204 being pushed down by the card package . consequently , the card package is not directed to the stacker assembly 146 by the guide platform 212 of the stacker gate 214 that remains in a lowered non - stacking position as shown in fig7 . consequently , the card package 115 passes across the platform 212 straight through to pinch rollers 226 . as the card package is pulled trough the pinch rollers 226 it interrupts the light to a photo sensor 228 . this causes the computer 198 to energize the reject solenoid 210 that lifts the reject platform 230 of the reject gate to be pivoted to an elevated reject position . this causes the card package to be deflected downwardly into the reject hopper 142 . after a pre - selected time after the lagging edge of the card package passes the photo - sensor k , such as one - half second , the computer 198 turns off the transport motor 216 . this reject operation is illustrated in fig1 . it should be appreciated that if a card designated for stacking is to be rejected the stacker gate remains down so that it passes through the primary card package path to reach the reject gate and the reject bin . one of the reasons that a card package may be rejected is because the number of cards in the card package is less or more than the number of cards designated for the card package . this is determined by measuring the thickness of the card package with electronic thickness measuring gages 250 , 252 and 254 that are mounted to a pivot arm 256 . normally , the gages rest on the top surface of the card packages as they pass underneath . referring to fig8 in keeping with one aspect of the invention if an envelope inserter , or stuffer , 200 , fig5 is employed and attached to receive card packages 115 from the primary card package outlet 144 , then when a card package 115 is intended for the envelope stuffer 200 , the stacking gate 214 is left in its non - stacking lowered position as shown in fig7 and the card package 115 , if not being rejected , is passed over the reject platform 232 and passed through a series of rollers 234 and 236 to the outlet 144 . when the lagging edge of the card package 115 has cleared a sensor 238 , the transport motor 222 that drives the rollers 236 and 238 is turned off . this is illustrated in fig1 , 14 and 15 . the controller , or computer , 198 can be any computer capable of controlling the card attachment and distribution functions of the card package production system . the control system preferably includes an opto 22 model controller system made by opto 22 of temecula , calif . and having a web site at www . optto22 . com . the optocontrol system has two brain boards that interface an lcsx controller with a plurality of control modules . the control modules interface with the sensors and the control motors . the controller , in turn , operates in accordance with the optocontrol programming flow chart . pursuant to the optocontrol , the optocontrol software automatically generates the code needed to effectuate the flow chart . referring now to fig1 a and 17b the operational routine flow charts for operation of the distribution module and the operation of the stacker in particular are shown . the flow charts are compiled and entered into a software designer program to generate a source code used to control mechanical devices such as the preferred embodiment . the software designer program is called “ optocontrol ” manufactured by opto 22 . instructions on the use of this software and the flow chart conventions and protocol can be found in the optocontrol user &# 39 ; s guide , form number 724 - 990831 - august , 1999 ; the optodisplay user &# 39 ; s guide , form 23 - 990831 - august , 1999 ; and the optocontrol command reference , form number 725 - 990831 - august 1999 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . if other details are desired concerning the control computer 198 and the control system of which it is a part , parent of this application and the above provisional patent application on which it is based . referring to fig8 a belt drive assembly 250 for driving the card packages 115 to the primary card package outlet is shown in a raised position to which it has been pivotally moved about pivot axis 249 for purpose of facilitating access to the carrier packages to clear a jam . while a particular embodiment has been shown and described above , it should be appreciated that there may be many variations within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .
1
fig1 shows the circuit diagram of a programmable delay circuit 1 as a first exemplary embodiment of the invention . a signal input in of the programmable delay circuit 1 is connected to a first input of a multiplexer mux 1 . the output of the multiplexer mux 1 is connected to the clock input of a flip - flop ff 1 . the control input of the multiplexer mux 1 is identical with a control input mode of the programmable delay circuit 1 . the input d of the flip - flop ff 1 is always on a logical high level . the output q of the flip - flop ff 1 feeds a first input of an or gate or 1 via a non - inverting delay cell d 1 . the second input of the or gate or 1 is identical with a control input rst of the programmable delay circuit 1 . the output of the or gate or 1 is connected to a reset terminal of the flip - flop ff 1 . the output q of the flip - flop ff 1 also drives a programmable delay mean consisting of two delay stages , which are connected in series . the first delay stage comprises delay cells d 21 , d 22 , d 23 and d 24 , which are connected in series . the four inputs of a multiplexer mux 2 are fed by the four outputs of the delay cells d 21 , d 22 , d 23 and d 24 , respectively . the multiplexer mux 2 is controlled by a decoder dec 1 having a control input cp . the second delay stage comprises delay cells d 31 , d 32 , d 33 and d 34 , which are connected in parallel and are fed by the output of the multiplexer mux 2 . the outputs of the delay cells d 31 , d 32 , d 33 and d 34 are connected to the inputs of a multiplexer mux 3 , respectively . the multiplexer mux 3 is controlled by a decoder dec 2 , which has a control input fp . the output of the multiplexer mux 3 feeds an output out of the programmable delay circuit 1 . the output out feeds back into a second input of the multiplexer mux 1 . the method of operation of the programmable delay circuit 1 is described below . the programmable delay circuit 1 can be operated in two different modes , i . e ., a delay mode and a cycle mode . in fig2 , signal waveforms are shown that illustrate the method of operation of the programmable delay circuit 1 in the delay mode . in the delay mode , the control input mode is on a logical low level . a clock signal as shown in the first line of fig2 is generated by an external clock and feeds the signal input in . the flip - flop ff 1 is sensitive to rising commutations of its clock input , meaning the flip - flop ff 1 samples the data at its input d when a rising commutation at its clock input occurs . thus , only at a rising edge of the clock signal feeding the signal input in the flip - flop ff 1 switches its output q to a logical high level . ( normally the output q is on a logical low level .) because of the feedback circuit connecting the output q of the flip - flop ff 1 to its reset input , the output q is switched back to a logical low level after a time determined by the delay cell d 1 . for example , this time delay , which is denoted as toutpwh in fig2 , is 300 ps . thus , a pulse with a width of 300 ps is passed on to the two delay stages . the first delay stage imposes a coarse time delay on the pulse and the second delay stage imposes a fine time delay on the pulse . the delay times can be adjusted by inputting appropriate data to the control inputs cp and fp , respectively . the decoders dec 1 and dec 2 then drive the multiplexers mux 2 and mux 3 accordingly . finally the pulse generated by the flip - flop ff 1 is outputted from the programmable delay stage 1 on the output out . at that time the pulse is delayed with a time delay tin 20 ut referred to the time the rising edge of the clock signal fed the signal input in . there are three different delays contributing to the time delay tin 20 ut : the delay caused by the multiplexer mux 1 , the delay caused by the flip - flop ff 1 and the delay caused by the two delay stages . the delays caused by the multiplexer mux 1 and the flip - flop ff 1 are fixed , whereas the settings of the two delay stages are programmable via the control inputs cp and fp , thus making the time delay tin 20 ut programmable . the reset signal feeding the control input rst allows to reset the flip - flop ff 1 from outside and to stop the generation of the output signal . while the programmed delay circuit 1 is operated in the delay mode , the reset signal must be on a logical low level . the delay cells d 21 , d 22 , d 23 , d 24 , d 31 , d 32 , d 33 and d 34 can also be reset by the reset signal ( not shown ). in the following , the method of operation of the programmable delay circuit 1 in the cycle mode is described . for starting the oscillation of the output signal , the control input rst must be on a logical low level . at the beginning , the control input mode must also be on a logical low level so that the clock input of the flip - flop ff 1 is connected to the external clock via the signal input in . thus , a signal with a rising edge can feed the clock input of the flip - flop ff 1 . then , the control input mode is switched to a logical high level and remains there during the cycle mode . triggering the flip - flop ff 1 once allows the programmable delay circuit 1 to output a delayed signal on its output out . this delayed signal is fed back via the feedback circuit into the clock input of the flip - flop ff 1 and thus creates another delayed signal on the output out . the time difference tcyc between these two output signals equals the total time delay caused by the multiplexer mux 1 , the flip - flop ff 1 and the two delay stages . assuming the settings of the two delay stages are the same during delay mode and cycle mode , the cycle time tcyc in the cycle mode equals the time delay tin 20 ut in the delay mode . in both operation modes , i . e ., the delay mode and the cycle mode , the settings of the decoders dec 1 and dec 2 given by the data feeding the control inputs cp and fp should be fixed during the generation of a delayed signal . fig3 shows the circuit diagram of a programmable delay circuit 2 as a second exemplary embodiment of the invention . most components of the programmable delay circuit 2 are identical with the corresponding components of the programmable delay circuit 1 shown in fig1 . additionally the programmable delay circuit 2 comprises an and gate and and an or gate or 2 . the inputs of the and gate and are connected to the signal input in and the control input mode , respectively . the inputs of the or gate or 1 are connected to the output of the and gate and and the output of the multiplexer mux 1 , respectively . the output of the or gate or 2 feeds the clock input of the flip - flop ff 1 . in delay mode , the operation of the programmable delay circuit 2 is identical with the operation of the programmable delay circuit 1 as described above because the and gate and and the or gate or 2 do not interfere with the signal passing through the signal input in . in cycle mode , the control input mode is on a logical high level . the first rising edge starting the oscillation must be produced by a signal feeding the signal input in . this rising edge reaches the clock input of the flip - flop ff 1 via the and gate and and the or gate or 2 . thereafter , the signal on the signal input in must remain at 0 . fig4 shows the circuit diagram of a programmable delay circuit 3 as a third exemplary embodiment of the invention . the programmable delay circuit 3 comprises all the components of the programmable delay circuit 2 depicted in fig3 . however , the connection of one of the inputs of the and gate and is different in fig4 . this input that is connected to the signal input in shown in fig3 is now connected to an output q of a flip - flop ff 2 . the clock input of the flip - flop ff 2 is connected to the control input rst via an inverter inv . the flip - flop ff 2 also exhibits a feedback circuit feeding its output q back to its reset input via a delay cell d 4 . the programmable delay circuit 3 operates in the delay mode as described above and as shown in fig2 . in fig5 , signal waveforms are shown that illustrate the method of operation of the programmable delay circuit 3 in the cycle mode . in the cycle mode , the control input mode is on a logical high level . the operation of the programmable delay circuit 3 in the cycle mode differs from the operation of the programmable delay circuits 1 and 2 . for starting the oscillation in cycle mode , the signal on the control input rst is switched from a logical high level to a logical low level as shown in fig5 . because of the inverter inv , a rising edge then arrives at the clock input of the flip - flop ff 2 and causes the flip - flop ff 2 to switch its output q from a logical low level to a logical high level . since the control input mode is on a high logical level , the signal created by the flip - flop ff 2 can pass the and gate and and its rising edge causes the flip - flop ff 1 to create another signal on its output q , which reaches the output out a time toutact after the falling edge of the signal on the control input rst . the output q of the flip - flop ff 2 goes back to a logical low level after a period of time given by the delay cell d 4 . as long as the control input rst remains on a logical low level , the output q of the flip - flop ff 2 also remains on a logical low level . however , since the control input mode is on a logical high level , the pulse created by the flip - flop ff 1 is able to pass the multiplexer mux 1 and causes the flip - flop ff 1 to create another pulse . as can be seen from fig5 , these pulses appear on the output out with a period tcyc . for stopping the generation of pulses on the output out , the control input rst is switched back to a logical high level . this setting does not allow the flip - flop ff 1 any more to switch its output q to a logical high level . in the cycle mode , the signal input in is completely decoupled from the programmable delay circuit 3 . therefore , the signal input in can be fed with any signal during cycle mode as shown in fig5 . this is advantageous over the programmable delay circuits 1 and 2 because the programmable delay circuits 1 and 2 require a certain behaviour of the signal input in and the control input mode during the cycle mode . while the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention , other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof , and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow .
7
the process according to the present invention allows aromatic sulphides or selenides to be obtained without the formation of hydrogen sulphide or hydrogen selenide , in very good yields and with high reaction speeds . the process according to the invention consists in treating an aromatic compound of formula ( ii ), ( iv ) or ( vi ) in which the different symbols are defined as above , in a closed environment with a mixture of sulphur and sulphur dioxide or of selenium and selenium dioxide , the sulphur dioxide or the selenium dioxide being used in sufficient quantity to convert the hydrogen sulphide or the hydrogen selenide to sulphur or selenium . the sulphur or selenium thus regenerated takes part in the reaction again , until it has completely disappeared . the reaction can be practically quantitative without the detection of traces of hydrogen sulphide or hydrogen selenide . as a result the process according to the invention can be represented by the following equations : ## str7 ## as a result , by implementing the process according to the invention , the whole of the sulphur used in the s 8 form and the sulphur dioxide , or of the selenium and the selenium dioxide , is consumed , and the by - product of the reaction is water , the removal of which raises no particular problems . in the process of the invention , a stoichiometric quantity of sulphur or selenium is used with respect to the aromatic compound starting material . for example , in the case of synthesis of phenothiazines or phenoselenazines of general formula ( v ), 0 . 5 moles of sulphur or selenium is used per mole of diphenylamine of general formula ( vi ). if a lesser quantity is used , the reaction is incomplete , while if a greater quantity is used undesirable by - products are formed which come from the reaction of the sulphur or selenium with the phenothiazine obtained . the quantity of sulphur dioxide or selenium dioxide which is used is at least stoichiometric with respect to the aromatic compound starting material . for example , in the case of synthesis of phenothiazines or phenoselenazines of formula ( v ), at least 0 . 5 mole of sulphur dioxide or selenium dioxide is used per mole of diphenylamine of formula ( vi ). generally , a 5 to 20 % excess in moles of sulphur dioxide or selenium dioxide allows the reaction speed to be increased without interfering with selectivity . sulphur dioxide can be used in the liquid form , in gaseous form under pressure , or in solution in a suitable organic solvent . however , the process cannot be carried out working only in liquid sulphur dioxide . selenium dioxide is generally used in the solid form or in solution in a suitable organic solvent . aluminium halides ( chloride , bromide , iodide ) gallium halides ( chloride , bromide ), lithium iodide , the quaternary ammonium iodides , sodium and potassium iodides in the presence of a strong acid such as phosphoric acid , transition - metal iodides ( iron , chrome , cobalt ), copper iodide , and more generally compounds permitting the liberation of an iodide or of iodine in the reaction conditions , bromine , hydrobromic acid , hydriodic acid , boron trifluoride and preferably iodine , can be used as catalysts . generally , a quantity of catalyst representing from 0 . 04 to 50 % in moles with respect to the starting material is used ; the quantity of catalyst can be a function of its sensitivity to the water liberated during the reaction . generally , using iodine as catalyst , the reaction speed is directly linked to the quantity of iodine used and , in the case of the preparation of substituted cyclic compounds which can exist in several isomeric forms , the selectivity can diminish as a function of the increase in the quantity of iodine used . in addition , the nature of the substituents can influence the course of the reaction . thus , electron - donor substituents have a tendency to favor the reaction and , because of this , it could be possible to implement the process with smaller quantities of catalyst . for implementation of the process according to the invention , the temperature is greater than 80 . c and is generally between 130 ° and 280 ° c . in the case of preparation of phenothiazines of formula ( v ), it is particularly important to work at a temperature lower than 200 ° c . in order to avoid formation of undesirable by - products . generally , the optimum temperature of the reaction is a function of the nature of the aromatic compound used , of the nature and quantity of the catalyst used and of the presence or absence of a solvent . in the particular case of cyclization of diphenylamines of general formula ( vi ) one of the phenyl rings of which is substituted in the 3 - position , implementation of the process generally results in the phenothiazine substituted in the 2 - position ( i . u . p . a . c . nomenclature ) when working at low temperature , and in the phenothiazine substituted in the 4 - position when working at a high temperature . depending on the reaction temperature it is possible to obtain a mixture of isomers in the 2 - and 4 - positions . generally , the process is implemented in bulk with the reagents maintained in the liquid state at the reaction temperature . however , it can be advantageous to work in a suitable solvent which has the property of dissolving the starting aromatic compounds , the reagents and the reaction products in order to obtain a homogeneous medium . generally the solvents are chosen from the solvents which are chemically inert in the conditions of implementation of the process . particularly suitable solvents are chosen from the saturated aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbons containing 10 to 16 carbon atoms , such as decalin or bicyclohexyl , optionally substituted by one or several alkyl radicals containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms , or , preferably , from the aprotic non - basic polar solvents such as the dialkyl sulphones which contain less than 10 carbon atoms , or sulpholane ( tetrahydrothiophene - 1 , 1 - dioxide ). generally , the process is implemented in a closed reactor under autogenous pressure which , depending on the reaction conditions , is less than 5 bars at the start of the reaction . the reaction time can be between 30 minutes and 5 hours , depending on the nature and the quantity of the products used , on the temperature and on the nature of the solvent . the reaction products are isolated by applying the normal methods such as precipitation and recrystallization from a suitable solvent . the products obtained by implementation of the process according to the invention , and in particular the phenothiazines and the phenoselenazines , are particularly useful for preparation of therapeutically active products . 3 - methoxydiphenylamine ( 1 . 00 g , 5 mmoles ), sulphur ( 0 . 08 g , 2 . 5 mmoles ), sulphur dioxide ( 0 . 2 g , 3 . 12 mmoles ) and iodine ( 0 . 00254 g , 0 . 001 mmole ) in solution in sulpholane ( 4 cc ) are introduced into a 25 cc tube under an atmosphere of nitrogen . the tube is sealed and then heated for 2 hours to 165 ° c . the reaction mixture is diluted with water ( 15 cc ). the product which precipitates is separated by filtration . a product containing 2 - methoxyphenothiazine ( 0 . 958 g : 83 %) is thus obtained . the conversion rate of the 3 - methoxydiphenylamine is 91 %, and the chemical yield of 2 - methoxyphenothiazine is 91 %. diphenylamine ( 1 g , 5 . 92 mmoles ), sulphur ( 0 . 095 g , 2 . 97 mmoles ), sulphur dioxide ( 0 . 230 g , 3 . 60 mmoles ) and iodine ( 0 . 004 g ), in solution in sulpholane ( 3 cc ), are introduced into a 25 cc tube under an atmosphere of nitrogen . the tube is sealed and then heated for 5 hours to 180 ° c . under autogenous pressure . after cooling , the mixture is taken up in methylene chloride . the following are found by high performance liquid chromatography ( hplc ): the conversion rate of the diphenylamine is 93 %, and the yield of phenothiazine is 99 % with respect to the diphenylamine converted . 3 - chlorodiphenylamine ( 1 . 00 g , 4 . 99 mmoles ), sulphur ( 0 . 080 g , 2 . 50 mmoles ), sulphur dioxide ( 0 . 190 g , 2 . 97 mmoles ) and iodine ( 0 . 0125 g , 0 . 049 mmoles ), in solution in sulpholane ( 1 cc ), are introduced into a 25 cc tube under an atmosphere of nitrogen . the tube is sealed and then heated for 4 hours to 160 ° c . under autogenous pressure . after cooling , the mixture is taken up in methylene chloride . the conversion rate of the 3 - chlorodiphenylamine is 80 %, and the yield of 2 - chlorophenothiazine is 63 % with respect to the 3 - chlorodiphenylamine converted . n - phenyl - 3 - aminopyridine ( 0 . 510 g , 3 . 0 mmoles ), sulphur ( 0 . 048 g , 1 . 50 mmoles ), sulphur dioxide ( 0 . 145 g ) and iodine ( 0 . 0076 g , 0 . 03 mmoles ), in solution in toluene ( 4 cc ), are introduced into a 25 cc tube under an atmosphere of nitrogen . the tube is sealed and then heated for 2 hours to 260 ° c . under autogenous pressure . after cooling , analysis of the reaction mixture by nuclear magnetic resonance at 200 mhz shows that : diphenylamine ( 0 . 506 g , 3 mmoles ), selenium dioxide ( seo 2 ) ( 0 . 200 g , 1 . 80 mmoles ), selenium ( 0 . 119 g , 1 . 5 mmoles ) and iodine ( 25 mg , 0 . 1 mmole ), in solution in sulpholane ( 4 cc ), are introduced into a 25 cc tube under an inert atmosphere . the tube is sealed and then heated for 4 hours to 200 ° c . the reaction mixture is taken up in an ethanolmethylene chloride mixture . measurement by high performance liquid chromatography ( hplc ) shows that the conversion rate is about 40 % and that the yield of phenoselenazine is about 38 %. although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments , it is evident that many alternatives and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , the invention is intended to embrace all of the alternatives and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the above references are hereby incorporated by reference .
2
it has now been determined that the retention of polyphenols , and particularly higher oligomeric ( 5 - 12 ) polyphenols , in food products is dependent upon the order of addition of ingredients during batch processing . polyphenols are known to complex with proteins , alkaloids , metal cations and carbohydrates . without being bound to theory , it is believed that the processes of this invention prevent or reduce the adverse interactions between the polyphenol - containing ingredients and the protein - containing and / or carbohydrate - containing ingredients used therein . the processes of the present invention provide finished , shelf - ready food products with conserved concentration of the cocoa polyphenols present in the polyphenol - containing ingredients used to prepare the food products . more preferably , the processes of the present invention provide finished , shelf - ready confectionery products with conserved concentration of cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 . the concentration of cocoa polyphenol pentamer ( polyphenol oligomer 5 ), in the resulting products of the present invention , was used as an indicator of the effectiveness of cocoa polyphenol conservation in the processes of the invention . the process of preparing a food product according to this invention comprises : ( a ) mixing at least one ingredient of the product with at least one polyphenol - conserving pre - treatment ingredient to form a mix , ( b ) combining the mix with at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol , and ( c ) forming the polyphenol - containing food product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). additional ingredients desired in the resulting food product may be added at any point in the process . as used herein , the term “ food product ” includes any edible product , including foods , confectioneries , and diet supplements , particularly cocoa - containing foods , confectioneries , and diet supplements . confectioneries refer to any sweetened foods , particularly candy , chocolate , icings and the like . the term “ cocoa polyphenol ” includes the procyanidins present in cocoa beans or a cocoa ingredient used in the production of confectionery products , chocolate confectioneries and chocolate products , extracts of cocoa beans or a cocoa ingredient comprising procyanidins , and synthesized derivatives thereof , and includes synthesized cocoa polyphenol compounds or synthesized mixtures of polyphenol compounds , and derivatives thereof . the term “ cocoa ingredient ” refers to a cocoa solids - containing material derived from shell - free cocoa nib and includes chocolate liquor and partially or fully defatted cocoa solids ( e . g ., cake or powder ), alkalized cocoa powder or alkalized chocolate liquor and the like . the term “ chocolate liquor ” refers to the dark brown fluid “ liquor ” formed by grinding a cocoa nib . the fluidity is due to the breakdown of the cell walls and the release of the cocoa butter during the processing resulting in a suspension of ground particles of cocoa solids suspended in cocoa butter . cocoa polyphenols may be structurally represented as oligomers of monomer a , having the formula a n , where n is 2 - 18 , wherein a has the formula : bonding between adjacent monomers takes place at positions 4 , 6 or 8 ; a bond to a monomer in position 4 has alpha or beta stereochemistry ; x , y and z are selected from the group consisting of a , hydrogen , and a saccharide moiety , with the provisos that as to at least one terminal monomer , bonding of the adjacent monomer thereto is at position 4 and optionally y = z = hydrogen ; and wherein the saccharide moiety is derived from a mono - or di - saccharide . synthesized derivatives of the cocoa polyphenols include compounds , according to the structure a n , above , wherein r may be 3 -( α )- o - saccharide , 3 -( β )- o - saccharide , 3 -( α )- o — c ( o )— r ′, or 3 -( β )- o — c ( o )— r ′, wherein the saccharide moiety may be derived from a mono - or di - saccharide selected from the group consisting of glucose , galactose , xylose , rhamnose and arabinose ; the saccharide moiety of any or all of r , x , y , and z may be optionally substituted at any position with a phenolic moiety via an ester bond ; the phenolic moiety may be selected from the group consisting of caffeic , cinnamic , coumaric , ferulic , gallic , hydroxybenzoic and sinapic acids ; and r ′ is an aryl or heteroaryl moiety optionally substituted with at least one hydroxyl group . the substituted aryl or heteroaryl moiety of r ′ may preferably contain a substitution pattern corresponding to the substituted phenolic moieties of caffeic , cinnamic , coumaric , ferulic , gallic , hydroxybenzoic or sinapic acids . the preparation of these compounds is disclosed in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 948 , 226 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein . the food products of this invention may contain one or more of the cocoa polyphenol monomers , oligomers 2 - 18 , or derivatives thereof . preferably , the food products of this invention contain mixtures of cocoa polyphenol oligomers 2 - 18 , or derivatives thereof ; more preferably , the food products contain mixtures of cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 , or derivatives thereof . the term “ oligomer ”, as used herein , refers to any compound of the formula presented above , wherein n is 2 through 18 , and preferably , wherein n is 5 - 12 . when n is 2 , the oligomer is termed a “ dimer ”; when n is 3 , the oligomer is termed a “ trimer ”; when n is 4 , the oligomer is termed a “ tetramer ”; when n is 5 , the oligomer is termed a “ pentamer ”; and similar recitations may be designated for oligomers having n up to and including 18 and higher , such that when n is 18 , the oligomer is termed an “ octadecamer ”. a “ pre - treatment ingredient ” is any ingredient that may be used in food products , confectionery products and / or chocolate products that functions to conserve and / or retain the cocoa polyphenol concentration of any cocoa polyphenol - containing ingredient used therein . preferably , the pre - treatment ingredient is any ingredient that may be used in food products , especially confectionery products and / or chocolate products , that functions to conserve and / or retain the concentration of cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 of any ingredient containing such oligomers . the pre - treatment ingredient demonstrates an activity that prevents reaction , complexation , decomposition or adverse interaction of cocoa polyphenols with any of the other ingredients or apparatus used in the preparation of such products or with any polyphenol - reactive material generated from or by the other ingredients during the preparation of the products . an example of a reactive material that may be generated from or by other ingredients during the preparation of these food products is a free - radical reactive intermediate species . the pre - treatment ingredients may function to prevent the formation of polyphenol - reactive materials or interact with polyphenol - reactive materials , thereby preserving the cocoa - polyphenol concentration of the cocoa polyphenol - containing ingredient in the products . exemplary pre - treatment ingredients that may be used in the food products of this invention include water , fats , emulsifying agents , cocoa ingredients , antioxidant compounds , flavoring agents , other polyphenol - containing ingredients , and the like . the term “ fat ” as used herein , refers to triglycerides typcially used in food products , especially confectionery products and chocolate products . fats useful in this invention include the naturally occurring fats and oils such as cocoa butter , pressed cocoa butter , expeller cocoa butter , solvent extracted cocoa butter , refined cocoa butter , milk fat , anhydrous milk fat , fractionated milk fat , milk fat replacers , butterfat , fractionated butterfat , and other vegetable fat , as well as other modifications of these fats , including cocoa butter equivalents ( cbe ), cocoa butter substitutes ( cbs ), cocoa butter replacers ( cbr ), anti - blooming agents , such as behenoyl oleoyl behenate ( bob ), reduced calorie fats and / or synthetically modified fats , including reduced calorie fats and non - caloric fat substitutes . a reduced calorie fat is a fat having all the properties of typical fat but having fewer calories than typical fat . a non - caloric fat substitute , e . g . a sucrose polyester , likewise possesses all the typical fat characteristics , but is not absorbed after ingestion and thus is not metabolized . to be suitable for use as a pre - treatment ingredient in this invention , the fat must not demonstrate an activity that promotes reaction , decomposition or adverse interaction of cocoa polyphenols . fats that are highly unsaturated are considered unsuitable for use as pre - treatment ingredients because these fats may generate free - radical species during processing . accordingly , fats and fatty acids having relatively high levels of unsaturation , such as linoleic and linolenic acids , are considered unsuitable as polyphenol - conserving pre - treatment ingredients . cocoa butter and fats obtained from genetically modified seed oils or modified seed oils having relatively low levels of unsaturation , e . g . high oleic sunflower oil or high oleic peanut oil would be especially preferred polyphenol - conserving pre - treatment ingredients . emulsifying agents , or emulsifiers , are also used as ingredients in the food products of the present invention . emulsifying agents are well known to play a critical role in suspension rheology and are used throughout food manufacturing , especially confectionery and chocolate manufacturing , to enhance the rheology ( i . e ., reduce viscosity and / or yield value ) of solids suspensions . soy lecithin is one of the oldest and most widely used emulsifying agent . in chocolate , lecithin demonstrates a significant viscosity lowering effect when used at an optimum concentration of about 0 . 3 % to about 0 . 7 % by weight of the finished chocolate . exemplary emulsifying agents useful in the present invention may be any of those emulsifying agents typically used in the art and include lecithin derived from vegetable sources such as soybean , safflower , corn , etc ., fractionated lecithins , mono - and di - gylcerides , di - acetyl tartaric acid esters of mono - and di - glycerides ( also referred to as datem ), monosodium phosphate derivatives of mono - and di - glycerides of edible fats or oils , sorbitan monostearate , polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate , hydroxylated lecithin , lactylated fatty acid esters of glycerol and propylene glycol , polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , propylene glycol mono - and di - esters of fats and fatty acids , and especially any emulsifying agents that may become approved for the u . s . food and drug administration - defined soft candy category . it is considered within the skill of one in the art to select an emulsifying agent for use in the preparation of a food product of the present invention . in addition , other emulsifying agents that may be used include polyglycerol polyricinoleate ( pgpr ), ammonium salts of phosphatidic acid ( e . g . yn ), sucrose esters , oat extract , etc ., and any emulsifying agent or combination , thereof , found to be suitable in chocolate or similar fat / solid system . selected combinations of emulsifying agents have been identified to provide the confectioneries of the present invention , particularly reduced - fat confectioneries , having improved rheology over confectioneries prepared using conventional emulsifying agents . emulsifying agent combinations that are particularly useful in the present invention are combinations of lecithin , sucrose polyerucate ( er - 290 , sold by mitsubishi kasei corporation , japan ) sucrose polystearate ( sold by mitsubishi kasei corporation , japan ), ammonium phosphatide , phosphated mono - di - glycerides / diacetyl tartaric acid of mono - glycerides ( pmd / datem ), or fractionated lecithin , with sucrose polyerucate and / or polyglycerol polyricinoleate ( pgpr - admul wol , sold by quest international , hoffman estates , ill .). advantageously , the emulsifying agent combinations of polyglycerol polyricinoleate , sucrose polyerucate , and soy lecithin , offer significant improvement in the rheology of the chocolates of the present invention . use of these preferred emulsifying agent combinations provides the chocolates of this invention having enhanced viscosity and yield value . reduced - fat chocolates prepared using current commercial chocolate recipes and these emulsifying agent combinations are described in co - pending u . s . patent application [ attorney docket no . 2280 . 400 ], entitled “ reduced - fat confectioneries comprising emulsifying agent combinations , and preparation thereof ,” filed contemporaneously herewith , and which is incorporated by reference herein . as used herein , the term “ antioxidant compound ” refers to compounds that prevent oxidation and function as a reducing agent or as an electron donor / receptor . according to their mode of action , antioxidants may be classified as free radical terminators , metal ion chelators , or as oxygen scavengers that react with oxygen . suitable antioxidant compound classes include tannins , including condensed tannins and hydrolyzable tannins , quinones , polyhydroxy compounds , phospholipids , tocol compounds or derivatives thereof . exemplary antioxidants include , but are not limited to , the antioxidants also include reducing agents including such diverse materials as organic acids , such as ascorbic acid , stannous chloride , and tocopherols ( vitamin e ). sulfur dioxide , a preservative , can also function as an antioxidant . di - lauryl thiodipropionate and thiodipropionic acid can function as preventive antioxidants by reacting with hydroperoxides . as used herein , the term “ flavoring agent ” refers to flavored compounds or compositions used in food products and confectionery , particularly in chocolates , to impart a desired taste and aroma . a flavoring agent that is suitable for use as a pre - treatment ingredient is a flavor compound or composition that demonstrates an activity that prevents reaction , complexation , decomposition or adverse interaction of cocoa polyphenols with any of the other ingredients used in the preparation of these products or with any polyphenol - reactive material generated from or by the other ingredients during the preparation of these produces . exemplary flavoring agents suitable for use as pre - treatment ingredients include vanillin , spices , and naturally expressed citrus or spice oils , which contain flavanoids and phenol - based flavorants , e . g . eugenol , which may function as a free radical terminator and may thus prevent reaction of cocoa polyphenols with any free radical species generated during production . chocolate used in foods in the united states is subject to a standard of identity established by the u . s . food and drug administration under the federal food , drug and cosmetic act that sets out the requisite ingredients , and proportions thereof , of a confection to permit labelling of the confection as a “ chocolate .” the most popular chocolate or chocolate candy consumed in the united states is in the form of sweet chocolate or milk chocolate . chocolate is essentially a mixture of solid - containing ingredients , including cocoa solids , suspended in fat . milk chocolate is a confection which contains milk solids , milk fat , chocolate liquor , a nutritive carbohydrate sweetener , cocoa butter and may include a variety of other ingredients such as emulsifying agents , flavorings and other additives . crumb chocolate is a type of milk chocolate , containing the same ingredients , however , wet milk and carbohydrate sweetener ingredients are pre - combined then co - dried , at elevated temperatures , to form a milk crumb that is then used to prepare the milk chocolate . sweet chocolate contains higher amounts of chocolate liquor , but lower amounts of milk solids than milk chocolate . semisweet chocolate requires at least 35 % by weight chocolate liquor and is otherwise similar in definition to sweet chocolate . dark chocolate , generally containing only chocolate liquor , a nutritive carbohydrate sweetener and cocoa butter , is by definition either a sweet chocolate or a semisweet chocolate . buttermilk chocolate and skim milk chocolate differ from milk chocolate in that the milk fat comes from various forms of sweet cream buttermilk and skim milk , respectively . skim milk requires the total amount of milk fat to be limited to less than the minimum for milk chocolate . mixed dairy product chocolates differ from milk chocolate in that the milk solid includes any or all of the milk solids listed for milk chocolate , buttermilk chocolate or skim milk chocolate . white chocolate differs from milk chocolate in that it contains no non - fat cocoa solids . non - standardized chocolates are those chocolates which have compositions which fall outside the specified ranges of the standardized chocolates . chocolates are classified as “ non - standardized ” chocolates when a specified ingredient is replaced , either partially or completely , such as when the ingredient cocoa butter is replaced with vegetable oils or fats . any additions or deletions to a chocolate recipe made outside the us fda standards of identity for chocolate will prohibit use of the term “ chocolate ” to describe the confectionery . however , as used herein , the term “ chocolate ” refers to any standard of identity or non - standard of identity chocolate . chocolate may take the form of solid pieces of chocolate , such as bars or novelty shapes , and may also be incorporated as an ingredient of other , more complex confections where chocolate is combined with and generally coats other foods such as caramel , peanut butter , nougat , fruit pieces , nuts , wafers , ice cream or the like . these foods are characterized as microbiologically shelf - stable at 65 °- 85 ° f . ( 18 - 29 ° c . ), under normal atmospheric conditions . the term “ carbohydrate ” refers to nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners , with varying degrees of sweetness intensity that are useful in the present invention , may be any of those typically used in the art and include , but are not limited to , sucrose , ( e . g ., from cane or beet ), dextrose , fructose , lactose , maltose , glucose syrup solids , corn syrup solids , invert sugar , hydrolyzed lactose , honey , maple sugar , brown sugar , molasses and the like . the food products of the present invention may additionally contain other ingredients such as milk solids , cocoa solids ( cocoa powder ), sugar substitutes , natural and artificial flavors ( e . g ., spices , coffee , salt , brown nut - meats , etc ., as well as mixtures of these ), proteins , and the like . sugar substitutes may be used to partially replace the nutritive carbohydrate sweetener , particularly in the production of reduced - calorie confectioneries and chocolates . as used herein , the term “ sugar substitute ” includes high potency sweeteners , sugar alcohols ( polyols ) and bulking agents , or combinations thereof . the high potency sweeteners include aspartame , cyclamates , saccharin , acesulfame , neo - hesperidin dihydrochalcone , sucralose , alitame , stevia sweeteners , glycyrrhizin , thaumatin , and the like , and mixtures thereof . the preferred high potency sweeteners include aspartame , cyclamates , saccharin , and acesulfame - k . examples of sugar alcohols may be any of those typically used in the art and include sorbitol , mannitol , xylitol , maltitol , isomalt , lactitol and the like . the food products of the present invention may also contain bulking agents , typically used in combination with high potency sweeteners . the term “ bulking agents ” as defined herein may be any of those typically used in the art and include polydextrose , cellulose and its derivatives , maltodextrin , gum arabic , and the like . the term “ fermentation factor ” is a numerical quantification of the level of fermentation of a batch of cocoa beans . fermentation factors range from 100 ( under / unfermented ) to 400 ( fully fermented ). to assess the degree of fermentation , cocoa beans are typically subjected to a standard cut test for assessing quality as defined in industry grade standards . the bean halves are laid out on a board for visual inspection of color as well as defects which can arise during bean fermentation , drying and / or storage . beans can be divided into four fermentation categories according to their color and appearance : ( a ) fully fermented , e . g ., predominantly a brown hue ; ( b ) partially fermented , e . g ., purple / brown ; ( c ) purple ( under - fermented ); and ( d ) slaty ( very under - fermented and / or unfermented beans ). purple / brown beans include all beans showing any blue , purple or violet color on the exposed surface , whether suffused or as a patch . purple beans should include all beans showing a completely blue , purple or violet color over the whole exposed surface . this should also include , irrespective of color , any beans which are slaty , but not predominantly so ( wherein predominantly , in this context , means more than half ). the “ fermentation factor ” is determined using a grading system for characterizing the fermentation of the cocoa beans . slaty , being under / unfermented , is designated as 1 , purple as 2 , purple / brown as 3 and brown as 4 . the percentage of beans falling within each category is multiplied by the weighted number . thus , the “ fermentation factor ” for a sample of 100 % brown beans would be 100 × 4 or 400 , whereas the fermentation factor for a sample of 100 % purple beans would be 100 × 2 or 200 . a sample of 50 % slaty beans and 50 % purple beans would have a fermentation factor of 150 [( 50 × 1 )+( 50 × 2 )]. cut tests applicable to cocoa beans derived from the trinitario and forastero types may or may not be applicable to cocoa beans derived from the criollo type , for example , where bean color variation ranging from fully purple to light tan can be encountered . accordingly , the cut test based on color would not be applicable to specific cocoa genotypes lacking the anthocyanin pigments responsible for the purple color , such as the catango ( or catongo ) type whose beans are light tan in color . other exceptions include “ cocoa beans ” derived from other theobroma species , the herrania species and their inter - and intra - specific crosses . the beans from these species are “ tan ” in color . for these types of beans the level of fermentation may be determined using a modified standard cut test . using the modified test , the surface of the bean ( halved ) is inspected for the degree of lines , fissures or cracks which form during fermentation , rather than the change of color . fig1 ( a )-( d ) illustrate the change in the surface of the cut bean half during the fermentation of the cocoa bean . as can be seen from fig1 ( a )-( d ), the number of lines / fissures and the extent to which they extend across the entire surface of the cut bean half increases as the bean is fermented . fig1 ( a ) depicts the cut bean half of an unfermented cocoa bean where the surface is relatively smooth . fig1 ( b )-( d ) depict the cocoa beans as it is fermented , with fig1 ( d ) illustrating the fully fermented cocoa bean . as the cocoa bean is fermented , the surface develops small branch - like lines or fissures . this modified test can also be used to approximate the fermentation factor wherein a cocoa bean corresponding to fig1 ( a ) is designated as 100 , fig1 ( b ) as 200 , fig1 ( c ) as 300 and fig1 ( d ) as 400 . while the definitions of the aforementioned categories are a general guide , the assessment according to these categories is well within the skill of the ordinary skilled artisan well versed in chocolate and cocoa processing ( see wood et al ., cocoa , 4th ed . ( 1985 ), incorporated herein by reference , especially pages 511 to 513 ). the numerical index , 1 - 4 or 100 - 400 , are qualitative terms that are used herein to reflect the relative fermentaiton of cocoa beans and therefore related to the relative concentration of cocoa polyphenols in cocoa beans . a value of 1 or 100 would reflect unfermented beans possessing the highest relative concentration of cocoa polyphenols , that is , the total amount or nearly the total amount of cocoa polyphenols produced by the cocoa plant in the cocoa bean . a value of 4 or 400 would reflect fully fermented beans possessing the relative lowest concentration of cocoa polyphenols , that is , the remaining amount of cocoa polyphenols that did not react , decompose , or otherwise transform under fermentation , roasting , alkalization or other processing procedures . the actual cocoa polyphenol concentration of any cocoa bean sample or cocoa ingredient may be determined using the high performance liquid chromatographic ( hplc ) technique described in romanczyk , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 554 , 645 . the term “ significant amount ” means an amount which maintains the basic characteristics of the specified ingredients or composition or product . the term “ fair average quality cocoa beans ” refers to cocoa beans that have been separated from the pulp material and dried and are relatively free of mold and infestation . such beans are a commercial commodity and form the feedstock for the next step in the production processes , e . g ., infra - red heating , roasting , pressing , etc . the term includes any such bean that has been genetically modified or produced . the term “ raw freshly harvested cocoa beans ” refers to seeds or beans freshly harvested from the cocoa pod and which have not been subjected to processing other than separation from the pulp . the term includes any such bean that has been genetically modified or produced . a preferred embodiment of this invention is a process for providing a confectionery product having a conserved cocoa polyphenol concentration , comprising : ( a ) mixing a carbohydrate ingredient with at least one pre - treatment ingredient to form a confectionery mix , ( b ) combining the confectionery mix with at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol , and ( c ) forming the polyphenol - containing confectionery product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). another embodiment of this invention is a process of preparing a chocolate product having a conserved concentration of cocoa polyphenol ; the process comprises : ( a ) mixing at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of milk ingredients and carbohydrate ingredients , with at least one pre - treatment ingredient to form a confectionery mix , ( b ) combining the confectionery mix with at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol , ( d ) forming the polyphenol - containing chocolate product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). in another embodiment of this invention , confectionery products , particularly chocolate products , having a conserved concentration of cocoa polyphenol , and particularly , cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 may be prepared using a split milling , or split refining process comprising : ( a ) mixing at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of milk ingredients and carbohydrate ingredients , with at least one pre - treatment ingredient to form a confectionery mix , ( c ) combining the milled confectionery mix with at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol and having a particle size equal to or less than that desired in the confectionery product or chocolate product , ( e ) forming the polyphenol - containing confectionery or chocolate product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). in yet another embodiment , chocolates having a strong chocolate flavor and conserved concentrations of cocoa polyphenols , and particularly , cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 may be prepared using a split conching process comprising : ( a ) mixing at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of milk ingredients and carbohydrate ingredients , with at least one pre - treatment ingredient to form a confectionery mix , ( c ) combining at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol with the conched confectionery mix , ( e ) forming the polyphenol - containing chocolate product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). another embodiment of the split conching process , providing chocolates having a strong chocolate flavor and conserved concentrations of cocoa polyphenols , particularly , cocoa polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 , comprises : ( a ) mixing at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of milk ingredients and carbohydrate ingredients , with at least one pre - treatment ingredient to form a confectionery mix , ( b ) conching the confectionery mix at a temperature of about 60 ° c . to about 90 ° c ., ( c ) cooling the conched confectionery mix to a temperature of about 35 ° c . to about 50 ° c ., ( d ) combining at least one ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol with the cooled , conched confectionery mix , ( f ) forming the polyphenol - containing chocolate product , wherein the product contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). preferably the polyphenol - containing food products prepared by the processes of this invention contain about 15 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol than a polyphenol - containing food product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ); more preferably , the food product of this invention contains about 20 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol than a food product prepared without using step ( a ). the comparative polyphenol - conservation value of 10 %, 15 % and 20 % refer to the difference between the conserved concentration of polyphenol in a test sample and the conserved concentration of the polyphenol in a control sample . the conserved concentration of polyphenol in a sample , expressed as percentage , is the concentration of polyphenol in the sample , relative to the concentration of polyphenol in a theoretical sample having 100 % conservation . the increased concentration of cocoa polyphenol retained , or conserved , in the food products of this invention may be measured by analysis of a single oligomer , such as cocoa polyphenol pentamer , as an indicator of improvement in retention . significantly , the use of the polyphenol pentamer as the analytical standard also provides an indication of the concentration of the process - sensitive polyphenol oligomers 5 - 12 retained , or conserved , in the food products of this invention . the food products of this invention contain at least a carbohydrate - containing ingredient or a protein - containing ingredient , or a mixture thereof . according to the processes of this invention , at least one of these ingredients is mixed first with at least one pre - treatment ingredient . preferably , if both a carbohydrate - containing ingredient and a protein - containing ingredient are present in the food product , both ingredients are mixed with at least one pre - treatment ingredient prior to mixing with the polyphenol - containing ingredient . optionally , the carbohydrate - containing ingredient , protein - containing ingredient , or mixture thereof , may be milled or refined prior to mixing with at least one pre - treatment ingredient . alternatively , the mixture of carbohydrate and / or protein - containing ingredients with the pre - treatment ingredient ( s ) may be milled or refined after mixing . optionally , the protein - containing ingredient may be a milk ingredient . according to the process of the present invention , the process of preparing a milk chocolate , having a conserved concentration of cocoa polyphenol , comprises mixing both milk ingredients and carbohydrate ingredients with at least one pre - treatment ingredient . milk ingredients , as used herein , include any milk - based ingredient commonly used in food manufacturing , and particularly , confectionery or chocolate manufacturing . exemplary milk ingredients include liquid milk , milk proteins ( casein , whey protein ), condensed milk , sweetened condensed milk , evaporated milk , milk crumb , milk powder , re - constituted milk , malted milk , malted milk powder , cultured milk powders , and the like . preferably , in each of the above - described processes of this invention , the pre - treatment ingredient is selected from the group consisting of fat , an emulsifying agent , a cocoa ingredient , an antioxidant compound , a flavoring agent and mixtures thereof . the pre - treatment fat ingredient may be selected from any fat described hereinabove , but is preferably cocoa butter . the pre - treatment emulsifying agent ingredient may be selected from any emulsifying agent described hereinabove , but is preferably lecithin , fractionated lecithin , or mixtures thereof . the pre - treatment cocoa ingredient may be any cocoa ingredient described hereinabove , but is preferably obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor of 300 or greater . the pre - treatment antioxidant and flavoring agent ingredients may be any of the above - described antioxidant and flavoring agent ingredients . preferably , in each of the above - described processes of this invention , the pre - treatment ingredient is a mixture of fat and an at least one emulsifying agent . more preferably , the pre - treatment ingredient is a mixture of lecithin and cocoa butter . in each of the above - described processes of this invention , the polyphenol - containing ingredient may be selected from the group consisting of a cocoa ingredient comprising procyanidins , an extract of cocoa beans or a cocoa ingredient comprising procyanidins , synthesized derivatives of the extracts of cocoa beans or a cocoa ingredient comprising procyanidins , synthesized cocoa polyphenol compounds , and synthesized derivatives of synthesized cocoa polyphenol compounds . the polyphenol - containing cocoa ingredient is preferably a cocoa solids - containing material derived from shell - free cocoa nib and includes chocolate liquor and partially or fully defatted cocoa solids ( e . g ., cake or powder ), and the like . advantageously , the polyphenol - containing cocoa ingredient is obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 300 ; preferably , the cocoa ingredient is obtained from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 275 , more preferably , from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 250 ;, more preferably , from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 225 , even more preferably , from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 200 , more preferably , from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 150 , and most preferably , from cocoa beans have a fermentation factor less than 125 . a preferred embodiment of this invention is a process for providing a dark chocolate having a conserved cocoa polyphenol concentration , comprising : ( a ) mixing a carbohydrate nutritive sweetener with lecithin and cocoa butter to form a confectionery mix , ( b ) combining the confectionery mix with a chocolate liquor obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 300 , and ( c ) forming the polyphenol - containing dark chocolate , wherein the chocolate contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a dark chocolate prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). a preferred embodiment of this invention is a process for providing a milk chocolate having a conserved cocoa polyphenol concentration , comprising : ( a ) mixing a milled or refined carbohydrate nutritive sweetener and a milled or refined milk powder with lecithin and cocoa butter to form a confectionery mix , ( b ) combining the confectionery mix with a chocolate liquor obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 300 , and ( c ) forming the polyphenol - containing milk chocolate , wherein the chocolate contains at least about 10 % by weight more polyphenol than a milk chocolate prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( a ). in a preferred embodiment , at least two cocoa ingredients having varying concentrations of cocoa polyphenols are used to prepare the food products and confectionery products of this invention . for example , a first cocoa ingredient , derived from fermented cocoa beans having a fermentation factor of 300 or greater ( having a low cocoa polyphenols concentration , but a high chocolate flavor / aroma content ) may be used either as the pre - treatment ingredient , or in combination with other pre - treatment ingredients . a second cocoa ingredient , derived from under - fermented beans having a fermentation factor less than 300 ( having a higher cocoa polyphenols concentration , but a lower chocolate flavor / aroma content ) may be used as the polyphenol - containing cocoa ingredient . the use of such a cocoa - ingredient blend allows for the production of a chocolate having strong flavor / aroma characteristics as well as enhanced concentrations of cocoa polyphenols . in another embodiment of this invention , the ingredient containing cocoa polyphenol may be a combination of chocolate liquor and cocoa powder , wherein the liquor and powder are obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 300 . preferably , the chocolate liquor and cocoa powder are obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 275 , more preferably , from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 250 , more preferably , from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 225 , even more preferably , from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 200 , more preferably , from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 150 , and most preferably , from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor less than 125 . additionally , each of the above - described processes may further comprise the step of adding a second emulsifying agent , which may be added either during or after conching . the second emulsifying agent may be selected from any of the above - described emulsifying agents . preferably , the second emulsifying agent may be lecithin , sucrose polyerucate , ammonium phosphatide , polyglycerol polyricinoleate , phosphated mono - and di - glycerides / di - acetyl tartaric acid of mono - glycerides ( pmd / datem ), fractionated lecithin , or mixtures thereof . accordingly , a novel chocolate of the present invention , having a high cocoa polyphenol concentration , may be prepared according to any of the above - described process further comprising the step of combining the confectionery mix with a chocolate liquor and a cocoa powder . the novel chocolate may be prepared by the process comprising the steps of : ( i ) combining carbohydrate or carbohydrate and milk ingredients with a pre - treatment ingredient comprised of lecithin and optionally , at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of a fat , a cocoa ingredient , an antioxidant compound and a flavoring agent , ( ii ) using a combination of a chocolate liquor and a cocoa powder as the polyphenol - containing ingredient , and ( iii ) adding a second emulsifying agent either during or after conching , and ( iv ) forming the polyphenol - containing chocolate , wherein the chocolate contains at least about 10 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol than a polyphenol - containing chocolate prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( i ). another embodiment of the invention relates to a food product , and a process of preparing the product , having enhanced concentrations of cocoa polyphenols derived from a cocoa polyphenol - containing ingredient . preferred cocoa polyphenol - containing ingredients may be selected from the group consisting of extracts of cocoa beans or a cocoa ingredient comprising procyanidins , synthesized derivatives , synthesized cocoa polyphenol compounds , and synthesized derivatives of synthesized cocoa polyphenol compounds . the polyphenol ingredient may be mixed with other product ingredients during the processing , but is preferably mixed with other ingredients at or near the end of processing , or added to the product after processing ( i . e ., spraying onto the product ). preferably the polyphenol - containing food products prepared by the processes of this invention contain about 15 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol than a polyphenol - containing product prepared without using the pre - treatment process according to step ( ay ; more preferably , the food products of this invention contain about 20 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol than a food product prepared without using step ( a ). the percentage improvement of cocoa polyphenol concentration , as defined herein , may be measured using a single oligomer , such as pentamer , as an indicator of improvement in retention . novel food products containing cocoa polyphenols , particularly enhanced concentrations of cocoa polyphenols , may be prepared by any of the above - described processes . the novel products are distinguishable from conventional products either because ( 1 ) the inventive products contain elevated concentrations of cocoa polyphenols relative to comparative conventional products ( i . e ., chocolates , chocolate - flavored confections , etc .) and / or ( 2 ) the inventive products contain cocoa polyphenols in contrast to comparative products which do not contain cocoa polyphenols ( i . e ., rice cakes , edible foods without chocolate flavor / aroma , etc .). one embodiment of this invention relates to a food product containing a cocoa polyphenol ingredient . preferably , the product comprises at least 1 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram product , preferably at least 2 μg , more preferably at least 5 μg , and most preferably at least 10 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram product . according to one preferred embodiment , the product comprises at least 25 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram product , preferably at least 50 μg , more preferably at least 100 μg , and most preferably at least 150 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram product . another embodiment of the invention relates to a chocolate comprising at least 3 , 600 μg cocoa polyphenol per gram chocolate , preferably at least 4 , 000 μg , advantageously at least 4 , 500 μg , more preferably at least 5 , 000 μg , and most preferably at least 5 , 500 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate . according to one preferred embodiment , the chocolate contains at least 6 , 000 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate , preferably at least 6 , 500 μg , more preferably at least 7 , 000 μg , and most preferably at least 8 , 000 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate . another embodiment of the invention relates to a chocolate comprising at least 100 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate , preferably the chocolate contains at least 150 μg , preferably the chocolate contains at least 200 μg , preferably the chocolate contains at least 250 μg , preferably the chocolate contains at least 300 μg , more preferably , at least 325 μg , and most preferably , at least 350 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate . according to one preferred embodiment , the chocolate contains at least 375 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate , preferably , at least 400 μg , more preferably at least 425 μg , and most preferably , at least 450 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate . yet another embodiment of the invention relates to a milk chocolate containing milk solids and comprising at least 1 , 000 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate , preferably at least 1 , 250 μg , more preferably at least 1 , 500 μg , and most preferably at least 2 , 000 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate . according to one preferred embodiment , the milk chocolate contains at least 2 , 500 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate , preferably at least 3 , 000 μg , more preferably at least 4 , 000 μg , and most preferably at least 5 , 000 μg cocoa polyphenols per gram chocolate . another embodiment of the invention relates to a milk chocolate containing milk solids and comprising at least 85 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate , preferably at least 90 μg , more preferably at least 100 μg , and most preferably at least 125 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate . according to one preferred embodiment , the milk chocolate contains at least 150 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate , preferably at least 175 μg , more preferably at least 200 μg , and most preferably at least 250 μg cocoa polyphenol pentamer per gram chocolate . the examples which follow are intended as an illustration of certain preferred embodiments of the invention , and no limitation of the invention is implied . in the following examples 3 - 9 , the “ fat ” may be cocoa butter or mixtures of cocoa butter and milk fat . the milk fat may be used in a concentration , as desired , to provide a finished chocolate having a preferred hardness and snap . in the following examples 3 - 9 , the “ cp liquor ” and “ cp cocoa powder ” are cocoa polyphenol - containing chocolate liquor and cocoa polyphenol - containing cocoa powder , respectively , obtained from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor of less than 300 . commercially available cocoa beans having an initial moisture content of from about 7 to 8 percent by weight were pre - cleaned using an 11 ″× 56 ″ scalperator ( manufactured by carter day international , minneapolis , minn ., usa ). approximately 600 bags of cocoa beans ( 39 , 000 kg ) were pre - cleaned over a 6 . 5 hour time period . the beans were fed into the inlet hopper where the flow rate was regulated by a positive feed roll . the beans were fed onto the outside of a rotating wire mesh scalping reel . the beans passed through the wire mesh reel and subsequently through an air aspiration chamber where light dirt , dust and strings were aspirated out of the product stream . the beans that did not pass through the scalping reel were conveyed to the reject stream . this reject stream consisted of large clumps of beans , sticks , stones , etc . the amount of resultant reject was approximately 150 kg , or 0 . 38 % of the starting material . the resulting pre - cleaned product weighed about 38 , 850 kg and was passed to the bean cleaning step . the pre - cleaned bean products from the scalperator were then further cleaned using a camas international sv4 - 5 air fluidized bed density separator ( afbds , manufactured by camas international , pocotello , id ., usa ). about 38 , 850 kg of cocoa bean products were fed into the afbds over a time period of about 6 . 5 hours . the apparatus removed substantially all heavy impurities such as stones , metal , glass , etc . from the beans , as well as lighter unusable materials such as moldy and infested cocoa beans , resulting in a cleaned bean product which contained substantially only usable cocoa beans . the resulting heavy impurities removed weighed about 50 kg and the light unusable materials weighed about 151 kg . a total of about 38 , 649 kg of cleaned beans was obtained after both the pre - cleaning and cleaning steps described hereinabove ( 99 . 1 yield after cleaning ). the cleaned cocoa beans were then passed through a infra - red heating apparatus . the apparatus used was the micro red 20 electric infra - red vibratory micronizer ( manufactured by micronizing company ( u . k .) limited , u . k .). the micronizer was run at a rate of about 1 , 701 kilograms per hour . the depth of beans in the vibrating bed of the micronizer was about 2 inches or about 2 - 3 beans deep . the surface temperature of the micronizer was set at about 165 ° c ., thereby producing an internal bean temperature ( ibt ) of about 135 ° c . in a time ranging from 1 to 1 . 5 minutes . this treatment caused the shells to dry rapidly and separate from the cocoa nib . since substantially all of the cocoa beans fed into the micronizer were whole beans and were substantially free of small broken pieces of bean or shell , no sparks or fires were observed during the infra - red heating step . the broken pieces separated by the vibrating screen prior to the micronizer were re - introduced into the product stream prior to the winnowing step . the beans after the micronizer had a moisture content of about 3 . 9 % by weight . the beans emerged from the micronizer at an ibt of about 135 ° c . and were immediately cooled to a temperature of about 90 ° c . in about three minutes to minimize additional moisture loss . the total beans available after the heating step was about 36 , 137 kg . the beans were then subjected to winnowing using a jupiter mitra seita winnower ( manufactured by jupiter mitra seita , jakarta , indonesia ). the winnowing step cracked the beans to loosen the shells and separated the lighter shells from the nibs while at the same time minimizing the amount of nib lost with the shell reject stream . the feed rate into the winnower was about 1 , 591 kg per hour . the resultant products included about 31 , 861 kg of usable nibs and 4 , 276 kg of reject shells . the overall yield of usable nibs from starting material was about 81 . 7 %. the resulting cocoa nibs were pressed using a dupps 10 - 6 pressor ( manufactured by the dupps company , germantown , ohio , usa ). a steady , consistent feed of about 1 , 402 kg per hour of nibs was fed into two screw presses to extract butter . the press produced about 16 , 198 kg of cocoa butter which contained about 10 % cocoa solids , and about 15 , 663 kg of cocoa solids which contained about 10 % butter . the cocoa butter was further processed using a sharples p3000 decanting centrifuge ( manufactured by jenkins centrifuge rebuilders , n . kansas city , mo ., usa ). centrifugation reduced the solids content in the butter to about 1 - 2 % solids and provided about 13 , 606 kg of butter and 2 , 592 kg of cocoa solids containing about 40 to 45 % butter . the butter containing 1 - 2 % solids was further processed using a plate and frame filter ( manufactured by jupiter mitra seita ) which removed the remaining solids from the butter and provided about 13 , 271 kg of clear cocoa butter and about 335 kg of cocoa solids containing 40 - 45 % butter . the cocoa solids removed from the centrifuge and the filter press contained about 40 - 45 % fat and were pressed in a batch hydraulic press to produce 10 % fat cocoa cake . this material produced about 1 , 186 kg of clear butter and 1 , 742 kg of cocoa solids . the total clear butter yield from the incoming beans was 14 , 456 kg , or 37 . 1 %. the total cocoa solids produced from the incoming beans was 17 , 405 kg , or 44 . 6 %. analysis of the actual cocoa polyphenol content of the cocoa beans and cocoa - containing products produced therefrom , may be conducted using the high performance liquid chromatographic ( hplc ) technique described in romanczyk , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 554 , 645 . a sample of cocoa powder , produced according to the above - described process from unfermented cocoa beans ( fermentation factor 100 ), was analyzed according to the above - referenced method and shown to contain the following polyphenol concentrations : a total polyphenol concentration of 32 , 743 μg of polyphenol per gram of cocoa powder , a monomer concentration of 9 , 433 μg / g , a dimer concentration of 5 , 929 μg / g , trimer concentration of 5 , 356 μg / g , tetramer concentration of 4 , 027 μg / g , pentamer concentration of 3 , 168 μg / g , hexamer concentration of 2 , 131 μg / g , heptamer concentration of 1 , 304 μg / g , octamer concentration of 739 μg / g , nonamer concentration of 439 μg / g . fair average quality ( faq ) cocoa beans having an initial moisture content 7 . 4 % by weight and a fermentation factor level of 233 ( 31 % slaty , 29 % purple , 22 % purple brown and 17 % brown ) were selected as the starting material . the cocoa beans were then passed through an infra - red heating apparatus . the apparatus used was an infra - red vibrating micronizer ( manufactured by micronizer company ( u . k .) limited , u . k .). the feed rate of beans through the infra - red heater and the infra - red heater bed angle were varied to control the amount of heat treatment the beans received . the amount of time the beans spent in the infra - red heater ( residence time ) was determined by the bed angle and the feed rate . the times used to prepare the example material are listed in the table 1 below . at the outlet of the micronizer the ibt of the beans was measured , these values are also shown in table 1 . a 1 kg sample of infra - red heated beans , collected off the infra - red heater at different ibts , were cracked into smaller pieces . this is done to facilitate the separation of the nib from the shell . the laboratory piece of equipment used to remove the shell was the limiprimita cocoa breaker made by the john gordon co . ltd . of england . the cracked beans were next passed through a laboratory scale winnowing system , using a catador cc - 1 manufactured by the john gordon co . ltd , england . the cocoa nibs were next milled into a coarse liquor using a melange made by pascall engineering co . ltd , england . this device crushes and grinds the nibs into a chocolate liquor . the normal operating temperature for the liquor in the melange in approximately 50 ° c . this same process of taking nibs to a coarse liquor could be done on a larger production scale using other types of mills , such as a carle & amp ; montanari mill . the cocoa nibs were ground in the melange for one hour . the concentration of cocoa polyphenols was measured for the samples relative to the infra - red heated temperatures . these values are contained in the table 1 below . the ingredients were added into a 10 lb . sigma blade mixer ( manufactured by teledyne read co ., york , pa . ), in order of chocolate liquor and cp liquor , sucrose , cocoa butter , and flavorings . the resulting batch of ingredients was mixed until homogeneous , at about 35 ° c . to about 90 ° c . the cp liquor , prepared according to example 2 , used to prepare the chocolate samples contained 1150 μg polyphenol pentamer per gram of cp liquor . the mixture was refined to a micrometer particle size of 20 microns , conched and standardized ( adjustment of viscosity and / or fat content to obtain chocolate with desired properties ). the samples were analyzed for cocoa polyphenol concentration using the high performance liquid chromatographic ( hplc ) technique described in romanczyk , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 554 , 645 after mixing or after standardization . test chocolates were prepared using the same recipe and ingredients as examples 3 . the lecithin and fat were combined and mixed , using a 10 lb . sigma blade mixer until homogeneous . the resulting fat / lecithin mixture was added to the granulated sucrose in a second 10 lb . sigma mixer . the sucrose , fat and lecithin were mixed at about 35 ° c . to about 90 ° c . until homogeneous . the remaining ingredients , including the chocolate liquor having a high cocoa polyphenol concentration , were added and mixed until homogeneous . the resulting mixture was refined to a micrometer particle size of about 20 microns , conched , standardized and analyzed for cocoa polyphenol concentrations as in example 3 . table 2 lists the comparative results from a set of chocolates prepared according to the processes described in examples 3 ( control ) and 4 ( test ). the chocolate liquor , used to prepare these chocolates , contained 1150 μg polyphenol pentamer per gram of chocolate liquor . assuming 100 % conservation of polyphenol concentration , the chocolates would contain 570 μg of polyphenol pentamer per gram of chocolate . pentamer concentration of the test samples was determined directly after initial batch mixing . a control and test chocolate were prepared using the same ingredients and in a manner substantially similar to examples 3 and 4 , except that the concentration of lecithin was increased to 0 . 75 % by weight . pentamer concentration of these chocolates was measured after standardization ( finished chocolate ). the chocolate sample prepared according to the above test process contained 545 . 5 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate ( 95 . 7 % conservation of pentamer ), whereas the chocolate prepared according to the control process contained 439 . 6 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate ( 77 . 1 % conservation of pentamer ). accordingly , the test chocolate , prepared by the inventive process , retained 18 . 6 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol pentamer than the control chocolate . a control and test dark chocolate were prepared according to the processes described in examples 3 and 4 , using the ingredients within the concentration ranges set forth below . the selection of the appropriate ingredients and ingredient amounts within the given range to prepare a chocolate is readily performed by one skilled in the art , without undue experimentation . % concentration range ingredient ( by weight ) sucrose 35 - 55 % cp liquor 30 - 65 % fat 1 - 35 % lecithin 0 . 25 % the chocolate liquor used to prepare the chocolates in these examples contained 7819 μg total procyanidins per gram of chocolate liquor and 1300 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate liquor . the total procyanidin content represents the total cocoa polyphenol content of the liquor . assuming 100 % conservation of polyphenol concentration , the chocolates would contain 615 μg polyphenol pentamer per gram of chocolate . the test dark chocolate , prepared according to the process of example 4 , contained 502 μg pentamer ( 81 . 6 % conservation ) and 7091 μg total procyanidin ( 90 . 6 % conservation ) per gram of chocolate . the control dark chocolate , prepared according to the process of example 3 , contained 421 μg pentamer ( 68 . 5 % conservation ) and 6292 μg total procyanidin ( 80 . 5 % conservation ) per gram of chocolate . accordingly , the test chocolate sample prepared using the inventive process retained 13 . 1 % by weight more cocoa polyphenol pentamer and 10 . 2 % by weight more total procyanidins than the control chocolate sample . dark chocolates were prepared according to the process described below , using the following general recipe : % concentration range ingredient ( by weight ) sucrose 35 - 55 % chocolate liquor 15 - 30 % cp liquor 10 - 20 % fat 0 - 15 % lecithin 0 . 1 - 1 . 0 % the lecithin and fat were combined and mixed in a buhler paste mixer ( sold by buhler refiner co ., minneapolis , minn .) until homogeneous . the resulting fat / lecithin mixture was added to the sucrose in petzholdt conches , models pvw 2000 and pvw 3000 ( manufactured by j . s . petzholdt inh . h . pilz ., frankfurt , germany ) and mixed at about 35 ° c . to about 90 ° c . until homogeneous . the remaining ingredients , including the chocolate liquor and the cp liquor were added to the lecithin / fat / sucrose mixture and mixed until homogeneous . the resulting mixture was refined to a micrometer particle size of about 20 microns , conched , standardized and analyzed for cocoa polyphenol concentration as in example 3 . the combined chocolate liquors used in this example could provide a dark chocolate containing a total procyanidin concentration of 2933 μg and a pentamer concentration of 162 μg per gram of chocolate . two samples of the dark chocolate were prepared according to the above process and were determined to contain 158 μg pentamer and 2845 μg total procyanidins and 140 μg pentamer and 2866 μg total procyanidins , respectively . a dark chocolate was prepared according to the process described below , using the following general recipe : % concentration range ingredient ( by weight ) sucrose 15 - 35 % cp liquor 40 - 75 % cp cocoa powder 1 - 10 % fat 1 - 10 % vanillin 0 . 01 - 0 . 05 % lecithin 0 . 1 - 1 . 0 % using a 10 lb . sigma blade mixer , the lecithin and fat were combined and mixed until homogeneous . the resulting fat mixture was added to the granulated sucrose in a second 10 lb . sigma mixer . the sucrose , fat and lecithin were mixed at about 35 ° c . to about 90 ° c . until homogeneous . the remaining ingredients , including the cp liquor and cp cocoa powder , were added and mixed until homogeneous . the resulting mixture was refined to a micrometer particle size of about 20 microns , conched , standardized and analyzed for cocoa polyphenol concentration as in example 3 . the chocolate liquor used to prepare the chocolates in this example contained a total of 1000 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate liquor and the cocoa powder contained 1700 μg pentamer per gram of powder . assuming 100 % conservation of polyphenol concentration , the chocolates prepared according to the recipe above would contain of 768 μg polyphenol pentamer per gram of chocolate . this dark chocolate contained 732 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate , and thus retained over 95 %, by weight , of the desired polyphenol pentamer present in the polyphenol pentamer - containing ingredients used to prepare the chocolate . a milk chocolate was prepared according to the process described below , using the following general recipe : % concentration range ingredient ( by weight ) sucrose 35 - 55 % milk ingredient 12 - 25 % cp liquor 10 - 20 % fat 15 - 25 % emuslifier 0 . 1 - 1 . 0 % at least 21 % of the fat and at least 30 % of the emulsifier were combined and mixed until homogeneous , and the resulting fat mixture was added to the sucrose and milk ingredients , and mixed . the cp liquor was added to that mixture , and mixed until homogeneous . the resulting mixture was refined , conched , standardized by addition of the remaining fat and emulsifier , and analyzed for cocoa polyphenol concentration as in example 3 . assuming 100 % conservation of polyphenol concentration , the chocolate liquor used to prepare this chocolate , would provide a milk chocolate containing 120 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate . the milk chocolate , prepared according to the above process , contained 115 μg pentamer per gram of chocolate , and thus retained over 95 %, by weight , of the desired polyphenol pentamer present in the polyphenol pentamer - containing ingredient used to prepare the chocolate . other variations and modifications , which will be obvious to those skilled in the art , are within the scope and teachings of this invention . this invention is not to be limited except as set forth in the following claims .
0
in the preferred embodiment , a constrained rotary vane - type compressor ( fig1 and 3 ), has a central rotor 10 having a plurality of vanes 20 slideably extending radially outward from rotor 10 , residing within a stator 30 . stator 30 has end caps 40 formed or attached at both ends . the axis of rotation 11 of rotor 10 is offset from , but parallel to , the axialcenterline 32 of stator 30 so as to form vaned compartments of varying volume throughout the cycle of rotation . the distal vane tips 21 of vane 20 &# 34 ; engage &# 34 ; the interior surface 31 of stator 30 , thereby forming a properseal between vane compartments throughout the region of compression . otherwise , fluid in a particular compartment undergoing compression may escape to other regions within the stator , thereby lowering the overall efficiency of the compressor . by &# 34 ; engage &# 34 ; it is meant that the distal vanetips come into very near proximity to the surface of the stator interior innormal operation the interior surface 31 of the stator will become coated with lubricating oil which will act to seal this gap . in the preferred embodiment , the gap between the vane tip and the interior surface of the stator is in the range of 0 . 025 to 0 . 127 mm , ( 0 . 001 to 0 . 005 inches ). to assist such engagement , the vanes may be further guided by tracks 50 in end caps 40 of stator 30 . thus , each vane 20 is equipped with at least oneroller 51 which runs in tracks 50 . track 50 provides a cam surface for roller 51 contacting it , such that as the rollers progress about a track , vanes 20 are guided as they rotate within the interior of stator 30 . since the vane tip 21 does not actually touch the interior surface 31 of the stator 30 and the vane 20 does not rely on the interior surface 31 to arrest its centrifugal acceleration , it is possible to relieve certain portions of the stator interior substantially from the circumferential profile which the vane tip traces . ( this is not possible with a conventional , unconstrained , rotary vane compressor .) creating such relieved areas is , in fact , quite desirable in the vicinity of the inlet 90 and outlet 93 inasmuch as it allows a more gradual transition of the fluid flow and reduces energy losses in these areas . in fig3 and 4 it can be seen that the inlet port surface 91 and outlet port surface 92 are both relieved in this manner . throughout the operation of most conventional constrained rotary vane compressors , various liquids may collect on the exposed surfaces of the vanes . indeed , as previously noted , lubricating oil is purposely circulated with the refrigerant to aid in sealing and as a lubricant . in addition , under certain conditions slugs of refrigerant still in their liquid state may be encountered . as the vanes rapidly rotate , centrifugal force directs the liquids collected on the vane surfaces to the distal ends of the vanes . when the vane tip clearance is increased , as in the region near inlet port surface 91 , a ridge of liquid may form on the tip of the vane . this ridge of liquid may have a height such that when situated on the end of a rotating vane , the effective radial dimension of the vane exceeds the radial dimension of the stator interior . thus , upon avane entering the region of compression , the liquid may become trapped between the interior surface of the stator and the distal vane tip . the essentially instantaneous decrease in clearance above the tip of the vane does not allow sufficient time for the relatively viscous liquid to be displaced from the vane tip . the result is that liquid then impacts the interior surface of the stator which imparts a force upon the vane assembly . occurrence of this is often exhibited as noise and vibration of the compressor . fig4 and 5 clearly show the preferred embodiment of the oil skive 60 of the present invention . oil skive 60 is essentially an angular depression in the generally cylindrical stator wall 31 comprising a depression bottomwall 80 and a trailing wall or step 70 formed in the interior wall 31 of stator 30 . step 70 is referred to as the trailing wall of oil skive 60 because it is the last wall of oil skive 60 which vanes 20 pass as they rotate . the formation , ( typically by machining ) results in depression bottom wall 80 formed on one side of trailing wall 70 . skive 60 ( trailing wall 70 and accompanying depression bottom wall 80 ) is located between inlet port 90 of the compressor and region 100 where compression begins . the oil skive must be machined at the intersection point of inlet port surface 91 and stator interior 31 such that the oil skive 60 is the first point of engagement for a vane entering compression region 100 of stator 30 . the height of trailing wall 70 is preferably between about 0 . 5 mm to about 2 . 0 mm ; such height is more or less constant as the trailing wall extends across the width of the interior wall of stator 30 . oil skive 60 ( trailingwall 70 and depression bottom wall 80 ) preferably extends substantially across the width of stator 30 , and most preferably entirely so as this maximizes the benefits and advantages of the present invention . it is crucial to the function of the oil skive 60 that the intersection of trailing wall 70 and stator interior 31 be essentially a sharp edge . fig5 shows clearly that the trailing wall 70 extends across the width of stator 30 at a slight angle to the axial centerline of stator 30 projectedonto stator wall 31 . in the preferred embodiment , trailing wall 70 is oriented such that as the vane 20 approaches the oil skive 60 , the liquid - covered distal tip of the vane will make contact first at point 71 . as the vane movement progresses the point of contact ( where oil is being skived off the vane tip ) will shift from 71 to the opposite end 72 of the trailing wall 70 . the projected length 73 of skive trailing wall 70 is equal to the distance that the vane travels during this skiving action and , with the rpm , determines the amount of time during which the oil can be displaced from the vane tip . if distance 73 is zero , there is essentially no time for oil displacement and large hydraulic forces , vibration , etc . ensue . in the preferred embodiment distance 73 is approximately the same as the thickness of one vane 20 used in the compressor , resulting in an angular orientation of trailing wall 70 to theaxial centerline of stator 30 of approximately 10 °. in the broader aspects of the invention , this angle can be from about 1 ° to 30 °. liquid which has been wiped off a passing vane 20 collects on trailing wall70 and on depression bottom wall 80 existing on one side of trailing wall 70 . the surface of depression bottom wall 80 extends from trailing wall 70to its intersection with inlet port surface 91 . as trailing wall 70 is oriented at some angle to the vane 20 edge , the liquid collected on depression bottom wall 80 is further directed towards that end of trailingwall 70 which last engages a passing vane 20 . this collected liquid is thenswept into the general compression region after the vane 20 has passed the trailing wall 70 , and before the next vane 20 approaches . the trailing wall 70 , as seen in fig4 should be oriented approximately perpendicular to the path of the tip of passing vane 20 , or even undercut , to ensure that the skiving action will not generate a radial force onto thevane 20 . as shown in fig3 - 4 , the trailing wall 70 is generally radially oriented with respect to stator 30 , substantially in the same plane as a vane 20 having reached its point of closest approach to wall 70 while sweeping past oil skive 60 . furthermore , the surface of depression bottom wall 80 intersects trailing wall 70 face surface at an angle of 90 ° in the preferred embodiment . however , it is envisioned that a range of trailing wall face angles may be utilized , greater or lesser than 90 °. in the foregoing , skive 60 has been shown positioned just &# 34 ; downstream &# 34 ; ( in the direction of rotation of rotor 10 and vanes 20 ) from inlet port 90 . inthe broader aspects of the invention , the skive , or multiple skives , could be located at different points throughout the stator . a logical location for such a skive is any point at which vane tips 21 move from an area where they are not in close proximity to the interior surface 31 of stator30 to a point where they re - approach close proximity to the interior surface 31 . thus a logical location for a second oil skive 60a in the preferred embodiment shown would be just on the downstream side of the exhaust port 93 as illustrated in fig6 . of course , it is understood that the foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects thereof as set forth in the appended claims , which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law , including the doctrine of equivalents .
8
computers have become an essential tool for musicians and particularly electronic percussion instruments where synthesized effects are an important performance feature . laptop computers provide a convenient and easy way of bringing the computer and the musician closer together through the computer &# 39 ; s smaller size and versatility . the illustrated embodiment of the invention solves the problem of maintaining a laptop close to the performer where it is needed , while still keeping it in a safe and secure location without the threat of it becoming damaged . the computer becomes in effect one of the musical instruments that the performer plays . the support stand 10 of the invention is illustrated in perspective in fig1 attached to a cymbal stand 10 a , with a laptop computer 10 b locked in position . looking now to fig1 , support stand 10 is rectangular in shape and is large enough to accommodate the foot print of laptop computers that have a width of approximately 17 inches or less . support stand 10 includes a rectangular base plate 11 comprised of a lightweight material such as aluminum , graphite or a hard plastic composite . a pair of upstanding flanges 12 are attached to the side edges of base plate 11 . flanges 12 are made of the same material as base plate 11 and can be either be coupled to the base plate 11 , or are an integral extension of base plate 11 itself , e . g . base plate 11 and flanges 12 may be fabricated as a stamped sheet and then bent upward . the embodiment of fig1 shows base plate 11 as extending between flanges 12 , but it is also contemplated that the part of the material of base plate 11 between flanges 12 may be removed to allow air circulation to the underside of computer 10 b . base plate 11 also can be provided with several slots 22 - 30 which allow ventilation , especially for those computers that have exhaust ports on the underside . it is to be understood that although slots 22 - 30 have been shown as symmetrically defined into base plate 11 , they may also be asymmetrically defined there through to accommodate computers of different widths or ventilation port configurations . having a clear or unobstructed air path through the base plate 11 for these computers prevents overheating and other heat damage while the laptop is in the mounting surface . it is to be understood that the open slots 22 - 30 shown in fig1 and 2 are for illustrative purposes only and that any configuration , placement , and number of slots can be used without departing from the original spirit and scope of the invention . fig1 further shows a non - slip rubber layer 20 disposed on the top surface of base plate 11 , to provide a nonslip surface to prevent the laptop from moving or sliding on base plate 11 . non - slip rubber layer 20 may be smooth in appearance or contain small ridges or grooves which will increase the surface friction and further decrease the likelihood of slippage . the non - slip rubber layer 20 is also disposed on the inside of the elements that contact the sides of the computer . as shown in fig1 and 5 , movable clamping member 13 is covered with non - slip rubber and is coupled to bolt 34 , which is mounted on the right flange 12 . the left side flange 12 , which constitutes a fixed clamping member , has a rubber layer 20 . a similar size piece of non - slip rubber layer 20 is placed on clamping member 13 as shown in fig5 . a screw threaded element such as a lag bolt 34 is embedded or captured in clamping member 13 or , in another embodiment , clamping member 13 may be omitted and bolt 34 captured directly in non - slip rubber layer 20 . for a laptop computer to be securely held on base plate 11 , the left side of the laptop is placed against the left fixed flange 12 . adjustable right side flange 12 is then manipulated to place non - slip rubber layer 20 of the right side flange 12 against the right side of the laptop . winged termination 18 is manually turned , advancing lag bolt 34 through right side flange 12 to clamp member 13 and layer 20 against the front edge of the laptop placed between flanges 12 . it is to be expressly understood that winged termination 18 is only one of many different forms of equivalent terminations that may be used , such as a knob 44 shown in fig8 and 9 , keys , levers , wheels and the like . the lag bolt 34 may be of any size as long as its threaded diameter engages a threaded hole made in material on the right side flange 12 . the length of lag bolt 34 is long enough so that it reaches the right side of a laptop computer , which in the illustrated embodiment may be 12 inches across as measured from flange 12 and still has enough length left to thread the hole in right side 12 and be adjusted by winged termination 18 to snuggly clamp the computer . the reverse side or bottom plan view of base plate 11 is shown in fig2 . the base plate 11 has no rubber layering underneath and is left exposed as the laptop is placed on the top of the mounting surface 10 only and no rubber is needed on the reverse side . also depicted on the reverse side of base plate 11 by fig2 is the support post 32 which is used to position the mount and laptop in a fixed position in the user &# 39 ; s immediate workspace . support post 32 is coupled to base plate 11 by a weld or otherwise fixed to or in it , and extends vertically downward from the base plate 11 as depicted in fig3 and 4 . in a separate embodiment , the support post 32 is angled at approximately 15 degrees with respect to the base plate 11 above . the angle of support post 32 may be increased or decreased as needed to increase accessibility . the angled support post 32 effectively holds the secured laptop computer at an angle which increases the accessibility of the keyboard of the computer to a user who is sitting down next to the device . the support post 32 may be made of any lightweight strong material such as aluminum or graphite and may be of any diameter sufficient enough to support the weight of the mounting surface and laptop computer without breaking or bending . it is to be expressly understood that support post 32 may be placed anywhere on the underside of base plate 11 without departing from the original spirit and scope of the invention . for example , in the preferred embodiment , support post 32 may be mounted near one edge of base plate 11 so that the distance between the distal end of support post 32 and a clamp ( not shown ) used to fix mount 10 to a musical instrument or drum set rail is minimized . fig3 and 4 show the right and left side of the mount 10 , respectively . these figures clearly show that non - slip rubber 20 is disposed on top of mount 10 and that support post 32 extends vertically downward . also shown by these figures are the relative sizes of flanges 12 to the rest of the width of base plate 11 . flanges 12 do not extend along so much of the width of the base plate 11 that any of the peripheral ports or access doors normally positioned on the side of the laptop computer are obstructed . having the peripheral ports such as the usb port , headphones jack , cd access door , and internet jack available lets the user of the mount 10 take full advantage of the capabilities of the computer and its peripherals without having to compromise for the stability that mount 10 provides . in one embodiment of the invention , support rod 32 is coupled to a drum set via the use of a multi - clamp or double - ended clamp which is well known to those in the art . the multi - clamp attaches to support post 32 on one end and is then attached anywhere to an existing drum set or drum set rail as preferred by the user on the other end . in addition to providing a non - slip surface on the mounting surface , the rubber layer 20 also acts as a shock absorber . the rubber layer thus may be comprised of an energy - absorbing foam material in addition to having a nonslip upper surface . shock waves caused by the drums being played will travel up support post 32 but will be decreased by the layer of rubber 20 that covers the base plate 11 and flanges 12 thus protecting the laptop computer from vibrations . in another embodiment of the invention , multiple holes 36 are placed along the outside edges of base plate 11 as depicted in fig6 . different models of laptop computers have their peripheral ports located in different positions on the unit . the holes 36 allow the flanges 12 to be detachable and be placed in any configuration along the sides of the base plate 11 according to the model of the computer that the user is employing in order to guarantee access to the desired peripheral ports . fig7 and 8 show a side view of the multiple configurations of the detachable flanges 12 . each flange 12 has at least one lag bolt 34 embedded or coupled to it . to place the detachable flanges 12 in base plate 11 , the user threads the lag bolt ( s ) 34 through the hole ( s ) 36 in base plate 11 . winged termination ( s ) 18 are then manually tightened on the lag bolt ( s ) until the winged termination ( s ) is flush against the base plate 11 , thus locking the flanges 12 into place . it is to be expressly understood that the number and location of the lag bolts 34 as depicted in fig7 and 8 are for illustrative purposes only . any number of lag bolts 34 may be placed in the flanges 12 at any position so as to fit the holes 36 in base plate 11 without departing from the original spirit and scope of the invention . fig6 further depicts that holes 36 also allow the use of an s - hook 40 that is well known the art to be placed in the base plate 11 . once s - hook 40 is placed in base plate 11 in any of the holes 36 provided , it is used to support and hold additional peripheral devices such as headphones 42 that aid the user in creating music . also depicted in the embodiment of fig6 is a mini - light 38 which aides the user in viewing the keyboard and other components of the laptop computer . the mini - light 38 is well known in the art and couples to base plate 11 by a standard clamp . in yet another embodiment of the invention , support rod 32 is inserted into a freestanding adjustable tripod . the term “ tripod ” carries all of the common meanings and definitions as applied to the prior art and expressly includes all known designs for free standing fixtures without regard to the number of feet or details of structure . the tripod is adjustable so that a guitar player or keyboardist may use a laptop computer while standing , and yet so that a lighting , sound , or video playback operator may use the same computer and mounting surface combination while sitting in a chair . with regard to the use of this invention in the music field , the stand advantageously can be provided with a finish and / or materials to fit with the “ hardware look ” of the existing drum market , so that it aesthetically appears as if were an originally intended accessory . however , it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such a field , but can be used in any environment where laptop computers are utilized in conjunction with other apparatus or machinery . many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following invention and its various embodiments .
5
the following detailed description of the invention is provided to aid those skilled in the art in practicing the present invention . however , the following detailed description of the invention should not be construed to unduly limit the present invention . variations and modifications in the embodiments discussed may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present inventive discovery . this invention relates to a new class of novel cross - linked thermosetting polymers ( 3 ) made by the following reaction : ## str4 ## the conversion of the linear polymers ( 2 ) to the cross - linked polymers ( 3 ) is accomplished either by exposing the linear polymers ( 2 ) to heat or light . thermal conversion of the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds in polymers ( 2 ) to form the thermosetting polymers ( 3 ) is dependent on both the curing temperature and the curing time . the heating of the linear polymers ( 2 ) is carried out over a curing time sufficient for the cross linking of the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds of the individual linear polymers ( 2 ) to occur resulting in the formation of the cross - linked polymers ( 3 ). in general , the curing time is inversely related to the curing temperature . the typical temperature range , the preferred temperature range , the more preferred temperature range and the most preferred temperature range for the thermal conversion of linear polymers ( 2 ) to the cross - linked thermoset polymers ( 3 ) are , typically , 150 °- 450 ° c ., 200 °- 400 ° c ., 225 °- 375 ° c . and 250 °- 350 ° c ., respectively . the typical curing time , the preferred curing time , the more preferred curing time , and the most preferred curing time for the thermal conversion of linear polymers ( 2 ) to the cross - linked thermoset polymers ( 3 ) are , typically , 1 - 48 hours , 2 - 24 hours , 8 - 12 hours and 1 - 8 hours , respectively . the photocrosslinking process , of converting the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds of the linear polymers ( 2 ) into alkenyl cross - linked functionality necessary for forming the thermosetting polymers ( 3 ), is dependent on both the exposure time and the intensity of the light used during the photocrosslinking process . ultraviolet ( uv ) light is the most preferred wavelength of light used during the photocrosslinking process . the exposure time of the linear polymers ( 2 ) to the uv light is inversely related to the intensity of the uv light used . the exposure time to the uv or to other light used is that time which is sufficient for the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds of the linear polymers ( 2 ) to be cross linked to form the thermosetting polymers ( 3 ). the intensity of the light used is that intensity which is sufficient for the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds of the linear polymers ( 2 ) to be cross linked to form the thermosetting polymers ( 3 ). furthermore , the wavelength of the light used is not limited to the uv range . the wavelength of light used is that wavelength which is sufficient for the carbon - to - carbon triple bonds of the linear polymers ( 2 ) to be cross linked to form the thermosetting polymers ( 3 ). the typical exposure time , the preferred exposure time , the more preferred exposure time and the most preferred exposure time are , typically , 1 - 100 hours , 24 - 36 hours , 12 - 24 hours and 4 - 8 hours , respectively . examples of the conversion of linear polymers ( 2 ) to the cross - linked thermosets ( 3 ) are given below . the patent application of keller et al . titled carborane -( siloxane or silane )- unsaturated hydrocarbon based polymers , designated under navy case no . : 74 , 945 and filed on nov . 30 , 1992 , is incorporated herein by reference . the patent application filed on nov . 30 , 1992 , teaches one how to make the precursor linear polymers ( 2 ) needed for making the thermosets or thermosetting polymers ( 3 ), the subject of the present invention . the general chemical scheme for synthesizing the linear polymers ( 2 ) is represented by the exemplary synthesis of ( 2 &# 39 ;) given below : ## str5 ## where : ( 1 ) n = 2 , u = x = 1 , and y is a postive integer ; ( 2 ) --( c . tbd . c ) n -- represents a conjugated acetylenic moiety where n = 2 ; ( 6 ) z is selected from the group consisting of f , cl , br and i ; ( 7 ) li --( c . tbd . c ) n -- li represents a dilithio salt where n = 2 ; and given the general scheme , step 1 involves forming a salt , for example , the dilithio salt of butadiyne by reacting 4 equivalents of n - buli with hexachlorobutadiene . to form the polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;), step 2 involves reacting equal molar concentrations of the dilithiobutadiyne produced in step 1 with compound ( 1 &# 39 ;). it should be noted that if trichloroethylene is used in step 1 instead of hexachlorobutadiene , a salt of ethyne or acetylene is formed in step 1 where n = 1 . consequently , an ethynyl moiety is incorporated into the polymer produced in step 2 where n = 1 . by using hexachlorobutadiene in step 1 , the salt of butadiyne is formed where n = 2 . in turn , a butadiyne moiety is incorporated into polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;) where n = 2 . in order to form a polymer where n = 3 , a salt of hexatriyne needs to be formed in step 1 . the synthesis of the disodium salt of hexatriyne is given in the article , incorporated herein by reference , by bock and seidl , titled d - orbital effects in silicon substituted π - electron systems . part xii . some spectroscopic properties of alkyl and silyl acetylenes and polyacetylenes , j . chem . soc . ( b ), 1158 ( 1968 ) at pp . 1159 . thus , by forming the appropriate alkynyl salt , the length of the alkynyl moiety , represented by the value of n , incorporated into the polymer formed in step 2 can be controlled . typically , the value of n can be varied from 1 to 12 . acetylenic derivatives having the general formula h ( c . tbd . c ) n h can be readily converted into the dilithio salts by reacting with n - butyllithium . the respective dilithio salts , with values of n varying from 1 to 12 , can then be incorporated into the backbone of polymers ( 2 ) as shown in the aforementioned step 2 . the value of n can be varied , typically , from 1 to 12 , more often from 1 to 10 and 1 to 8 , most often from 1 to 6 and , in particular , from 1 to 3 and 1 to 2 . acetylenic derivatives having the general formula h ( c . tbd . c ) n h can be readily formed by the synthesis given by eastmond et al . in silylation as a protective method for terminal alkynes in oxidative couplings -- a general synthesis of the parent polyynes , 28 tetrahedron 4601 ( 1972 ), incorporated herein by reference . furthermore , a variety of compounds can be produced that have structures similar to that of compound ( 1 &# 39 ;) shown in step 1 . one variation includes replacing the methyl groups attached to the si with other hydrocarbon or aromatic moieties . typical reactions synthesizing disubstituted dichloro silanes of varying size ( varying values of u ) and having different r groups are known in the art : ## str7 ## where m &# 39 ; is a group 1 metal or alloy . the above reaction is cited by zeldin et al . ( editors ) in inorganic and organometallic polymers , published by american chemical society , washington , d . c . ( 1988 ) at 44 and 90 , incorporated herein by reference . the value of u can be varied , typically , from 1 to 1000 , more often from 1 to 500 and 1 to 250 , most often from 1 to 100 and 1 to 10 , and , in particular , from 1 to 6 . another variation of compound ( 1 &# 39 ;) includes controlling the values of x in addition to that of u . synthesis of a variation of compound ( 1 &# 39 ;) where u = 1 and x = 0 and z = cl is given by papetti et al . in a new series of organoboranes . vi . the synthesis and reactions of some silyl neocarboranes , 3 inorg . chem . 1448 ( 1964 ) at 1449 , incorporated herein by reference , under the caption &# 34 ; c , c &# 39 ;- bis ( methyldichlorosilyl ) neocarborane ( iv ).&# 34 ; the synthesis of compound ( 1 &# 39 ;) where u = 1 and x = 1 and z = cl is given by papetti et al . in a new series of organoboranes . the preparation of poly - m - carboranylenesiloxanes , 4 journal of polymer science : part a - 1 , 1623 ( 1966 ) at 1630 , incorporated herein by reference , under the caption &# 34 ; compound ( vii ).&# 34 ; synthesis of a variation of compound ( 1 &# 39 ;) where u = 1 and x = 2 and z = cl is given by scott et al . in icosahedral carboranes . xv . monomeric carboranylenesiloxanes , 9 inorg . chem . 2597 ( 1970 ) at 2599 , incorporated herein by reference , under the caption &# 34 ; 1 , 7 - bis ( 5 - chlorohexamethyltrisiloxanyl )- m - carborane ( iv ).&# 34 ; while leaving u = 1 , the value of x can be varied , typically , from 0 to 1000 , more often from 0 to 500 and 0 to 250 , most often from 0 to 10 , and , in particular , from 0 to 2 by the following proposed reaction scheme : ## str8 ## where x and w are integers greater than or equal to 0 ( x ≧ 0 ; w ≧ 0 ) and u is a postive integer . following the scheme in the aforementioned steps 1 and 2 , the linear polymers ( 2 ) can be formed by reacting a salt of an alkyne or a respective grignard reagent with compound ( 1 ): ## str9 ## where : ( 1 ) n is an integer from 1 to 12 and u and y are postive integers ; ( 2 ) --( c . tbd . c ) n -- represents an unconjugated acetylenic moiety when n equals 1 or a conjugated acetylenic moiety when n is an integer greater than 1 ; ( 3 ) r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 represent hydrocarbon moieties or halo - substituted hydrocarbon moieties . ( 4 ) ## str10 ## represents said carboranyl group ; and ( 5 ) q and q &# 39 ; are integers from 3 to 16 ; ( 6 ) z is selected from the group consisting of f , cl , br and i ; ( 7 ) m --( c . tbd . c ) n -- m represents a salt of an alkyne or the respective grignard reagent where m is selected from the group consisting of li , na , k and mgx &# 39 ; where x &# 39 ; is selected from the group consisting of f , cl , br and i ; and ( 8 ) x represents an integer greater than or equal to zero ( x ≧ 0 ). these linear polymers ( 2 ) exhibit sufficiently low viscosities either at room temperature or at their respective melting points ( mp ≈ 200 ° c .) to readily fill complex dies or shapes for forming parts therefrom . in addition , these linear polymers ( 2 ) can be further polymerized into thermosets ( 3 ) and ceramics that form rigid shapes which are oxidatively stable at high temperatures above 600 ° c . two of the examples given detail the synthesis of polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;) and related polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;), polymer ( 2 &# 34 ;) having the ## str11 ## where : ( 1 ) u = 1 and x = 0 , q = q &# 39 ;= 10 and y is a positive integer . dilithiobutadiyne was prepared by the method of ijadi - magshoodi and barton . see s . ijadi - magshoodi , y . pang , and t . j . barton , efficient , &# 34 ; one - pot &# 34 ; synthesis of silylene - acetylene and disilylene - acetylene preceramic polymers from trichloroethylene , 28 j . polym . sci ., part a : polym . chem . 955 ( 1990 ), incorporated herein by reference . according to magshoodi et al ., 4 equivalents of n - buli in thf are cooled to - 78 ° c . and hexachlorobutadiene is slowly added . after warming to room temperature , the dilithiobutadiyne is not isolated before use . in a typical synthesis , n - buli ( 34 . 2 ml , 85 . 5 mmol ) in 12 . 0 ml thf was cooled to - 78 ° c . hexachlorobutadiene ( 5 . 58 g , 21 . 4 mmol ) in 2 . 0 ml thf was added dropwise by cannula . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 2 hrs . then dilithiobutadiyne / thf was again cooled to - 78 ° c . to this , an equal - molar amount of the 1 , 7 - bis ( chlorotetramethyldisiloxanyl )- closo - dodeca - meta - carborane ( 1 &# 39 ;) ( 10 . 22 g , 21 . 4 mmol ) in 4 . 0 ml thf was added dropwise by cannula . the temperature of the reaction mixture was allowed to slowly rise to ambient temperature and stirred overnight . a white solid ( licl ) was filtered off and the solvent removed by evaporation at reduced pressure leaving ( 2 &# 39 ;). the polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;) was dissolved in ether and dried over sodium sulfate . after filtration through celite , the ether was evaporated at reduced pressure , leaving the dark - brown viscous polymer ( 2 &# 39 ;). a 97 % yield ( 9 . 5 g ) was obtained after drying in vacuo . gel - permeation chromatography ( gpc ) indicated the presence of low molecular weight species ( mw . sup .˜ 500 ) as well as higher average molecular weight polymers ( mw . sup .˜ 4900 ). drying under vacuum at 150 ° c . removed lower - weight volatiles giving a 90 % overall yield . major ir peaks ( cm - 1 ): 2963 ( c - h stretch ); 2600 ( b - h stretch ); 2175 ( c . tbd . c stretch ); 1260 ( si - ch 3 deformation ). and it is prepared by the method of ijadi - magshoodi et al . see s . ijadi - magshoodi , y . pang , and t . j . barton 28 j . polym . sci ., part a : polym . chem . 955 ( 1990 ), incorporated herein by reference . according to the ijadi - magshoodi method for preparing dilithioacetylene , 3 equivalents of n - buli in thf are cooled to - 78 ° c . and trichloroethylene is slowly added . after warming to room temperature , the dilithioacetylene is not isolated before use . in a typical synthesis , n - buli ( 21 . 6 ml , 54 . 0 mmol ) in 10 . 0 ml thf was cooled to - 78 ° c . under an argon atmosphere . trichloroethylene ( 1 . 6 ml , 18 . 0 mmol ) in 5 . 0 ml thf was added dropwise . the reaction was permitted to warm to room temperature and stirred for 14 hrs . compound ( 1 &# 34 ;) is synthesized according to the method of papetti & amp ; heying . see s . papetti et al . 3 inorg chem 1448 ( 1964 ), incorporated herein by reference . the structure of compound ( 1 &# 34 ;) is given below : ## str14 ## according to the method of papetti et al ., a 100 ml round bottom 3 - neck flask was fitted with an addition funnel and septa , flushed with argon , and flamed . the reaction was carried out under an inert atmosphere ( argon ). butyllithium ( 18 . 0 ml / 2 . 5m in hexanes , 44 . 9 mmol ) was cooled to - 78 ° c . meta - carborane ( 2 . 5902 g , 18 . 0 mmol ) in 10 ml thf was added dropwise . a white solid ( dilithiocarborane ) formed and the reaction was allowed to warm to ambient temperature . after cooling the reaction mixture back to - 78 ° c ., dichlorodimethylsilane ( 5 . 5 ml , 43 . 5 mmol ) was added dropwise . the product ( 1 &# 34 ;) in solution was not isolated . to form the product ( 2 &# 34 ;), the dilithioacetylene is reacted with ( 1 &# 34 ;). the dilithioacetylene in thf was cooled back to - 78 ° c . to this , ( 1 &# 34 ;), as previously prepared , was added dropwise ( 18 . 0 mmol , 5 . 93 g ) and allowed to warm to ambient temperature and stirred overnight . the solvent was removed by evaporation at reduced pressure leaving behind the dark brown polymer ( 2 &# 34 ;). conversion of poly [ 1 , 7 - dicarbadodecborane ( 12 )- 1 , 7 - diyl -( 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 - disiloxanediyl )- butadiynediyl ] ( 2 ) to thermosetting polymer ( 3 ). ## str15 ## a 1 . 03 g sample of 2 a viscous liquid , was heated on a hotplate . temperature of the hotplate was measured with a ptc ® surface thermometer (+/- 5 ° c .). when 2 was heated above 100 ° c . for 2 hr , it became thinner and runny . the linear polymer 2 was cured by heating at 150 ° c . for 30 min , at 198 ° c . for 45 min , at 250 ° c . for 30 min , at 320 ° c . for 1 hr , and at 340 ° c . for 1 hr . while heating at 198 ° c . for 45 min , 2 increased in viscosity and became very sticky as determined by touching a glass rod to the surface . upon further heating to 250 ° c ., 2 began to solidify , had hardened somewhat while at 320 ° c ., and became a hard solid dark glass 3 at 340 ° c ., during the heat treatment , 13 wt % of volatiles were evolved from the sample . the polymer 2 was dissolved in methylene chloride . the solution was then placed on a platinum screen 1 inch square and the solvent was evaporated leaving behind a film of polymer 2 on the platinum screen . this process was repeated until a reasonable ir spectrum of 2 could be obtained using a fourier transform infrared spectrometer ( ftir ). a mercury lamp with a jarrell - ash power supply was used without monochrometer or filters to irradiate 2 either in air or in argon . the screen was mounted on an ir cell holder so that 2 could be irradiated in the holder and both could be moved without disturbing their relative positions for monitoring by ir . irradiation of the polymer either in air or in inert atmospheres resulted in a decrease of the intensity of the triple bond absorption ( 2170 cm - 1 ) a determined from ftir spectroscopy . the irradiation was continued until the absorption due to the triple bond had disappeared . a sample of 2 ( 1 . 5490 g ) was converted to 3 by quickly heating to 300 ° c . in argon , cured consecutively at 320 °, 350 °, and 400 ° c . for 2 hours at each temperature , and then cooled at 1 ° c ./ min . the resulting void - free dark brown solid , 3 , weighed 1 . 4840 g ( 96 wt % of 2 ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 2963 ( c - h stretch ); 2599 ( b - h stretch ); 1410 ; 1262 ( si - ch 3 deformation ). fig2 shows a tga of a sample of 3 obtained by curing 2 under nitrogen consecutively for 2 hr at 250 °, 300 °, 325 °, and 350 ° c . the tga thermogram was determined on the cured sample 3 from 100 to 900 ° c . a single thermal degradative process is apparent starting at ≈ 420 ° c . with an 82 wt % residue retention at 900 ° c . three samples of 2 ( 0 . 5331 , 0 . 6284 , and 0 . 5819 g ) were thermally cross - linked to form homogeneous hard dark brown ( almost black ) solids 3 by heating at 300 ° c . for 4 hr in argon . weight losses were 2 . 8 , 2 . 6 , and 3 . 2 wt %, respectively . the second sample was then heated in argon for 4 hr at 400 ° c . resulting in a loss of an additional 5 . 2 wt %. visually , there was no change in the sample after the 400 ° c . cure . the third sample of example 7 was heated to 400 ° c . for 4 hr in air resulting in a weight loss of 6 . 4 wt %. the appearance of this sample differed from previous samples heated under inert atmospheres . the sample seemed to segregate into different components , like cement around irregularly shaped flat stone tiles , the cement having an orangish brown outline at the interfaces . closer examination , however , reveals that what looks like stone tiles is only on the sample surface and the arteries that seemingly surround the plates are actually part of the glass - like bulk underneath the plates . surface analysis studies indicate that the surface is enriched with oxide forms of boron and silicon . a solid disk of 3 ( 1 . 2263 g ) was obtained by curing at a maximum temperature of 400 ° c . for 4 hr . the resulting sample was heated for 100 hr in a flow of air resulting in a loss of 6 . 8 wt %. the surface of the disk after heating was covered with yellow - brown and black flakes , some of which had fallen off . removal of the flakes left imprints on the surface similar in shape to the flat irregular - shaped flat stone tiles described in example 8 . however , the structural integrity of the bulk of the disk remained as a black void - free glass . fig1 shows a tga in air of 3 obtained by curing 2 in air for 2 hr at 300 ° and at 450 ° c . for 3 hr . the tga was determined on a powdery sample of 3 from 200 ° to 860 ° c . the residue at 860 ° c . has actually gained 1 wt %. two thermo - oxidative degradation processes are observed each followed by periods of weight gain . we believe the gains in weight are due to the formation of oxidative protective layer , probably oxidation of boron and silicon . weight loss first occurs from around 330 ° c . until 450 ° c . where the global minimum ( 96 wt %) is reached . the sample then gains weight until 550 ° c . ( 98 . 5 wt %) followed by a small loss up to 640 ° c . weight again increases from there until 830 ° c . stabilizing at 101 wt %. a sample ( 1 . 0 ) of 2 was weighed into an alumimum planchet and cured in air by heating on a hot plate at 200 ° c . for 1 hr and at 300 ° c . for 2 hr . the dark brown thermosetting polymer 3 was somewhat brittle but exhibited superb thermal and oxidative properties at elevated temperatures .
2
in the drawings , like numerals are used to designate like elements throughout . fig6 shows the outline of a control circuit in accordance with the present invention . a first control section 133 controls the switching operation of an output transistor 113 on the basis of a control signal ctl input from an external device . a second control section 134 gradually reduces a period of time in which the output transistor 113 is turned on , by utilization of the discharging operation of a capacitor ( not shown ) resulting from suspension of the input of the control signal ctl . fig7 shows a dc -- dc converter in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . a dc -- dc converter 111 comprises a control circuit 112 preferably formed on a single chip integrated circuit and a plurality of external elements . a first output signal out1 from the control circuit 112 is output to the gate of an output transistor 113 . the output transistor is preferably an n - channel mos transistor , and the drain of the output transistor 113 is connected to a power source vcc . the source of the output transistor 113 is connected to the drain of a synchronous rectifying transistor 114 composed of an n - channel mos transistor . the gate of the transistor 114 receives a second output signal out2 from the control circuit 112 , and the source of the transistor 114 is connected to a ground gnd . the source of the output transistor 113 is connected to an output terminal to via an output coil 115 and is also connected to the cathode of a flywheel diode 116 . the anode of the flywheel diode 116 is connected to the ground gnd . the output terminal to is connected to the ground gnd via a capacitor 117 . the output transistor 113 , the synchronous rectifying transistor 114 , the output coil 115 , the flywheel diode 116 , and the capacitor 117 operate in the same manner as in the previously - described conventional dc -- dc converter . the output terminal to is connected to the ground gnd via resistors r1 , r2 . in order to detect a voltage vo output from the output terminal to , the resistors r1 , r2 divide the output voltage vo at a ratio between their resistance values . the thus - divided voltage is input , as an input signal in , to a negative input terminal of an error amplifier 118a within the control circuit 112 . the error amplifier 118a has first and second positive input terminals . the error amplifier 118a outputs a voltage corresponding to a difference between a lower one of the voltages input to the positive input terminals and the voltage input to the negative input terminal . more specifically , if the lower one of the voltage of the positive input terminals is greater than the voltage of the negative input terminal , the output voltage increases . in contrast , if the lower one of the voltages of the positive input terminals is smaller than the voltage of the negative input terminal , the output voltage decreases . the first positive input terminal of the error amplifier 118a is connected to a changeover circuit 119 and to the ground gnd via a external capacitor 120 . on the basis of the signal output from an input circuit 131 ( described below ), the changeover circuit 119 connects the capacitor 120 to either a contact &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; via a movable contact 119a . a current source 121 which supplies a constant current i is connected to the contact &# 34 ; a ,&# 34 ; and the contact &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is connected to the ground gnd via a resistor r3 . when the movable contact 119a of the changeover circuit 119 is connected to the contact point &# 34 ; a ,&# 34 ; the capacitor 120 is charged by the constant current i supplied from the current source 121 and when the movable contact 119a is connected to the contact point &# 34 ; b ,&# 34 ; the charge stored in the capacitor 120 is discharged to the ground gnd via the resistor r3 . the charge / discharge voltage of the capacitor 120 is input as an input signal cs to the first positive input terminal of the error amplifier 118a . the current source 121 , the changeover circuit 119 , and the capacitor 120 form a gentle start - up circuit , which gently increases the input signal cs , with a time constant set by the constant current i and the capacitance 120 , when the movable contact 119a is switched to the contact &# 34 ; a .&# 34 ; the second positive input terminal of the error difference amplifier 118a receives a reference voltage vref1 . the reference voltage vref1 is lower in electric potential than the source voltage vcc and is set to a voltage determined by division of a desired output voltage vo by means of the resistors r1 , r2 . the signal output from the error amplifier 118a is input to the positive input terminals of first and second pwm comparators 122a , 123a . a triangular wave having a given frequency is input to the negative input terminals of the first and second pwm comparators 122a , 123a from an oscillator 124 . the first and second pwm comparators 122a , 123a are activated by means of a bias voltage vb received from a bias voltage generation circuit 125 . a reference voltage generation circuit ( not shown ) receives the bias voltage vb and generates the reference voltage vref1 . the first pwm comparator 122a compares the voltage input to the negative input terminal with the voltage input to the positive input terminal . if the voltage input to the positive input terminal is greater than the voltage input to the negative input terminal , the first pwm comparator 122a outputs a signal high to a first output circuit 126 . the second pwm comparator 123a compares the voltage input to the negative input terminal with the voltage input to the positive input terminal . if the voltage input to the positive input terminal is greater than the voltage input to the negative input terminal , the second pwm comparator 123a outputs a signal high to the second output circuit 127 . the output signal from the first pwm comparator 122a is buffered in the first output circuit 126 , and the thus - buffered output signal out1 is output to the gate of the output transistor 113 . the signal output from the second pwm comparator 123a is buffered and inverted by the second output circuit 127 , and the thus - buffered and inverted signal out2 is output to the gate of the synchronous rectifying transistor 114 . the output signal out1 is a pulse signal which is identical in frequency to the signal output from the oscillator 124 . the time period over which the output signal out1 goes high becomes longer as the level of the voltage output from the error amplifier 118a increases . the output signal out2 is also a pulse signal which is identical in frequency to the signal output from the oscillator 124 . the time period over which the output signal out2 goes low becomes longer as the level of the voltage output from the error amplifier 118a increases . thus the output signal out2 is an inverted signal of the output signal out1 . in order to prevent a through current from flowing from the power source vcc to the ground gnd via the output transistor 113 and the synchronous rectifying transistor 114 , it is desired that the output signal out2 is high in a period in which the output signal out1 is low . for example , to achieve this goal , the signal output from the error amplifier 118a and input to the positive input terminal of the second pwm comparator 123a , may be dropped by a predetermined amount . the signal cs is input to the negative input terminal of a comparator 128 , and the positive input terminal of the comparator 128 receives e . g ., a voltage as low as about 50 mv , as a reference voltage vref2 . when the input signal cs is decreased to a value smaller than the reference voltage vref2 , the comparator 128 outputs a signal high . in contrast , when the input signal cs is increased to a value greater than the reference voltage vref2 , the comparator 128 outputs a signal low . the signal output from the comparator 128 is inverted by an inverter circuit 129 , and the thus - inverted signal is fed to an or circuit 130 . the inverter circuit 129 operates on the bias voltage vb received from the bias voltage generation circuit 125 . the comparator 128 , the inverter circuit 129 , and the or circuit 130 form a bias maintenance circuit . the input circuit 131 receives a control signal ctl from an external device . when the control signal ctl goes high , the input circuit 131 outputs a signal high to the or circuit 130 and the changeover circuit 119 . when the control signal ctl is low , the input circuit 131 outputs a signal low . when the signal output from the input circuit 131 goes high , the changeover circuit 119 connects the capacitor 120 to the current source 121 , and when the signal output from the input circuit 131 goes low , the capacitor 120 is connected to the resistor r3 . by reference to fig8 the operation of the dc -- dc converter 111 will be described . when the control signal ctl goes high , the signal output from the input circuit 131 goes high , and the signal output from the or circuit 130 goes high . as a result , the bias voltage vb is supplied to each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices from the bias voltage generation circuit 125 . further , the reference voltage vref1 is supplied to the error amplifier 118a , and the reference voltage vref2 is supplied to the comparator 128 . the changeover circuit 119 connects the current source 121 to the capacitor 120 . the voltage level of the signal cs input to the error amplifier 118a is gradually increased by means of the time constant defined by the current source 121 and the capacitor 120 . even if the input signal in is low ( ground gnd ), the error amplifier 118a operates on the basis of the result of the comparison between the input signal in and the input signal cs . since the input signal cs is gradually increased , the output signal vo is prevented from sharply increasing . hence , the time period over which the output transistor 113 is in an on state is prevented from becoming considerably longer than the time period over which the output transistor 113 is in an off state . as shown in fig8 the output signal vo gradually increases with an increase in the input signal cs regardless of the power supply voltage vcc and the load connected to the output terminal to . accordingly , there is prevented an adverse effect on the load circuit otherwise caused by a sharp increase in the output voltage vo occurring at the time of the leading edge of the control signal ctl . if the input signal cs exceeds the reference voltage vref1 , the output voltage vo becomes constant . in other words , the error amplifier 118a outputs a signal on the basis of the potential difference between the input signal in and the reference voltage vref1 . the first and second pwm comparators 122a , 123a compare the output signal with the reference voltage vref1 . on the basis of the signals output from the first and second pwm comparators 122a , 123a , the first and second output circuits 126 , 127 output pulse signals as the output signals out1 , out2 . on the basis of the signal out1 , the output transistor 113 performs a switching operation . an electric current output as a result of the switching operation of the output transistor 113 is smoothed by means of the output coil 115 and the capacitor 117 . when the output transistor 113 is turned off , the output voltage vo is smoothed by means of the electric current supplied to the output coil 115 from the capacitor 117 via the flywheel diode 116 . when the output transistor 113 is turned off , the synchronous rectifying transistor 114 is turned on by means of the signal out2 . the forward voltage drop of the flywheel diode 116 is decreased to substantially zero , thereby improving smoothing efficiency . through the foregoing operations , if the signal in input to the error amplifier 118a is smaller than the reference voltage vref1 , the output voltage from the error amplifier 118a is increased , and the time period over which the signal out1 is in a high state is increased . as a result , the time period over which the output transistor 113 is in an on state becomes longer , thereby resulting in an increase in the output voltage vo . if the voltage level of the signal in input to the error amplifier 118a is higher than the reference voltage vref1 , the voltage output from the error amplifier 118a is decreased , and the time period over which the signal out1 is in a high state is decreased . as a result , the time period over which the output transistor 113 is turned on becomes shorter , thereby resulting in a decrease in the output voltage vo . through the foregoing operation , the output voltage vo converges such that the voltage of the signal in input to the error amplifier 118a matches the reference voltage vref1 , thereby resulting in a constant voltage . in a state in which the output voltage vo is held at a constant voltage , if the control signal ctl goes low , the signal output from the input circuit 131 goes low . as a result of switching action of the changeover circuit 119 , the capacitor 120 is connected to the resistor r3 . the charge stored in the capacitor 120 is discharged to the ground gnd via the resistor r3 , and the signal cs input to the error amplifier 118a is gradually decreased by means of the time constant defined between the capacitor 120 and the resistor r3 . at this time , the comparator 128 outputs a signal low until the voltage of the input signal cs becomes lower than the reference voltage vref2 . further , the inverter circuit 129 outputs a signal high , and the or circuit 130 outputs a signal high . thus , the bias voltage generation circuit 125 outputs the bias voltage vb until the voltage of the input signal cs becomes lower the reference voltage vref2 . the reference voltage vref1 is maintained at a given level on the basis of the bias voltage vb and is supplied to the error amplifier 118a . in this state , when the voltage of the input signal cs becomes lower than the reference voltage vref1 , the output voltage of the error amplifier 118a decreases , and the time period over which the output signal out1 is in a high state is decreased . thus , the time period over which the output transistor 113 is turned on is decreased , and the time period over which the synchronous rectifying transistor 114 is turned on is increased , thereby resulting in a decrease in the output voltage vo . although the voltage level of the input signal in decreases with a reduction in the output voltage vo , the input signal cs further decreases . in this manner , the signal out1 low is fixed , and the output voltage vo goes low ( ground gnd ). when the control signal ctl goes low , the output voltage vo is reduced to the ground gnd under the control of the dc -- dc converter 111 as the voltage of the input signal cs decreases . therefore , a time t1 required for the output voltage vo to drop to the ground gnd from the constant voltage is substantially determined by the time constant defined by the capacitor 120 and the resistor r3 . ( a ) when the control signal ctl high is input to the dc -- dc converter , the output voltage vo is gradually increased by means of the gentle start - up circuit . ( b ) if the control signal ctl high is maintained , the output voltage vo remains constant as set by the reference voltage vref1 and the resistors r1 and r2 . ( c ) when the control signal ctl goes low , the output voltage vo is reduced to the ground gnd without being affected by the load within a given period of time in accordance with the time constant defined by the capacitor 120 and the resistor r3 . ( d ) a gentle stop circuit is provided by the resistor r3 and the changeover circuit 119 using the capacitor 120 . ( e ) since the output voltage vo is reduced within a given period of time by controlling the electric discharge of the capacitor 117 through use of the output transistor 113 , there is no need to connect a new element for such discharge control . fig9 shows a dc -- dc converter in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention . in the second embodiment , the input signal cs is input to the positive input terminals of first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b . more specifically , only the reference voltage vref1 is input to the positive input terminal of an error amplifier 118b , and a signal output from the error amplifier 118b is input to first positive input terminals of the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b . as in the first embodiment , a triangular wave having a predetermined frequency is input to the negative terminals of the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b . each of the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b compares a lower one of the voltages input to the first and second positive input terminals with the voltage input to the negative input terminal . when the control signal ctl goes from low to high , the capacitor 120 is connected to the current source 121 via the changeover circuit 119 , and the capacitor 120 is charged . as a result , the voltage level of the input signal cs is gradually increased from the ground gnd . since the output voltage vo is at the ground gnd at this time , the output voltage of the error amplifier 118b is increased , so that the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b compare the oscillator 124 generated signal with the input signal cs . as a result , the time period of the signal output high from the first pwm comparator 122b is gradually increased , and the time period of the signal output high from the second pwm comparator 123b is gradually decreased , thereby resulting in a gradual increase in the output voltage vo . accordingly , the gentle start - up operation analogous to that effected in the first embodiment is achieved . when the voltage of the input signal cs becomes higher than the output voltage of the error amplifier 118b , each of the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b outputs a signal corresponding to the result of the comparison of the signal output from the error amplifier 118b with the signal output from the oscillator 124 . as in the first embodiment , the output voltage vo becomes a constant voltage set by the reference voltage vref1 and the resistors r1 , r2 . if the control signal ctl goes low while the constant output voltage vo is output , the capacitor 120 is connected to the resistor r3 via the changeover circuit 119 , thereby discharging the capacitor 120 via the resistor r3 . as a result , the voltage level of the input signal cs decreases on the basis of the time constant defined by the capacitor 120 and the resistor r3 , and each of the first and second pwm comparators 122b , 123b outputs a signal corresponding to the result of the comparison of the input signal cs with the signal output from the oscillator 124 . the time period of the signal out1 high is reduced , whereas the time period of the signal out2 high is increased , and the output voltage vo is decreased . accordingly , the dc -- dc converter of the second embodiment operates in the same manner as does in the first embodiment and yields advantageous results analogous to that of the first embodiment . fig1 shows a dc -- dc converter in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention . in the third embodiment , the resistor r3 employed in the first embodiment is replaced with a current source 132 . in other respects , the dc -- dc converter according to the third embodiment is the same as the dc -- dc converter according to the first embodiment . in the third embodiment , the current discharged from the capacitor 120 is held at a constant level irrespective of the charge voltage . hence , the voltage level of the input signal cs is linearly decreased when the capacitor 120 is discharged . accordingly , in addition to the operation and advantageous results accomplished in the first embodiment , when the control signal ctl goes low , the output voltage vo is linearly decreased . although the present invention is embodied in the form of a control circuit for controlling the output voltage vo of the dc -- dc converter in any of the aforementioned embodiments , a discharge control circuit according to the present invention may be used for controlling the electric current output from the output transistor . for example , as shown in fig1 , a transistor 136 which operates as a series regulator for supplying a power source voltage vcc to a load circuit 135 is controlled by means of a discharge control circuit 137 according to the present invention . the transistor 136 may comprise an npn transistor or a mos transistor , as well as a pnp transistor . with such a configuration , when the control signal ctl goes low , the time period over which the transistor 136 is turned on is gradually reduced , thereby enabling the discharge control circuit 137 to control the trailing edge of the source voltage supplied to the load circuit 135 . fig1 shows a dc -- dc converter 310 in accordance with a fourth embodiment . the fourth embodiment is directed to application of the present invention to the conventional dc -- dc converter 201 shown in fig3 . the embodiment is characterized by connection of a fourth short - circuit transistor 231 comprising a bipolar transistor connected between an output terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 and the ground gnd . in more detail , the collector of the short - circuit transistor 231 is connected to an output terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 , and the emitter of the short - circuit transistor 231 is connected to the ground gnd . the base of the short - circuit transistor 231 receives a cancel signal sg3 from the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 . the short - circuit transistor 231 is turned on when the cancel signal sg3 is high and is turned off when the cancel signal sg3 is low . in the fourth embodiment , the timing at which the cancel signal sg3 goes low is set to lag behind the timing of the conventional dc -- dc converter . that is , the timing is controlled within the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 such that the cancel signal sg3 goes low after the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has commenced normal oscillation . the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 receives the reference voltage vref as the bias voltage . when the reference voltage vref , which is in the course of increasing to the specified voltage vref1 , reaches the specified voltage vref2 , the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 determines that a bias voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate is attained , and outputs the cancel signal sg3 low . in the fourth embodiment , the reference voltage vref supplied to the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 is divided by a voltage dividing circuit provided in the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 . the thus - divided voltage is used as a bias voltage . when the divided voltage reaches the bias voltage (= vref2 ), the cancel signal sg3 low is produced . that is , the time required for the divided voltage to reach the bias voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate is extended by an amount of time corresponding to the ratio of division of the reference voltage vref , thereby delaying the timing at which the cancel signal sg3 goes low when compared with that used in the conventional dc -- dc converter . in the fourth embodiment , the reference voltage vref or the bias voltage (= vref2 ) is set to become higher than the voltage vref3 at which the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 starts oscillation . accordingly , after the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has commenced oscillation , the cancel signal sg3 goes low . preferably , the short - circuit transistor 231 and the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 comprise a hold circuit . the operation of the dc -- dc converter 310 will now be described . when the control signal sg2 input to the reference voltage generation circuit 211 from an external device is low while the drive source voltage vcc is supplied to each of the circuits 211 to 213 , 215 , 217 , and 218 , the dc -- dc converter 310 is in a suspended state . accordingly , the reference voltage vref of the reference voltage generation circuit 211 is zero volts . as a result , the error amplification circuit 215 , the pwm comparator circuit 217 , and the output circuit 218 are also in a suspended state . in addition , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 and the dead time circuit 214 are also in a suspended state . the reference voltage vref of zero volts is supplied to the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 , and therefore the cancel signal sg3 high is output . further , the first and second transistors 219 , 220 and the short - circuit transistor 231 are in an on state . as a result , the voltage of an error output signal sg6 of the error amplification circuit 215 and the charge voltage vsof of the capacitor 222 are zero volts . further , the voltage of the duty control signal sg7 of the pwm comparison circuit 217 is also zero volts or low , and the voltage of the signal sg1 output from the output circuit 218 is also low . consequently , the output transistor 203 is in an off state , and the output vout is zero volts . if the control signal sg2 goes high at time t0 as shown in fig1 , the dc -- dc converter 310 commences operation . in response to the control signal sg2 high , the reference voltage generation circuit 211 generates the reference voltage vref on the basis of the drive source voltage vcc . at this time , as shown in fig1 , the reference voltage vref increases to the specified voltage vref1 at a given rate . the gradually - increasing reference voltage vref is supplied to the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 , the dead time circuit 214 , the first noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 , and the constant current circuit 216 . since the bias voltage has not yet reached the voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate at this time , the cancel signal sg3 high is still maintained . the error amplification circuit 215 , the pwm comparison circuit 217 , and the output circuit 218 shift to an operative state on the basis of the increasing reference voltage vref . since the charge voltage vsof supplied to the second noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 is zero volts at that time , the error output signal sg6 from the error amplification circuit 215 attempts to increase at the same rate as the reference voltage vref . however , the short - circuit transistor 231 is in an on state , and therefore the voltage of the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . the dead time circuit 214 supplies the limit signal sg5 proportional to the reference voltage vref to the pwm comparison circuit 217 . accordingly , the pwm comparison circuit 217 compares the error output signal sg6 retained at zero volts with the triangular wave sg4 of the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 . the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has not yet commenced oscillation at this time , and the triangular wave signal sg4 is zero volts . the pwm comparison circuit 217 eventually outputs the duty control signal sg7 low . further , since the second transistor 220 is in an on state , the duty control signal sg7 low is reliably retained . accordingly , the signal sg1 low is still maintained , and therefore the output transistor 203 is also held in an off state . in due time , as shown in fig1 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation and outputs the triangular wave signal sg4 to the pwm comparison circuit 217 . that is , the level of the triangular wave signal sg4 crosses the level of the limit signal sg5 . however , the short - circuit transistor 231 still remains in an on state , so the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . accordingly , the pwm comparison circuit 217 continues to output the duty control signal sg7 low . at time t1a , the cancel signal sg3 from the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 goes low , and the first and second transistors 219 , 220 and the short - circuit transistor 231 are turned off . the capacitor 222 commences charging operation , and the charge voltage vsof is supplied to the second noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 . since the charge voltage vsof is lower than the reference voltage vref , the error amplification circuit 215 compares the output voltage vout with the charge voltage vsof and amplifies the potential difference . the amplified potential difference is output to the pwm comparison circuit 217 as the error output signal sg6 . after time t1a , the charge voltage vsof gradually increases , and hence the output voltage sg6 of the error amplification circuit 215 is increased to such an extent as to enter the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 which causes the output voltage vout to follow the charge voltage vsof . therefore , the duty control signal sg7 of the pwm comparison circuit 217 is low until the output voltage sg6 enters and , for the first time , crosses the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 . hence , the output transistor 203 still remains in an off state . when the error output signal sg6 reaches the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 , the pwm comparison circuit 217 outputs the duty control signal sg7 , which goes high when the error output signal sg6 is greater than the triangular wave signal sg4 , and goes low when the error output signal sg6 is smaller than the triangular wave signal sg4 . next , the dc -- dc converter 201 performs gentle power - up operation ; namely , the dc -- dc converter 201 controls the output voltage vout so that it follows the increasing charge voltage vsof . when the charge voltage vsof reaches the specified voltage vref1 , the dc -- dc converter 201 controls the output voltage vout such that it is maintained at the reference voltage vref ; i . e ., the specified voltage vref1 . at the time of gentle start - up operation , the pwm comparison circuit 217 produces the duty control signal sg7 on the basis of the triangular wave signal sg3 from the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 , as well as of the error output signal sg6 from the error amplification circuit 215 . as a result , temporal flow of an excess electric current to the output transistor 203 before the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation is prevented . consequently , the output transistor 203 is prevented from deteriorating . if the cancel signal sg3 goes low , the voltage control based on the charge voltage vsof and the output voltage vout ( i . e ., gentle start - up operation ), is executed immediately . therefore , the stable voltage vout is supplied to each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices as operational power , so that faulty operations of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices stemming from supply of operational power are reduced . the error output signal sg6 from the error amplification circuit 215 is retained at zero volts by the short - circuit transistor 231 , thereby preventing the output of the duty control signal sg7 high from the pwm comparison circuit 217 due to the receipt of an uncertain input signal , which occurs in the conventional dc -- dc converter . according to the present invention , the short - circuit transistor 231 may be omitted if the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 is configured to provide the cancel signal sg3 low to the first and second transistors 219 , 220 after the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences an oscillation operation . in other words , the error amplification circuit 215 continues to output the error output signal sg6 corresponding to the reference voltage vref until the cancel signal sg3 low is output . then , the first and second transistors 219 , 220 are not turned on until the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation . consequently , when the first and second transistors 219 , 220 are turned on , the triangular wave signal sg4 has a substantially normal value . the error output signal sg6 from the error amplification circuit 215 reaches the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg3 within a very short period of time , thereby enabling execution of gentle start - up operation within a short period of time . fig1 shows a dc -- dc converter 311 in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention . the present embodiment is directed to application of the present invention to the conventional dc -- dc converter 201 shown in fig3 . as shown in fig1 , dc -- dc converter 311 is characterized by connection of a short - circuit transistor 241 , which comprises a bipolar transistor and forms a stop circuit between the output terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 and the ground gnd . in more detail , the collector of the short - circuit transistor 241 is connected to the output terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 , and the emitter is connected to the ground gnd . the base of the short - circuit transistor 241 receives a second cancel signal sg3a from a reference voltage determination circuit 242 . the base of the first transistor 219 also receives the second cancel signal sg3a . as a result , when the second cancel signal sg3a is high , the short - circuit transistor 241 and the first transistor 219 are turned on . in contrast , when the second cancel signal sg3a is low , the short - circuit transistor 241 and the first transistor 219 are turned off . the reference voltage determination circuit 242 comprises a comparator and receives the drive voltage vcc from the power supply circuit 302 ( fig5 ). when the reference voltage vref produced by the reference voltage generation circuit 211 reaches the specified voltage vref1 , the reference voltage determination circuit 242 outputs the second cancel signal sg3a low . accordingly , the short - circuit transistor 241 and the first transistor 219 are turned on before the reference voltage vref reaches the specified voltage vref1 ( i . e ., before the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation ). when the reference voltage vref reaches the specified voltage vref1 ( i . e ., after the triangular oscillation circuit 213 has commenced oscillation ), the short - circuit transistor 241 and the first transistor 219 are turned off . the second transistor 220 receives the cancel signal sg3 from the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 . therefore , in the fifth embodiment , the timing at which the cancel signal sg3 from the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 goes low is faster the such timing in the first embodiment . more specifically , the cancel signal sg3 goes low before the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences normal oscillation . the operation of the dc -- dc converter 311 will be described below . when the control signal sg2 low is input to the reference voltage generation circuit 211 while the drive source voltage vcc is supplied to each of the circuits 211 to 213 , 215 , 217 , 218 , and 242 within the control circuit 202 , the dc -- dc converter 311 is in a suspended state . accordingly , the reference voltage vref of the reference voltage generation circuit 211 is zero volts . in addition , the dead time circuit 214 is also in a suspended state . the reference voltage vref of zero volts is supplied to the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 and the voltage determination circuit 242 , and therefore the cancel signal sg3 and the second cancel signal sg3a are high . further , the first and second transistors 219 , 220 and the short - circuit transistor 241 are in an on state . as a result , the voltage of the error output signal sg6 of the error amplification circuit 215 and the charge voltage vsof of the capacitor 222 are zero volts . further , the voltage of the duty control signal sg7 of the pwm comparison circuit 217 is also zero volts or low , and the voltage of the signal sg1 output from the output circuit 218 is low . consequently , the output transistor 203 is in an off state , and the output vout is zero volts . if the control signal sg2 high is supplied to the reference voltage generation circuit 211 from the external device at time t0 , as shown in fig1 , the dc -- dc converter 201 commences operation . in response to the control signal sg2 high , the reference voltage generation circuit 211 generates the reference voltage vref on the basis of the drive source voltage vcc . at this time , as shown in fig1 , the reference voltage vref increases to the specified voltage vref1 at a given rate . the gradually - increasing reference voltage vref is supplied to the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 , the dead time circuit 214 , the first noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 , the constant current circuit 216 , and the reference voltage determination circuit 242 . since , at this time , the bias voltage has not yet reached the voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate , the cancel signal sg3 high is maintained . the error amplification circuit 215 , the pwm comparison circuit 217 , and the output circuit 218 shift to an operative state on the basis of the increasing reference voltage vref . since the charge voltage vsof supplied to the second noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 is zero volts at this time , the error output signal sg6 from the error amplification circuit 215 attempts to increase at the same rate as the rate at which the reference voltage vref increases . however , the short - circuit transistor 241 is in an on state , and therefore the voltage of the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . the dead time circuit 214 supplies the limit signal sg5 proportional to the reference voltage vref to the pwm comparison circuit 217 . accordingly , the pwm comparison circuit 217 compares the error output signal sg6 , retained at zero volts , with the triangular wave sg4 of the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 . the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has not yet commenced oscillation at this time , and the triangular wave signal sg4 is zero volts . the pwm comparison circuit 217 eventually outputs the duty control signal sg7 low . since the second transistor 220 is in an on state , the duty control signal sg7 low is reliably retained . accordingly , the signal sg1 low output from the output circuit 218 is maintained , and the output transistor 203 is held in an off state . when the reference voltage vref reaches the bias voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate , the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 outputs a cancel signal sg3 low . in response to the cancel signal sg3 low , the second transistor 220 is turned on . the pwm comparison circuit 217 is still outputting the duty control signal sg7 low at this time , because the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has not yet commenced oscillation , and the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . as shown in fig1 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation and outputs the triangular wave signal sg4 to the pwm comparison circuit 217 . that is , the level of the triangular wave signal sg4 crosses the level of the limit signal sg5 . however , since the short - circuit transistor 241 still remains in an on state , the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . accordingly , the pwm comparison circuit 217 continues to output the duty control signal sg7 low . when at time t2 , the reference voltage vref reaches the specified voltage vref1 , the reference voltage determination circuit 242 outputs the second cancel signal sg3a low . as a result , the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 241 are turned off . the capacitor 222 commences charging operation , and the charge voltage vsof is supplied to the second noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 . since the charge voltage vsof is lower than the reference voltage vref , the error amplification circuit 215 compares the output voltage vout with the charge voltage vsof at this time and amplifies the potential difference . the amplified potential difference is output to the pwm comparison circuit 217 as the error output signal sg6 . after time t2 , the charge voltage vsof gradually increases , and hence the output voltage sg6 of the error amplification circuit 215 is increased to such an extent as to enter the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 , which causes the output voltage vout to follow the charge voltage vsof . therefore , the duty control signal sg7 of the pwm comparison circuit 217 is low until the output voltage sg6 enters and , for the first time , crosses the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 . hence , the output transistor 203 remains in an off state . when the error output signal sg6 reaches the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 , the pwm comparison circuit 217 outputs the duty control signal sg7 , which goes high when the error output signal sg6 is greater than the triangular wave signal sg4 , and goes low when the error output signal sg6 is smaller than the triangular wave signal sg4 . next , the dc -- dc converter 201 controls the output voltage vout so that it follows the increasing charge voltage vsof . when the charge voltage vsof reaches the specified voltage vref1 , the dc -- dc converter 201 controls the output voltage vout such that it is maintained at the reference voltage vref ( i . e ., the specified voltage vref1 ). although the short - circuit transistor 241 is connected between the output terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 and the ground gnd in the fifth embodiment , the short - circuit transistor 241 may be omitted from the dc -- dc converter in the manner shown in fig1 . more specifically , in a dc -- dc converter 312 , shown in fig1 , the error amplification circuit 215 receives the drive source voltage vcc via a drive transistor 244 , which receives the reference voltage vref . a short - circuit transistor 245 forming a stop circuit is connected between the base of the drive transistor 244 and the ground gnd . the base of the short - circuit transistor 245 receives the second cancel signal sg3a from the reference voltage determination circuit 242 . accordingly , the error amplification circuit 215 is prevented from receiving the drive source voltage vcc until the second cancel signal sg3a from the reference voltage determination circuit 242 goes low ; i . e ., until the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation . fig1 a and 17b shows a dc -- dc converter in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention . the dc -- dc converter according to the sixth embodiment comprises first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b . the first dc -- dc converter section 201a ( fig1 b ) is formed by modification of the control circuit 202 of the dc -- dc converter 310 according to the first embodiment shown in fig1 . a control circuit 202a is equipped with an external input terminal 251 for receiving the cancel signal sg3 in place of the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 . the cancel signal sg3 is supplied only to the base of the second transistor 220 . the control circuit 202a further comprises an external output terminal 252 for outputting the reference voltage vref produced by the reference voltage generation circuit 211 to the second dc -- dc converter section 201b ( fig1 a ); an external output terminal 253 for outputting the triangular wave signal sg4 produced by the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 to the second dc -- dc converter section 201b ; and an external output terminal 254 for outputting the limit signal sg5 generated by the dead time circuit 214 to the dc -- dc converter section 201b . further , the control circuit 202a has an output control circuit 255 . the output control circuit 255 receives a first output control signal sg11 from an external device ( not shown ) via an external output control input terminal 256 . the external device outputs the first output control signal sg11 high when there is a need to activate the dc -- dc converter section 201a . the control circuit 202a outputs the first output control signal sg11 to an external output terminal 257 as a first internal output control signal sg11a . the first internal output control signal sg11a is output to the second dc -- dc converter section 201b . the control circuit 202a receives a third cancel signal sg3b output from the second dc -- dc converter section 201b via an external input terminal 258 and feeds the third cancel signal sg3b to the base of each of the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 231 . similarly , the second dc -- dc converter section 201b is formed by modification of the control circuit 202 of the dc -- dc converter 310 according to the first embodiment shown in fig1 . the control circuit 202b of the second dc -- dc converter section 201b comprises external input terminals 261 , 262 , and 263 for receiving the reference voltage vref , the triangular wave signal sg4 , and the control signal sg5 from the first dc -- dc converter section 201a in place of the reference signal generation circuit 211 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 , and the dead time circuit 214 . the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 in the control circuit 202b is equipped with an external output terminal 264 for outputting the cancel signal sg3 to the first dc -- dc converter section 201a . in the control circuit 202b , the cancel signal sg3 is supplied to only the base of the second transistor 220 . the control circuit 202b is provided with an output control circuit 265 . the output control circuit 265 receives a second control signal sg12 from an external device ( not shown ) via an external output control input terminal 266 . the external device outputs the second output control signal sg12 high when there is a need to activate the second dc -- dc converter section 201b . the control circuit 202b outputs the second output control signal sg12 to a nand circuit 268 as the second internal output control signal sg12a . the nand circuit 268 forming a determination circuit comprises a nand circuit having two input terminals . one input terminal receives the second internal output control signal sg12a , and the other input terminal receives the first internal output control signal sg11a from the control circuit 202a of the first dc -- dc converter section 201a via an external input terminal 269 provided for the control circuit 202b . as a result , the signal output from the nand circuit 268 goes low when both the first internal output control signal sg11a and the second internal output control signal sg12a are high . in other cases , the output signal from the nand circuit 268 goes high . the signal output from the nand circuit 268 is supplied , as a third cancel signal sg3b , to the base of each of the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 231 provided in the control circuit 202b . the third cancel signal sg3b is also output to the control circuit 202a via an external output terminal 270 . in the sixth embodiment , a hold circuit comprises the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 231 provided in the control circuits 202a and 202b , and the nand circuit 268 of the control circuit 202b . the operation of the dc -- dc converter of the sixth embodiment will be described below . if the control signal sg2 high is supplied to the reference voltage generation circuit 211 of the control circuit 202a of the first dc -- dc converter section 201a from the external device at time t0 as shown in fig1 , the reference voltage generation circuit 211 commences generation of the reference voltage vref and supplies the reference voltage to each of the circuits within the control circuit 202a . similarly , the reference voltage vref is supplied to each of the circuits within the control circuit 202b of the second dc -- dc converter section 201b . as a result , the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b commence operation . since the bias voltage has not yet reached the voltage which allows the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate , the cancel signal sg3 is high . further , the first and second output control signals sg11 , sg12 high are not input to the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a , 201b from the external device . accordingly , the third cancel signal sg3b is high . if the output control signal sg11 high is input to the first dc -- dc converter section 201a prior to the second output control signal sg12 , the nand circuit 268 holds the third cancel signal sg3b high , because the second output control signal sg12 is not high . accordingly , both the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 231 of each of the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b are in an off state . when the reference voltage vref reaches the bias voltage which enables the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 to operate , the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 outputs the cancel signal sg3 low . in response to the cancel signal sg3 low , the second transistor 220 is turned on . the pwm comparison circuit 217 is still outputting the duty control signal sg7 low at this time , because the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 has not yet commenced oscillation , and the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . in due time , as shown in fig1 , the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 commences oscillation and outputs the triangular wave signal sg4 to the pwm comparison circuit 217 . that is , the level of the triangular wave signal sg4 crosses the level of the limit signal sg5 . however , the short - circuit transistor 231 still remains in an on state and the error output signal sg6 is retained at zero volts . accordingly , the pwm comparison circuit 217 continues to output the duty control signal sg7 low . when the output control signal sg12 high is input to the second dc -- dc converter section 201b at time t3 , shown in fig1 , the nand circuit 268 outputs the third cancel signal sg3b low . as a result , the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistor 231 of each of the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b are turned off . the capacitor 222 for gentle start - up purposes of each of the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 20b commences charging operation , and the charge voltage vsof is supplied to the second noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 . since the charge voltage vsof is lower than the reference voltage vref , the error amplification circuit 215 compares the output voltage vout with the charge voltage vsof and amplifies the potential difference . the amplified potential difference is output to the pwm comparison circuit 217 as the error output signal sg6 . after time t3 , the charge voltage vsof gradually increases , and hence the output voltage sg6 of the error amplification circuit 215 is increased to such an extent to enter the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 which causes the output voltage vout to follow the charge voltage vsof . therefore , the duty control signal sg7 of the pwm comparison circuit 217 is low until the output voltage sg6 enters and , for the first time , crosses the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 . hence , the output transistor 203 still remains in an off state . when the error output signal sg6 reaches the range of amplitude of the triangular wave signal sg4 , the pwm comparison circuit 217 outputs the duty control signal sg7 , which goes high when the error output signal sg6 is greater than the triangular wave signal sg4 , and goes low when the error output signal sg6 is smaller than the triangular wave signal sg4 . then , the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b control the output voltage vout so that it follows the increasing charge voltage vsof . when the charge voltage vsof reaches the specified voltage vref1 , the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a and 201b control the output voltage vout such that it is maintained at the reference voltage vref ( i . e ., the specified voltage vref1 ). the thus - controlled output voltage is supplied to each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices 301 . in the sixth embodiment , the first and second dc -- dc converter sections 201a , 201b supply the output voltages vout to each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices 301 at substantially the same time , while substantially simultaneously commencing gentle start - up operation . accordingly , the stable output voltage vout is substantially simultaneously supplied to each of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices , thereby preventing faulty operations of the semiconductor integrated circuit devices , which would otherwise be caused by a difference in power - up timing . the present invention is particularly effective in a case where the first and second output control signals sg11 and sg12 are identical and are input to one of the dc -- dc converter sections with a lag because of the capacity of a wire . in the fourth through sixth embodiments , the first noninverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 receives the reference voltage vref from the reference voltage generation circuit 211 , and the second noninverting input circuit terminal of the same receives the charge voltage vsof which increases to the specified voltage vref1 . furthermore , the first noninverting input terminal may be omitted . in this case , the error amplification circuit 215 comprises an input terminal for receiving the charge voltage vsof which increases to the specified voltage vref1 of the reference voltage vref , and an input terminal for receiving the output voltage vout . the error amplification circuit 215 amplifies the potential difference between the charge voltage vsof and provides the output voltage vout and the amplified potential difference as the error output signal sg6 . in the fourth through sixth embodiments , the output voltage vout is directly input to the inverting input terminal of the error amplification circuit 215 . however , a voltage divided by a voltage dividing circuit may be input to the inverting input terminal . in such a case , the control value of the output voltage vout is changed by utilization of the ratio of division of a voltage by the voltage dividing circuit , as required . the output transistor 203 may include a p - channel mos transistor . in such a case , for example , the output circuit 218 may require generation of the output signal sg1 which is the inverse of the duty control signal sg7 . alternatively , the output transistor 203 may include a bipolar transistor . the output circuit 218 provided for the fourth through sixth embodiments may be omitted . a short - circuit transistor may be connected between the output terminal of the output circuit 218 and the ground gnd in the fourth through sixth embodiments , and the cancel signal sg3 , the second cancel signal sg3a , or the third cancel signal sg3b may be input to the base of the short - circuit transistor . in the fourth embodiment , the first and second transistors 219 , 220 and the short - circuit transistor 231 may be controlled through use of the reference voltage determination circuit 242 disclosed in the fifth embodiment in place of the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 . in the fifth embodiment or the modification of the fifth embodiment , the first transistor 219 and the short - circuit transistors 241 , 245 may be controlled through use of the initial malfunction prevention circuit 212 disclosed in the first embodiment in place of the reference voltage determination circuit 242 . the waveform of the triangular wave oscillation signal sg4 of the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 may be practiced in the form of a saw - tooth triangular wave signal . the bipolar transistors 219 , 220 , 231 , 241 , 244 , and 245 disclosed in the fourth through sixth embodiments may be replaced with mos transistors . although the control circuit 202 is preferably formed on a single chip semiconductor integrated circuit device in the fourth through sixth embodiments , circuit components of the control circuit may be formed over a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit devices , as required , and electrically connected together so as to constitute the control circuit 202 ; e . g ., by formation of the triangular wave oscillation circuit 213 on another semiconductor integrated circuit device . it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . therefore , the present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein , but may be modified within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims .
6
[ 0043 ] fig4 shows an embodiment of the present invention comprising an interbody spinal implant generally referred by the numeral 100 , inserted in the direction of arrow p from the posterior aspect of a vertebral body v on one side of the centerline m in the lumbar spine . implant 100 has a leading end 102 for insertion into the disc space and an opposite trailing end 104 . in a preferred embodiment , leading end 102 is configured to not extend beyond the outer dimensions of the two vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space proximate leading end 102 after implant 100 is installed , to maximize the area of contact of the implant with the vertebral bone . leading end 102 could be described as being generally configured to generally conform to at least a portion of the natural anatomical curvature of the aspect of the vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space proximate leading end 102 after implant 100 is installed . the general configuration of leading end 102 is further described in connection with fig9 below . as shown in fig7 and 8 , depending on the direction of insertion , for example , when implant 100 is installed in the direction of arrow p from the posterior aspect of the vertebral body v , leading end 102 a is adapted to conform to at least a portion of the anterior aspect of the vertebral body v . when implant 100 is installed in the direction of arrow a from the anterior aspect of vertebral body v , leading end 102 b is adapted to conform to at least a portion of the posterior aspect of vertebral body v . trailing end 104 may be symmetrical or asymmetrical from side - to - side along the transverse axis of the implant and can conform to at least a portion of the natural curvature of the aspect of vertebral body v opposite to leading end 102 . trailing end 104 may or may not be configured to conform to the aspect of vertebral body v proximate trailing end 104 after implant 100 is installed . trailing end 104 need only have a configuration suitable for its intended use in the spine . as shown in fig5 and 6 , implant 100 has opposed portions 106 and 108 that are adapted to contact and support adjacent vertebral bodies when inserted across the intervertebral space . in this embodiment , opposed portions 106 , 108 have a non - arcuate configuration transverse to the longitudinal axis of implant 100 along at least a portion of the length of implant 100 . opposed portions 106 , 108 are spaced apart and connected by an interior side wall 112 and an exterior side wall 114 opposite interior side wall 112 . interior side wall 112 is the portion of implant 100 adapted to be placed toward another implant when implant 100 is inserted in pairs into the disc space between the adjacent vertebral bodies to be fused . interior side wall 112 is not the internal surface of a hollow interior of implant 100 . exterior side wall 114 is adapted to be placed into the disc space nearer to the perimeter of the vertebral bodies than interior side wall 112 . side walls 112 , 114 may also include at least one opening for permitting for the growth of bone therethrough . preferably , each of the opposed portions 106 , 108 have at least one opening 110 in communication with one another to permit for the growth of bone in continuity from adjacent vertebral body to adjacent vertebral body and through implant 100 . implant 100 may further be hollow or at least in part hollow . implant 100 may also include surface roughenings on for example , at least a portion of opposed portions 106 , 108 for engaging the bone of the adjacent vertebral bodies . in another preferred embodiment , the opposed portions of the implant can be in moveable relationship to each other to allow for relative motion of the adjacent vertebral bodies after the implant is installed . as illustrated in fig9 implant 100 has a mid - longitudinal axis mla along its length . mid - longitudinal axis mla is bisected by a plane bpp perpendicular to and bisecting the length of implant 100 along the mid - longitudinal axis mla . implant 100 has a first distance as measured from point c at leading end 102 to bisecting perpendicular plane bpp at point e that is greater than a second distance as measured from bisecting perpendicular plane bpp at point f to the junction of leading end 102 and exterior side wall 114 at point b . implant 100 has a third distance as measured from point a at the junction of leading end 102 and interior side wall 112 to bisecting perpendicular plane bpp at point d that is greater than the second distance as measured from point f to point b . while in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig9 the third distance from points a to d is illustrated as being longer than the first distance from points c to e , the third distance can be equal to or less than the first distance . in a preferred embodiment , the first distance measured from points c to e is greater than the second distance measured from points b to f ; the third distance measured from points a to d can be less than the first distance measured from points c to e ; and the third distance measured from points a to d does not equal the second distance measured from points b to f . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , when implant 100 is inserted between two adjacent vertebral bodies , implant 100 is contained completely within the vertebral bodies so as not to protrude from the spine . specifically , the most lateral aspect of the implanted implant at the leading end has been relieved , foreshortened , or contoured so as to allow the remainder of the implant to be safely enlarged so as to be larger overall than the prior implants without the leading end lateral wall protruding from the disc space . although overall enlargement of the implant is a preferred feature of one embodiment of the present invention , it is not a requisite element of the invention . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein in the form of an implant having non - arcuate upper and lower portions along a portion of the length of the implant , another preferred embodiment of the present invention as best shown in fig1 includes an implant having arcuate upper and lower portions along at least a portion of the length of the implant . all of the features described in association with the non - arcuate embodiments are equally applicable to the arcuate embodiments of the present invention . fig1 - 11 show two interbody spinal implants generally referred to by the numeral 200 , inserted in the direction of arrow p from the posterior aspect of a vertebral body v , one on either side of the centerline m in the lumbar spine . implant 200 is non - threaded and is configured for linear insertion into the disc space in a direction along the mid - longitudinal axis of implant 200 . implant 200 has a leading end 202 for insertion into the disc space and an opposite trailing end 204 . in a preferred embodiment , leading end 202 is configured to not extend beyond the outer dimensions of the two vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space proximate leading end 202 after implant 200 is installed , to maximize the area of contact of the implant with the vertebral bone . leading end 202 could be described as being generally configured to generally conform to at least a portion of the natural anatomical curvature of the aspect of the vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space proximate leading end 202 after implant 200 is installed . in a preferred embodiment , less than half of asymmetric leading end 202 is along a line perpendicular to the mid - longitudinal axis of the implant in a plane dividing the implant into an upper half and a lower half . in a further preferred embodiment of either arcuate or non - arcuate implants , more than half of the leading end can be a contour that goes from the exterior side wall toward the mid - longitudinal axis of the implant in the plane dividing the implant into an upper half and a lower half . in another preferred embodiment of either arcuate or non - arcuate implants , the leading end includes a curve that extends from the exterior side wall beyond the mid - longitudinal axis of the implant . the more pronounced curve of the leading end of the implant of the present invention as compared to the chamfer of related art implants advantageously provides for closer placement of the implant &# 39 ; s leading end to the perimeter of the vertebral body , without the limiting corner protruding therefrom , to more fully utilize the dense cortical bone in the perimeter of the vertebral bodies . the configuration of the implant of the present invention provides the use of an implant having a longer overall length as measured from leading end to trailing end for a better fill of the disc space . implant 200 has opposed portions 206 and 208 that are arcuate transverse to the longitudinal axis of implant 200 along at least a portion of the length of implant 200 and are adapted to contact and support adjacent vertebral bodies when inserted across the intervertebral space and into the vertebral bodies . implant 200 can further include protrusions or surface roughenings such as ratchetings 220 for enhancing stability . surface roughenings may also include ridges , knurling and the like . the present invention is not limited to use in the lumbar spine and is useful throughout the spine . in regard to use in the cervical spine , by way of example , in addition to various blood vessels the esophagus and trachea also should be avoided . further , the implant of the present invention preferably includes non - arcuate opposed surface portions that are either generally parallel to one another along the length of the implant or in angular relationship to each other such that the opposed surfaces are closer to each other proximate one end of the implant than at the longitudinally opposite other . for example , at least a portion of the opposed surfaces may be in a diverging relationship to each other from the trailing end to the leading end for allowing angulation of the adjacent vertebral bodies relative to each other . alternatively , at least a portion of the opposed surfaces may be generally in a converging relationship to each other from the trailing end to the leading end for allowing angulation of the adjacent vertebral bodies relative to each other . the spinal implant of the present invention allows for a variable surface , or any other configuration and relationship of the opposed surfaces . implant 100 may be adapted to cooperatively engage a driver instrument for installation of the implant into the recipient site . for example , in a preferred embodiment trailing end 104 may be configured to complementary engage an instrument for driving implant 100 . while the exact contour and / or curvature of a particular vertebral body may not be known , the teaching of having the implant leading end be arcuate or truncated along one side ( the lateral leading end ) or from side to side so as to eliminate the length limiting lateral leading corner lc or the side wall or lateral aspect junction to the implant leading end is of such benefit that minor differences do not detract from its utility . further , the range of describable curvatures may be varied proportionately with the size of the implants as well as their intended location within the spine and direction of insertion to be most appropriate and is easily determinable by those of ordinary skill in the art . generally for use in the lumbar spine , when the leading end of the implant is a portion of a circle then the arc of radius of the curvature of the leading end of the implant should be from 10 - 30 mm to be of greatest benefit , though it could be greater or less , and still be beneficial . the same is true for the cervical spine where the arc of radius is preferably 8 - 20 mm . while particular preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects . while specific innovative features were presented in reference to specific examples , they are just examples , and it should be understood that various combinations of these innovative features beyond those specifically shown are taught such that they may now be easily alternatively combined and are hereby anticipated and claimed .
0
more particularly , the new 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - substituted hydroxy indanes correspond to the following general formula : ## str5 ## in which r 1 &# 39 ; , r 2 &# 39 ; and r 3 &# 39 ; are the same or different and represent hydrogen , halogen or an alkyl radical with up to 6 carbon atoms , r 5 &# 39 ; , r 6 &# 39 ; , r 7 &# 39 ; , r 8 &# 39 ; and r 9 &# 39 ; are the same or different and represent an alkyl radical with up to 6 carbon atoms , in addition to which r 6 &# 39 ; and / or r 7 &# 39 ; can also represent hydrogen , and r 10 &# 39 ; and r 11 &# 39 ; represent hydrogen , in addition to which r 5 &# 39 ; and r 10 &# 39 ; together may also represent the group more particularly , these new compounds correspond to the following general formula : ## str6 ## in which r 1 &# 34 ; and r 2 &# 34 ; are the same or different and represent hydrogen , chlorine or an alkyl radical with up to 4 carbon atoms , r 5 &# 39 ; , r 6 &# 39 ; , r 7 &# 39 ; , r 8 &# 39 ; and r 9 &# 39 ; are the same or different and represent an alkyl radical with up to 6 carbon atoms , in addition to which r 5 &# 39 ; and r 10 &# 34 ; together may also represent the group more particularly , the new compounds correspond to the following general formula ## str7 ## in which r 1 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; and r 2 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; are the same or different and represent hydrogen , alkyl with up to 4 carbon atoms , preferably methyl or ethyl or chlorine , r 5 &# 39 ; , r 6 &# 39 ; , r 7 &# 39 ; , r 8 &# 39 ; and r 9 &# 39 ; are the same or different and represent an alkyl radical with up to 6 carbon atoms , in addition to which r 5 &# 39 ; and r 10 &# 34 ; together may also represent a tetramethylene or pentamethylene radical . optionally substituted alkyl radicals are linear and branched alkyl radicals with up to 12 , preferably with up to 8 , more particularly with up to 4 carbon atoms , for example methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , t - butyl , amyl , isoamyl , the isomeric hexyl , heptyl and octyl radicals , preference being given to methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , t - butyl , amyl , isoamyl and hexyl radicals . optionally substituted cycloalkyl radicals are those with 3 to 8 carbon atoms , preferably the cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl radicals : optionally substituted aralkyl radicals are those with up to 6 carbon atoms in the aliphatic portion and with up to 14 carbon atoms in the aromatic proton with methyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , pentyl and hexyl being mentioned by way of example for the aliphatic portion , and phenyl , naphthyl . anthryl being mentioned by way of example for the aromatic portion ; benzyl and ethylphenyl represent preferred araliphatic radicals : optionally substituted aryl radicals are , for example , phenyl , naphthyl , anthryl , preferably phenyl : substituents of the optionally substituted cycloalkyl , aralkyl and aryl radicals are , for example , alkyl radicals with up to 12 carbon atoms , preferably with up to 6 carbon atoms , which may be linear or branched , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , t - butyl . it has also been found that the new 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - substituted hydroxy indanes can readily be obtained by reacting alkylphenols corresponding to the general formula : ## str8 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 , r 10 and r 11 are as defined above , r 13 represents halogen , hydroxyphenyl or the group -- or 14 where r 14 is hydrogen or an optionally substituted alkyl , cycloalkyl , aralkyl or aryl radical , in addition to which r 12 and r 13 together may also represent another bond between the carbon atoms substituted by them , with olefins in which at least one double - bonded carbon atom exclusively contains carbon - carbon bonds , in other words compounds containing the group ## str9 ## or with compounds which yield the corresponding olefin in situ , in the presence of acid catalysts at temperatures in the range from 70 ° to 360 ° c . the reaction is preferably carried out at temperatures in the range from 100 ° to 250 ° c ., more particularly at temperatures in the range from 110 ° to 200 ° c . in general , the acid catalysts used for the process according to the invention can be the same acid catalysts known per se and used in known manner for the alkylation of phenols ( cf . das no . 1 , 518 , 460 ; dos no . 1 , 643 , 390 ; dos no . 2 , 034 , 369 ; dos no . 2 , 111 , 193 ). examples of acid catalysts of this kind are lewis acids such as alcl 3 , bf 3 ; proton acids , i . e . acids whose dissociation is accompanied by the release of a proton , more especially mineral acids such as sulphuric acid , phosphoric acid , hydrochloric acid and perichloric acid , but also , and in particular , aromatic sulphonic acids such as benzene and toluene sulphonic acids ; silica and fuller &# 39 ; s earth such as montmorillonite , silicoaluminates and silica gel . silicas are finely divided materials containing silicic acid and / or aluminum oxide . the silicas and fuller &# 39 ; s earths can be used either without any pretreatment or after activation treatment with mineral acids such as sulphuric acid , phosphoric acid , hydrochloric acid , perchloric acid or hydrofluoric acid . natural or synthetic ion exchangers such as zeolites or exchanger resins may also be used . exchanger resins are insoluble resins consisting of inert 2 - dimensionally or 3 - dimensionally crosslinked polymers which are substituted by reactive groups such as phosphoric , phosphonic , sulphuric or sulphonic acid groups . mineral acids , fuller &# 39 ; s earths and silicas and also exchanger resins may be used with advantage in the process according to the invention . preferred mineral acids are sulphuric acid , hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid . of the silicas and fuller &# 39 ; s earths , it is preferred to use those which have been activated by treatment with an acid in known manner ( chemie fur labor and betrieb , 1956 , page 422 ; ullmann , 3rd edition , vol . 9 , pages 271 et seq ; vol . 8 , pages 801 to 804 ). suitable ion exchangers are , in particular , styrenedivinylbenzene resins , crosslinked styrene resins , phenolformaldehyde resins and benzene - formaldehyde resins , all preferably substituted by sulphonic acid groups . it is particularly preferred to use resins of the kind containing one sulphonic acid group oer 0 . 5 to 2 monomer units of the resin ( ullmann , 3rd edition , vol . 8 , pages 806 to 822 , in particular page 816 ; dt - ps 915 , 267 ). it is also possible to use mixtures of the aforementioned catalysts . the quantity of catalyst used in the process according to the invention may be varied within a wide range . the catalyst is generally used in a quantity of from about 2 to 30 % by weight and preferably in a quantity of from 7 to 14 % by weight , based on the alkylphenol of formula ( ii ). alkylphenols of the general formula ( ii ) which can be used as starting materials for the process according to the invention are known . they can correspond to the following general formula : ## str10 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 5 , r 10 and r 11 are as defined above . examples of these alkylphenols are 4 - isopropenyl phenol , 2 - methyl - 4 - isopropenyl phenol , 2 , 6 - dimethyl - 4 - isopropenyl phenol , 2 - chlor - 4 - isopropenyl phenol , 2 , 6 - dichlor - 4 - isopropenyl phenol . they can also correspond to the following general formula : ## str11 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 , r 10 , r 11 and r 13 are as defined above . examples of these alkyl - phenols are 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methylphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 ,-( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - dimethylphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - chlorphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - dichlorphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methylphenyl )- propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - dimethylphenyl ) propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - chlorphenyl )- propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - dichlorphenyl )- propane . other suitable compounds of the general formula ( ii ) are the dimers of the alkylphenols of the general formula ( iii ) which correspond to the general formula : ## str12 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 , r 10 and r 11 are as defined above , also their trimers which correspond to the general formula : ## str13 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 , r 10 and r 11 are as defined above . particularly suitable compounds of general formulae ( v ) and ( vi ) are dimers and trimers of the optionally substituted propenylphenol corresponding to the general formulae : ## str14 ## in which r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are as defined above . another group of alkylphenols of the general formula ( ii ) which can be used in the process according to the invention are compounds corresponding to the general formula : ## str15 ## in which r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 5 are as defined above . examples of these compounds include 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 - methyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 - chlor - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- butane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 1 - phenylethane . other examples of alkylphenols of the general formula ( ii ) which may be used in the process according to the invention are 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- cyclohexane and 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- cyclopentane . the olefins containing the group ## str16 ## i . e . in which at least one double - bonded carbon atom contains only carbon - carbon bonds , the so - called &# 34 ; tertiary &# 34 ; olefins , are also known . the following are mentioned by way of example : 2 - methylpropene , 2 - methyl - 1 - butene , 2 - methyl - 2 - butene , 2 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 - butene , 2 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - butene , 2 - methyl - 2 - phenyl - 1 - propene , 2 , 4 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 - pentene , 2 , 4 , 4 - trimethyl - 2 - pentene . it is preferred to use 2 - methylpropene ( isobutylene ) and a mixture of 2 , 4 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 - pentene and 2 , 4 , 4 - trimethyl - 2 - pentene ( diisobutylene ). the molar ratio between the alkylphenol of general formula ( ii ) and the tertiary olefin may be varied within wide limits . although the phenol and the olefin can be used in a substantially equimolar ratio , it is preferred to use a ratio of about 2 mols to about 7 mols of olefin per mol of phenol . at the same time , the phenol nucleus may be substituted by one or more alkyl groups corresponding to the tertiary olefin used . these tertiary alkyl groups may optionally be removed again by known methods , such as dealkylation in the presence of acid catalysts , or transalkylation by the addition of phenol . the process according to the invention may be carried out at normal pressure or at elevated pressures of up to 60 atmospheres , preferably up to 20 atmospheres . more particularly the process according to the invention is carried out at pressures in the range from 1 to 10 atmospheres . the process according to the invention may also be carried out in an inert solvent or diluent such as , for example , aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons , especially hexane and heptane , benzene , toluene and xylene . in general , the process acccording to the invention is carried out by initially introducing the alkylphenol of formula ( ii ) optionally in solution in an inert solvent , into a suitable reaction vessel , for example an autoclave , adding the catalyst selected , heating the mixture to the reaction temperature selected , adding the olefin with stirring and subsequently leaving the mixture to react with stirring for about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours . it is also possible to carry out the process according to the invention by putting the selected catalyst , optionally dissolved or suspended in an inert solvent in a suitable reaction vessel , e . g . an autoclave , heating to the chosen reaction temperature , adding the alkyl phenol of the general formula ii and the chosen olefin , whilst simultaneously stirring over a period lasting from about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours and finally reacting for a further 0 . 5 to about 5 hours whilst stirring . on completion of the reaction , the reaction product is worked up in known manner by removing the catalyst from the reaction vessel by known methods such as , for example , filtration , centrifuging and washing , depending upon the type of catalyst used , and isolating the reaction products from the catalyst - free reaction mixture , again in known manner , for example by distillation or crystallisation . the process according to the invention may also be carried out continuously in a homogeneous phase using fixed - bed or fluidised - bed catalysts . the apparatus used for carrying out the process according to the invention may be any one of a number of forms known from the prior art . the process according to the invention as applied , for example , to the reaction of isobutylene with 4 - isopropenylphenol is illustrated by the following reaction scheme for the use of the alkylphenols of general formula ( iii ): ## str17 ## in cases where alkylphenols of formula ( ii ), in which r 12 and r 13 do not together represent another bond between the carbon atoms substituted by them , i . e . compounds of general formula ( iv ), are used in the process according to the invention , the radical r 13 is split off during the reaction together with the hydrogen of the aliphatic carbon atom in the α - position . this is explained by the following reaction scheme relating by way of example to 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane : ## str18 ## instead of using the tertiary olefin , it is also possible to employ compounds of the kind which yield the corresponding olefin in situ during the reaction , for example the corresponding alcohols or tertiary alkylphenols . examples of the alcohols which may be used as starting materials instead of the corresponding phenols in the process according to the invention are isobutanol , tert .- butanol and 2 - methyl - 2 - butanol . in addition , the alkylphenols of general formula ( ii ) can be reacted with phenols substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups instead of being reacted with the corresponding tertiary olefins . the tertiary olefin is yielded in situ by the tertiary alkyl group . for example , phenol is formed in addition to the reaction product according to the invention , namely 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 5 - hydroxy indane , by reacting 4 - isopropenylphenol and 4 - tert .- butylphenol by the process according to the invention thus demonstrating that the isobutylene is yielded in situ by the 4 - tert .- butylphenol in accordance with the following scheme : ## str19 ## examples of phenols substituted by tertiary alkyl groups are o -, m - and p - tert .- butylphenol , 2 , 4 - di - tert .- butylphenol , 3 , 5 - di - tert .- butylphenol . in another embodiment of the process according to the invention , it is possible to use alkylphenols of the general formula ( ii ) which are simultaneously substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups , i . e . in which one or more of the radicals r 1 , r 2 and r 3 represent a tertiary alkyl group , both as the alkylphenol of general formula ( ii ) and also instead of the corresponding tertiary olefin . in this case , the reaction according to the invention is intramolecular . the following are mentioned as examples of starting compounds substituted by tertiary alkyl groups , i . e . alkylphenols of general formula ( ii ): 2 - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 , 6 - di - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 - methyl - 6 - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 - ethyl - 6 - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 - isopropyl - 6 - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 - cyclopentyl - 6 - tert .- butyl - 4 - isopropenylphenol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenol )- 2 - propanol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - di - tert .- butylphenyl )- 2 - propanol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methyl - 5 - tert .- butylphenyl )- 2 - propanol ; 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - di - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 - methoxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methyl - 5 - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - di - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methyl - 5 - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- butane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- cyclohexane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- cyclopentane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- 1 - phenyl ethane . it is also possible to prepare the alkylphenols of the formula ( ii ) simultaneously substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups , providing they correspond to general formula ( vii ), by a one - pot process from an optionally substituted phenol in a first reaction stage , and to react them immediately afterwards in a second stage to form the hydroxy indanes by the process according to the invention . if a corresponding alcohol is used instead of the tertiary olefin , the process according to the invention may be carried out by initially introducing the alkylphenol of the formula ( ii ) and the catalyst , optionally in solution in an inert solvent , into the reaction vessel and introducing the alcohol over a period of about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours . the reaction temperature is preferably selected in such a way that the water of reaction which forms is continuously distilled off or is distilled off azeotropically by means of the inert solvent . the reaction mixture is then left to react for about another 0 . 5 to about 5 hours at the temperature selected . it is also possible to introduce the catalyst selected , optionally in solution and / or suspension in an inert solvent , initially into the reaction vessel and then to introduce the alkylphenol of the formula ( ii ) used as starting compound and the alcohol selected simultaneously with stirring over a period of about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours , and at the same time to distil off the water of reaction which forms either continuously or azeotropically with the inert solvent . the reaction mixture is then left to react for about another 0 . 5 to 5 hours at the reaction temperature . if the phenol substituted by one or more corresponding tertiary alkyl groups is used instead of the tertiary olefin , the process according to the invention can be carried out by initially introducing the corresponding tertiary alkylphenol which yields the tertiary olefin in situ and the alkylphenol of formula ( ii ) used as starting compound , optionally in solution in an inert solvent , into the reaction vessel , adding the catalyst selected , heating the mixture to the reaction temperature selected and leaving it to react while stirring for about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours . it is also possible to introduce the catalyst selected , optionally dissolved and / or suspended in an inert solvent , initially into the reaction vessel , for example an autoclave , to heat it to the reaction temperature selected and to introduce the starting compound of formula ( ii ) selected and the tertiary alkylphenol which yields the tertiary olefin in situ , simultaneously with stirring over a period of about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours , and then to leave the mixture to react with stirring for about another 0 . 5 to about 5 hours . if , as described above , alkylphenols of general formula ( vii ) which are substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups , i . e . which are simultaneously used as the second reaction component instead of the tertiary olefin , are used , the process according to the invention is carried out as follows . the alkylphenol of formula ( ii ) substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups , optionally in solution and / or suspension in an inert solvent , is initially introduced into the reaction vessel , the catalyst selected is added and the mixture heated with stirring to the reaction temperature selected at which it is left to react for about another 0 . 5 to about 5 hours . it is also possible to prepare alkylphenols of formula ( vii ) simultaneously substituted by one or more tertiary alkyl groups , in a one - pot process from a correspondingly substituted phenol in a first reaction stage , and to react them immediately afterwards in a second stage to form the 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - substituted hydroxy indanes by the process according to the invention . for example , the following procedure may be adopted : the alkylphenol of formula ( vii ) is initially introduced into the reaction apparatus , optionally in solution and / or suspension in an inert solvent , and the catalyst subsequently added . the tertiary olefin used is then introduced with stirring over a period of about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours , depending on the size of the batch , at a temperature of from about 40 ° to about 70 ° c . and at normal or elevated pressure , preferably at a pressure of up to about 60 atmospheres , more particularly at a pressure of up to about 10 atmospheres . on completion of alkylation , the temperature is increased to the reaction temperature selected for the process according to the invention and the same tertiary olefin or another tertiary olefin subsequently added in the second stage in accordance with the above general description and the process according to the invention is carried out . since a tertiary olefin is used in the first stage , i . e . for alkylating the phenol , the tert .- alkylated phenol may be simultaneously used instead of the tertiary olefin in the second stage and the process according to the invention carried out in accordance with the above general description without further addition of a tertiary olefin . the new hydroxy indanes are valuable intermediate products , more especially for the synthesis of insecticides , germicides or fungicides and may themselves be used as odorants and antioxidants ( british pat . no . 1 , 199 , 695 , u . s . pat . no . 2 , 057 , 929 ). by virtue of their reducing action , the new hydroxy indanes may be used in known manner as developers in photographic materials and processes . more particularly the new hydroxy indanes may be used as reducing agents for photographic material in the production of dry photographic copies on a layer essentially containing non - photosensitive reducible silver salts , reducing agents and a toner and , optionally , a photosensitive heavy metal compound and / or a polymethine sensitiser for spectrally sensitising the non - photosensitive silver compound . materials and processes of this kind are described , for example , in german pats . nos . 1 , 300 , 014 , 1 , 234 , 243 , in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 457 , 075 , 3 , 619 , 237 , in french pat . no . 2 , 037 , 847 and belgian pats . nos . 770 , 971 , 771 , 274 and 771 , 730 . the acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth used in the following examples was obtained from sudchemie ag , munich , under the name &# 34 ; k 10 sf &# 34 ;, whilst the ion exchanger was produced in accordance with german pat . no . 915 , 267 . a solution of 134 g ( 1 mol ) of 4 - isopropenylphenol in 200 ml of toluene is added dropwise with stirring at 100 ° c . to a suspension of 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth in 100 ml of toluene . at the same time , 112 g ( 2 mols ) of isobutylene are introduced . the mixture is then left to react for 3 hours at 100 ° c ., after which the catalyst is filtered off , the solvent distilled off and the 223 g residue obtained fractionated . 30 . 2 g ( 0 . 16 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane melting at 118 ° c . are thus obtained at a boiling temperature of 144 ° c ./ 12 torr , and 133 g ( 0 . 54 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 6 - tert .- butyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane melting at 114 ° c . at a boiling temperature of 153 ° c ./ 12 torr : ## str20 ## a solution of 134 g of 4 - isopropenylphenol in 100 ml of tert .- butanol and 100 ml of benzene is added dropwise with stirring at the boiling temperature to a suspension of 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth , the water of reaction formed being azeotropically distilled off . after the water has been separated from the azeotrope , the solvent is returned to the reaction mixture . on completion of the addition , the mixture is left to react for another 3 hours . after the catalyst has been filtered off , the solvent is distilled off and the 179 g residue fractionated . 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane is thus obtained in a yield of 121 . 2 g ( 64 % of the theoretical ), and 5 - hydroxy - 6 - tert .- butyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane in a yield of 27 g ( 11 % of the theoretical ). 30 . 4 g ( 0 . 2 mol ) of 2 - hydroxy - 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane are dissolved in 20 g ( 0 . 27 mol ) of tert .- butanol and 30 ml of benzene . this solution is added dropwise with stirring over a period of 3 hours at the boiling temperature to a suspension of 4 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth in 20 ml of benzene , the water of reaction formed being simultaneously distilled off azeotropically . after the water has been separated from the azeotrope , the solvent which is left is returned to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture is then left to react for another 2 hours at boiling temperature . the catalyst is then filtered off and the solvent distilled off . the 25 . 9 g residue has the following composition : ______________________________________first runnings 20 . 02 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane 57 . 19 % by weightintermediate runnings 4 . 53 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 6 - tert .- butylindane 18 . 26 % by weight______________________________________ a solution of 67 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol in 100 g of tert .- butanol and 50 ml of benzene is added dropwise with stirring over a period of 3 hours at the boiling temperature to a suspension of 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth in 100 ml of benzene , the water formed being simultaneously distilled off azeotropically . after the water has been separated from the distillate , the solvent is returned to the reaction mixture . the catalyst is then filtered off and the solvent distilled off , leaving a 113 . 1 g residue of the following composition : ______________________________________unknown compounds 5 . 24 % by weightintermediate runnings 0 . 39 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane ( 56 % ofthe theoretical ) 46 . 74 % by weightintermediate runnings 0 . 24 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 6 - tert .- butylindane ( 42 % of the theoretical ) 46 . 34 % by weightlast runnings 1 . 06 % by weight______________________________________ a solution of 134 g ( 1mol ) of dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol in 200 ml of tert .- butanol and 100 ml of benzene is added dropwise with stirring over a period of 3 hours at the boiling temperature to a mixture of 200 ml of benzene and 6 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid , the water formed being distilled off azeotropically . the solvent is returned to the reaction mixture after separation of the water from the distillate . the catalyst is then washed out with 10 % by weight aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution . the solvent is distilled off from the benzene solution . the residual crude mixture weighing 214 . 4 g is subjected to fractional distillation , giving 59 . 8 g ( 0 . 31 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane and 49 . 4 g ( 0 . 20 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 6 - tert .- butyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane . 134 g of dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol , 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 112 g of isobutylene are introduced into an autoclave , and the autoclave is closed . the contents of the autoclave are then heated with stirring to around 180 ° c . and left at that temperature for 6 hours . after cooling to room temperature , 100 ml of toluene are added to the reaction mixture , the catalyst filtered off and the toluene distilled off , leaving 226 g of a crude mixture from which 124 g ( 65 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane and 25 . 4 g ( 10 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 6 - tert .- butyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are obtained by fractional distillation . 150 g ( 1 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol and 400 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth are introduced into an autoclave . 1650 g ( 29 . 5 mol ) of isobutylene and 2600 g ( 9 . 7 mol ) of molten dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol are then simultaneously pumped in over a period of about 4 to 5 hours at a temperature of around 180 ° c . the mixture is then left to react for 4 hours at around 180 ° c . the hot reaction mixture is then filtered off from the catalyst under suction , 4184 g of crude product being obtained in this way . fractional distillation gives 1980 g ( 10 . 4 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane and 564 g ( 2 . 3 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 6 - tert .- butyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane . a solution of 67 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol , 45 g ( 0 . 64 mol ) of 2 - methyl - 2 - butene and 150 ml of benzene is added dropwise with stirring over a period of 4 hours at the boiling temperature to a suspension of 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth in 50 ml of benzene . after stirring for another 4 hours at the boiling temperature , the catalyst is filtered off and the solvent distilled off . the residue obtained of 87 . 4 g is subjected to fractional distillation . recrystallisation from benzene of the fraction boiling at 159 °- 170 ° c ./ 12 torr gives 17 . 3 g ( 0 . 025 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - pentamethyl indane ( iii ) melting at 149 ° c . ## str21 ## 134 g ( 0 . 5 mol ) of molten dimeric 4 - isopropenylphenol and 120 g ( 1 . 07 mol ) of diisobutylene are simultaneously added dropwise over a period of 4 hours at around 90 ° c to a suspension of 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth in 100 ml of toluene . the mixture is then left to react for another 2 hours at 90 ° c , after which the catalyst is filtered off and the solvent distilled off . fractional distillation of the residue gives a fraction which distills over at 160 °- 170 ° c ./ 12 torr and subsequently solidifies in crystalline form . recrystallisation from petroleum ether gives 41 . 2 g ( 34 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 - trimethyl - 3 - neopentyl indane ( iv ) melting at 102 ° c . ## str22 ## 57 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 10 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 84 g ( 0 . 75 mol ) of diisobutylene are stirred in an autoclave for 8 hours at around 150 ° c . the catalyst is then filtered off and the reaction mixture subjected to fractional distillation , giving 25 . 2 g ( 44 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 - trimethyl - 3 - neopentyl indane . 121 g ( 0 . 5 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- butane , 22 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 90 g ( 1 . 6 mol ) of isobutylene are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at 180 ° c . after cooling , the reaction mixture is taken up in 150 ml of toluene , the catalyst filtered off and the solvent evaporated . the residue is fractionated through a 1 meter glass - packed column , giving at a boiling temperature of 155 ° to 160 ° c ./ 12 torr 37 g of a fraction from which 24 . 8 g ( 20 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 1 - ethyl indane ( v ) melting at 86 ° c . are obtained by recrystallisation from 90 ml of petroleum ether . ## str23 ## 144 g ( 0 . 54 mol ) of 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- cyclohexane , 22 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 90 g ( 1 . 6 mol ) of isobutylene are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at 180 ° c . after cooling , the reaction mixture is taken up in 150 ml of toluene , the catalyst filtered off and the solvent evaporated , leaving 224 g of a crude mixture which is subjected to fractional distillation , giving at a boiling temperature of 144 °- 146 ° c ./ 1 . 2 torr 48 g of a fraction from which 24 . 5 g ( 0 . 11 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 - pentamethylene - 3 , 3 - dimethyl indane ( vi ) melting at 104 ° c . are obtained by recrystallisation from 110 ml of petroleum ether . ## str24 ## 114 g ( 0 . 5 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 6 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid and 90 g ( 1 . 6 mol ) of isobutylene are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at 180 ° c . after cooling , the reaction product is taken up in 150 ml of toluene and washed with 10 % by weight aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution to remove the catalyst . the toluene solution is then distilled to remove the solvent and the residue of 176 . 9 g is subsequently subjected to fractional distillation , giving 20 . 6 g ( 22 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane . 750 g ( 5 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol and 320 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth are introduced into a 10 liter autoclave and heated to 180 ° c . 1960 g ( 35 mol ) of isobutylene and 3420 g ( 15 mol ) of molten 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane are simultaneously pumped in over a period of 4 to 5 hours at the aforementioned temperature . the mixture is then left to react with stirring for another 4 hours at 180 ° c . the hot reaction mixture is then filtered off from the catalyst , giving 6100 g of a crude mixture from which 2230 g ( 11 . 7 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are obtained by fractional distillation . ______________________________________first runnings : 2 . 28 % by weight4 - tert .- butylphenol 31 . 11 % by weightintermediate runnings i 1 . 35 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane 25 . 70 % by weight2 , 4 - di - tert .- butylphenol 14 . 20 % by weightintermediate runnings ii 14 . 37 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 6 - tert .- butylindane 8 . 20 % by weightlast runnings 2 . 79 % by weight______________________________________ in which the first runnings , intermediate runnings i and ii and final runnings were not identified , were heated with stirring for 5 hours to 180 ° c . with 30 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth . the gas escaping was collected in a cold trap at around - 60 ° c ., giving 61 g of isobutylene . the hot reaction mixture was then filtered off from the catalyst giving 410 g of a product of the following composition : ______________________________________phenol 13 . 27 % by weight4 - tert .- butylphenol 29 . 23 % by weightintermediate runnings i 1 . 27 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane 35 . 30 % by weight2 , 4 - di - tent .- butylphenol 1 . 65 % by weightintermediate runnings ii 7 . 17 % by weightfinal runnings 12 . 10 % by weight______________________________________ in which intermediate runnings i and ii and the last runnings were not identified . 250 g of the mixture used as starting product in example 15 are heated for 5 hours to 175 ° c . with 25 g of an acid - acitivated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 500 g of phenol . the hot reaction mixture is filtered off from the catalyst and has the following composition : ______________________________________phenol 71 . 18 % by weight4 - tert .- butylphenol 17 . 80 % by weightintermediate runnings i 0 . 52 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane 7 . 15 % by weight2 , 4 - di - tert .- butylphenol 0 . 52 % by weightintermediate runnings ii 1 . 74 % by weightlast runnings 1 . 07 % by weight______________________________________ in which the intermediate runnings i and ii and the last runnings were not identified . a molten mixture of 575 g ( 2 . 5 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenol )- propane and 1875 g ( 12 . 5 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol was pumped with stirring over a period of 4 to 5 hours at 180 ° c . into 225 g ( 1 . 5 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol and 125 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth accommodated in an autoclave . this was followed by stirring for another 4 hours at 180 ° c . the hot reaction mixture was then filtered off from the catalyst and the resulting 2621 g of reaction mixture subjected to fractional distillation , giving 380 g ( 80 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane . 172 g ( 1 . 15 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol , 57 . 5 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane and 5 g of boron trifluoride etherate are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at around 150 ° c . the reaction mixture is then diluted with 400 ml of toluene and the catalyst washed out with 900 ml of water used in several portions . the solvent is then distilled off . 17 . 6 g ( 0 . 093 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane were isolated from the 216 . 7 g reaction product by fractional distillation . 172 g ( 1 . 15 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol , 57 . 5 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane and 20 g of an ion exchanger are heated with stirring for 5 hours to about 170 ° c . in an autoclave . the ion exchanger is then filtered off while still hot , leaving 208 . 5 g of a reaction mixture from which 16 . 7 g ( 0 . 088 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are isolated by fractional distillation . 30 g ( 0 . 088 mol ) of 2 , 2 ,- bis ( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - tert .- butylphenyl )- propane and 3 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and stirred for 4 hours at 180 ° c . in an autoclave . after cooling , the reaction mixture is diluted with 150 ml of toluene , filtered off from the catalyst under suction and the solvent distilled off . the reaction mixture has the following composition : ______________________________________phenol 10 . 95 % by weight4 - tert .- butylphenol 31 . 45 % by weightintermediate runnings i 3 . 93 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane 30 . 01 % by weight2 , 4 - di - tert .- butylphenol 4 . 73 % by weightintermediate runnings ii 2 . 64 % by weight5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 6 - tert .- butylindane 3 . 58 % by weightlast runnings 16 . 21 % by weight______________________________________ in which the last runnings and intermediate runnings i and ii were not identified . 172 . 5 g ( 1 . 15 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol , 57 . 5 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane and 10 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth were heated with stirring in an autoclave for 6 hours to approximately 200 ° c . the hot reaction mixture is then filtered off from the catalyst under suction and the resulting 221 . 3 g reaction mixture subjected to fractional distillation in vacuo , giving 25 . 2 g ( 52 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane . 172 . 5 g of 4 - tert .- butylphenol , 57 . 5 g of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane and 20 g of p - toluene sulphonic acid are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at around 180 ° c . after cooling , the reaction mixture is repeatedly washed with about 250 ml of 10 % by weight aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution to remove the catalyst , and then subjected to fractional distillation in vacuo . 9 . 3 g ( 0 . 05 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are isolated from 157 . 7 g of reaction mixture . 114 g ( 0 . 5 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 90 g ( 1 . 6 mol ) of isobutylene and 25 g of an aluminum silicate are stirred in an autoclave for 6 hours at around 300 ° c . under the naturally prevailing pressure . the catalyst is then filtered of while still hot . 41 . 8 g ( 44 % of the theoretical ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are isolated by fractional distillation in vacuo from the 170 . 9 g of reaction mixture . 1680 g ( 30 mol ) of isobutylene are pumped over a period of 4 to 5 hours at a pressure of 1 atmosphere into a mixture of 2300 g ( 10 . 1 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 750 g ( 5 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol and 250 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth accommodated in an autoclave . the initial temperature of 100 ° c . is reduced to 65 ° c . after 1 - 2 hours . this is followed by heating for 6 hours to around 180 ° c . with continued stirring . the hot catalyst is then filtered off from the resulting 4600 g of reaction mixture from which 463 g ( 2 . 43 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane are isolated by fractional distillation in vacuo . 99 g ( 0 . 33 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - chlorphenyl )- propane , 20 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth and 60 g ( 1 . 07 mol ) of isobutylene are introduced into an autoclave . after stirring for 6 hours at 230 ° c ., 200 ml of toluene are added , the catalyst is filtered off and the solvent evaporated . the residue ( 127 . 1 g ) is distilled in vacuo in a packed column . 12 . 2 g ( 0 . 055 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 6 - chlor - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl indane ( vii ) melting at 51 ° c . are obtained from the fraction boiling at 75 °- 83 ° c ./ 0 . 2 torr by recrystallisation from 25 ml of petroleum ether . ## str25 ## a mixture of 142 g ( 0 . 5 mol ) of 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 6 - dimethylphenyl )- propane and 375 g ( 2 . 5 mol ) of 4 - tert .- butylphenol is added dropwise over a period of 4 hours at 180 ° c . to 65 g of tert .- butylphenol and 30 g of an acid - activated fuller &# 39 ; s earth . the mixture is then stirred for 4 hours at 180 ° c . the reaction mixture is dissolved in 900 ml of toluene , the fuller &# 39 ; s earth filtered off under suction and the solvent distilled off . the residue ( 467 g ) is subjected to fractional distillation . 24 . 1 g ( 0 . 11 mol ) of 5 - hydroxy - 1 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 4 , 6 - hexamethyl indane ( viii ) melting at 55 ° to 57 ° c . are obtained from the fraction boiling at 140 ° to 150 ° c ./ 12 torr by recrystallisation from 90 ml of petroleum ether .
2
fig3 schematically shows a nanoparticle 1 according to the invention . the nanoparticle 1 has a core 3 with a surface 2 that has functional groups for affinity binding 4 of complementary functional groups of at least one analyte 5 . fig4 schematically shows the steps of a method for investigating at least one analyte 5 by means of maldi - tof mass spectrometry . these steps include providing a sample with the analyte 5 , providing nanoparticles 1 according to the present invention in a suspension in an aqueous liquid , adding the nanoparticle suspension , and the final image shows the suspension 6 containing the nanoparticles with the bound analyte 7 . fig5 schematically depicts the further steps comprising the deposition of the suspension containing the bound analyte 7 on a maldi sample carrier 8 , the spectrometric investigation of the analyte with maldi - tof mass spectrometry , utilizing matrix 9 and a laser 11 for desorption / ionization and mass spectrometry of the charged analyte 12 . 12 mmol of tetraethoxysilane and 90 mmol of nh 3 were added to 200 ml of ethanol . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 24 hours and then the particles which had formed were purified by multiple centrifugation . this resulted in 650 mg of silica particles with an average particle size of 125 nm . a 1 % by weight aqueous suspension of the cores obtained in example 1 was mixed with 10 % by volume of 25 % ammonia . 20 % by weight of aminopropyltriethoxysilane , based on the cores , were added and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for one hour . the particles were purified by multiple centrifugation . the resulting particles have functional amino groups on their surface ( zeta potential in 0 . 1 m acetate buffer : + 35 mv ). 1 mg of amino - functionalized particles ( example : 2 . 1 ) are suspended in 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph : 7 . 0 ). subsequently , up to 1 mg of heterofunctional polyethylene glycols such as mpeg - succinimidyl propionate , t - boc - nh - peg - succinimidyl propionate , maleimido - peg - succinimidyl propionate or mixtures thereof are added , and the mixture is shaken at room temperature for 3 hours . if protective groups are present on the surface they are removed by treatment with 1 % trifluoroacetic acid for 2 hours . the particles are washed twice with 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph : 7 . 0 ). if these surfaces have amino groups after deblocking of the protective groups , they can be used further in examples 2 . 6 / 2 . 7 . firstly a 2 % by weight suspension of amino - functionalized cores in tetrahydrofuran was prepared . 260 mg of succinic anhydride were added to 10 ml of this solution . ultrasound treatment for 5 minutes was followed by stirring at room temperature for one hour . the cores were then purified by multiple centrifugation . the resulting silica cores have functional carboxy groups ( zeta potential in 0 . 1 m acetate buffer : − 35 mv ) on their surface and have an average particle size of 170 nm . 10 mg of carboxy - modified cores were washed twice with 1 ml of acetonitrile ( mecn ) and then taken up in 1 ml of mecn . to this were added 10 μmol of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and 10 μmol of n - hydroxysuccinimide . this was followed by shaking at room temperature for two hours . washing was then carried out once with 1 ml of cyclohexane and once with 1 ml of mecn . the particles were then taken up in 1 ml of mecn . 4 μmol of n , n - biscarboxymethyl - l - lysine were added thereto and shaken at room temperature for three hours . this was followed by washing once with 1 ml of acetonitrile and twice with 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). this reaction firstly increases the density of the functional carboxy groups and secondly ni 2 + ions can be bound by complexation with this surface . this surface is then able to bind proteins modified with his tags . 10 mg of carboxy - modified cores were washed twice with 1 ml of acetonitrile ( mecn ) and then taken up in 1 ml of mecn . 10 μmol of dicyclophexylcarbodiimide and 10 μmol of n - hydroxysuccinimide were added thereto and then shaken at room temperature for two hours . this was followed by washing once with 1 ml of cyclohexane and once with 1 ml of mecn . the cores were then taken up in 1 ml of mecn . 500 μg of cysteine were added thereto and shaken at room temperature for three hours . this was followed by washing once with 1 ml of acetonitrile and twice with 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). this surface is particularly suitable for immobilizing proteins via disulfide bridges . 500 μg of amino - functionalized cores were resuspended in 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). 1 . 25 μmol of sulfo - succinimidyl 4 -( n - maleimidomethyl ) cyclohexane - 1 - carboxylate were added thereto and shaken at room temperature for one hour . this was followed by washing once with cold 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ), and the cores were taken up in 1 ml of 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). 500 μg of amino - functionalized cores were resuspended in 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). 1 . 25 μmol of succinimidyl 4 -( iodoacetyl ) aminobenzoate were added thereto and shaken at room temperature for one hour . this was followed by washing once with cold 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ), and the cores were taken up in 1 ml of 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). these surfaces of 2 . 8 and 2 . 9 are suitable for coupling on proteins having free thiol groups . 15 μg of streptavidin were added to 1 ml of mes buffer ( ph 5 . 0 ). to this were added 500 μg of carboxy - functionalized nanoparticles and 100 nmol of edc . the mixture was shaken at room temperature for 3 h , and the particles were removed by centrifugation and washed twice with 1 ml of pbs buffer . after suspension in pbs , the particles have a size of 200 nm and have 3 % by weight of streptavidin on their surface . this method can also be used to immobilize other proteins , for example streptactin and protein g , on the surface . immobilization and direct maldi ms detection of humif on streptavidin - conjugated silica nanoparticles . fig1 a ) shows a mass spectrum of nanoparticles without immobilization of proteins . the spectrum shows only peaks of the streptavidin monomer . fig1 b ) shows a mass spectrum of nanoparticles after they have been put into a solution of humif and biotinylated anti - humif antibody and then washed several times with buffer solutions . unambiguous signals of humif are obtained . this means that humif was specifically bound to the nanoparticles and can be detected directly thereon . fig2 demonstrates the concentration of silica nanoparticles on maldi sample carriers . fig2 ( a )–( c ) show mass spectra of ( a ) 50 pmol , ( b ) 5 . 0 pmol , and ( c ) 0 . 50 pmol of biotinylated mf2 immobilized on in each case 25 μg of silica nanoparticles . ( a ) and ( b ) show peaks with diminishing intensity corresponding to the absolute amount of analyte on the sample carriers . signals from the analyte are no longer obtained in ( c ). fig2 ( d ) shows a mass spectrum of the same silica nanoparticles from ( c ). in this case , 250 μg of these particles were loaded by repeated application to the sample carrier , so that a total of 5 . 0 pmol of the analyte — i . e . ten times the amount in ( c )— is present on the target . the mass spectrum shows peaks with almost the same signal - to - noise ratio as the mass spectrum from ( b ), in which likewise 5 . 0 pmol of analyte were absolutely applied to the target .
6
in accordance with current terminology pertaining to medical devices , the proximal direction will be that direction on the device that is furthest from the patient and closest to the user , while the distal direction is that direction closest to the patient and furthest from the user . these directions are applied along the longitudinal axis of the device , which is generally an axially elongate structure having one or more lumens or channels extending through the proximal end to the distal end and running substantially the entire length of the device . as defined herein , a sheath is an axially elongate tube that can also be termed a catheter , a cannula , an introducer , or the like . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is therefore indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . fig1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a part of the circulatory system 102 of a human 100 . the circulatory system 102 comprises a heart 112 , an inferior vena cava 104 , a superior vena cava 106 , an iliac vein 108 , and a femoral vein 110 . the heart 112 further comprises a left ventricle 114 , a right ventricle 116 , a left atrium 118 , a right atrium 120 . the circulatory system 102 also comprises the aorta 122 . referring to fig1 , all the functional components are operably connected to each other . the left ventricle 114 of the heart 112 pumps blood into the aorta 122 by muscular contraction of the myocardium . blood enters the left ventricle 114 through the mitral valve from the left atrium 118 . blood is pumped from the right ventricle 116 , through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery . blood enters the right ventricle 116 from the right atrium 120 through the tricuspid valve . all parts of the heart 112 and circulatory system 102 are integral to each other , although they are comprised of various types of tissue . fig2 illustrates a plot of arterial pressure 200 as a function of time . the arterial pressure 200 is pulsatile and the waveform generally repeats itself each cardiac cycle . the end of the first cardiac cycle 202 is approximately 0 . 8 seconds following the beginning of the cycle . the arterial pressure waveform 200 has a maximum value 204 , a minimum value 206 , and a dicrotic notch 208 . referring to fig2 , typical arterial or systemic pressure within the human circulatory system is a time varying value that appears somewhat like a triangle wave , having rounded peak and minimum curvature , with a maximum value 204 called the peak systolic pressure and the minimum value 206 called the minimum diastolic pressure . a small feature in the downsloping part of the wave is called the dicrotic notch 208 and is the hemodynamic remnant of the closure of the aortic valve . fig3 illustrates a plot of the right atrial pressure 300 as a function of time . the right atrial pressure 300 is pulsatile and the waveform generally repeats itself each cardiac cycle . the end of the first cardiac cycle 302 is approximately 0 . 74 seconds following the beginning of the cycle . the following partial cycle 304 illustrates a right atrial pressure tracing in a patient with an arrhythmia causing the minimum pressure to drop as low as 0 mm hg . referring to fig3 , the right atrial pressure has a much lower mean value than that in the systemic circulation . the larger , first pressure pulse , within the right atrium , is generated by the contraction of the right atrium which increases pressure within the right atrium . a smaller , second pressure pulse is generated when the right ventricle contracts and causes the tricuspid valve to balloon backward into the right atrium . a third pressure pulse is caused by muscular or myocardial contraction of the heart . a second beat 304 begins at the end 302 of the first recorded cycle 300 . the second beat 304 is the result of a heart experiencing electrical disturbances and the beat results in a higher peak of around 11 or 12 mm hg and a minimum value of 0 mm hg . fig4 illustrates a plot of the left atrial pressure 400 as a function of time . the left atrial pressure 400 is pulsatile and the waveform generally repeats itself each cardiac cycle . the end of the first cardiac cycle 402 is approximately 0 . 7 seconds following the beginning of the cycle . referring to fig4 , the left atrial pressure 400 , in the illustrated tracing reaches a maximum of 7 . 5 mm hg and a minimum of 5 mm hg . the left atrial pressure 400 pulsatile waveform comprises a larger peak 404 followed by a smaller peak 406 during the course of a single cardiac cycle . the first , larger peak 404 is generated by contraction of the left atrium and the second , smaller peak 406 is generated by contraction of the left ventricle causing retrograde flow into the left atrium and ballooning of the mitral valve into the left atrium . fig5 illustrates a gas block system 500 comprising a core tube 502 , an outer shell 504 , a proximal hemostasis valve 506 , a distal hemostasis valve 508 , a distal connector 510 , a reverse flow one way check valve 512 , a forward flow one way check valve 514 , a fluid inlet line 516 , a fluid outlet line 518 , an optional fluid withdrawal pump 520 , a liquid reservoir 522 , an outer shell lumen 524 , and a volume of liquid 526 . the core tube 502 further comprises a plurality of fenestrations 528 . the outer shell 504 further comprises an outlet port 530 and an inlet port 532 . referring to fig5 , the core tube 502 is affixed concentrically within the outer shell 504 at both ends . both ends of the outer shell 504 where the core tube 502 penetrates are sealed against the passage of fluids from the outer shell lumen 524 . the proximal hemostasis valve 506 is affixed to the proximal end of the core tube 502 and the central flow lumen of the proximal hemostasis valve 506 is operably connected to the central lumen of the core tube 502 . the distal hemostasis 508 valve is affixed to the distal end of the core tube 502 and the central flow lumen of the distal hemostasis valve 508 is operably connected to the central lumen of the core tube 502 . the distal connector 510 is affixed to the distal end of the distal hemostasis valve 508 and the central through lumen of the distal connector 510 is operably connected to the central lumen of the distal hemostasis valve 508 . the distal end of the distal connector 510 is reversibly , or permanently , affixed to the proximal end of a catheter hub ( not shown ). the reverse flow one way check valve 512 is affixed to , and operably connected to , the outlet port 530 , which is operably connected to the outer shell 504 and the central lumen of the reverse flow one way check valve 512 is operably connected to the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 . the forward flow one way check valve 514 is affixed to and operably connected to the inlet port 532 , which is affixed to and operably connected to the outer shell 504 . the central lumen of the forward flow one way check valve 514 is operably connected to the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 . the fluid inlet line 516 is affixed and operably connected to the central lumen of the forward flow check valve 514 at one end and affixed to and operably connected to the liquid reservoir 522 at the other end . the fluid outlet line 518 is affixed and operably connected to the central lumen of the reverse flow check valve 512 at one end and affixed to and operably connected to the optional fluid withdrawal pump 520 or a reservoir ( not shown ) at the other end . the volume of liquid 526 fills at least a portion of the liquid reservoir 522 , the fluid inlet line 516 , the forward flow check valve 514 , and the outer shell 504 . in one embodiment , the fenestrations 528 are integral to the core tube 502 and are generally breaks or holes in the outer wall of the core tube 502 . the outer shell 504 and the core tube 502 can be fabricated from glass or polymers such as , but not limited to , polycarbonate , polysulfone , polypropylene , polyethylene , polyurethane , polyvinyl chloride , acrylic , polystyrene , or the like . the outer shell 504 and the core tube 502 are preferably fabricated from materials that are transparent and optically clear with a minimum of defects or blemishes . the outer shell 504 and the core tube 502 should be transparent so that bubbles can be visualized or identified by the user such that they can be removed or guided out of the outer shell 504 . some small amount of colorant is acceptable such that a slight blue , violet , green , or yellow tint is present . the outer shell 504 and the core tube 502 can have wall thicknesses that range from 0 . 020 inches to 0 . 50 inches , and preferably between 0 . 040 and 0 . 250 inches . the reverse flow check valve 512 and the forward flow check valve 514 , as well as the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , and the distal connector 510 can be fabricated from the same materials as those used for the outer shell 504 . in addition , the valves 512 , 514 , 506 , and 508 can comprise internal seals ( not shown ) fabricated from flexible or elastomeric polymers such as , but not limited to , polyurethane , silicone elastomer , thermoplastic elastomer , latex rubber , or the like . the fluid inlet line 516 and the fluid outlet line 518 can be fabricated from materials such as , but not limited to , polyvinyl chloride , polyurethane , silicone elastomer , polypropylene , polyethylene , or the like . the fluid reservoir 522 can be a bag or a container such as a bottle , box , or tub fabricated from the same materials as the fluid inlet line 516 . the gas removal pump 520 can be a syringe that is manually or mechanically operated or it can be a pump such as a roller pump , a diaphragm pump , a centrifugal pump , a piston pump , or the like . the pump 520 can be manually , electrically , or fluidically powered . in another embodiment , the pump 520 can be a simple fluid reservoir with no active means of pulling a vacuum on the outlet of the reverse flow check valve 512 . the pump 520 is advantageously oriented higher than the outer shell 504 . the outlet port 530 and the inlet port 532 can be integral to the outer shell 504 or they can be bonded or welded thereto . the outlet port 530 and the inlet port 532 can be perforations in the wall of the outer shell 504 . fig6 illustrates an air block subassembly 600 comprising the core tube 502 , the outer shell 504 , a proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , a distal connector 510 , the reverse flow one way check valve 512 , the forward flow one way check valve 514 , and an outer shell lumen 524 . the one way check valves 512 and 514 each further comprise an internal connector 602 , and an external connector 604 . referring to fig6 , the internal connector 602 is affixed to the outer shell 504 and the central lumen of the internal connector is operably connected to the central lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 by way of holes in the outer shell 504 . in one embodiment , the external connectors 604 are permanently affixed to the outermost edges of the reverse flow check valve 512 and the forward flow check valve 514 . the internal connectors 602 and the external connectors 604 can be luer type connectors , or other bayonet mount or screw mount with a tapered sealing port , for example , suitable for attachment to medical fluid lines and connectors . referring to fig5 , the internal connectors 602 and the external connectors 604 can be fabricated from the same materials as those used to fabricate the outer shell 504 . fig7 illustrates an air block subassembly 600 affixed to a primary catheter 700 . the primary catheter 700 comprises a hub 702 , a main tube 704 , and a hub connector 706 . the air block subassembly 600 further comprises the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , and the distal connector 510 . referring to fig7 , the hub 702 is affixed to the main tube 704 . in one embodiment , the hub 702 has an integral or attached hub connector 706 . the hub connector 706 is permanently or releasably affixed to the distal connector 510 of the air block system 600 . the distal connector 510 can be configured to be a device such as , but not limited to , a luer lock , a bayonet mount , a collar with a setscrew , an adhesively coupled connector , a threaded connector , or the like . fig8 illustrates the air block system 500 affixed to the primary catheter 700 . the primary catheter 700 comprises the hub 702 and the main tube 704 . the air block system 500 comprises the outer shell 504 , the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , the distal connector 510 , the reverse flow check valve 512 , the forward flow check valve 514 , the liquid inlet line 516 , the fluid outlet line 518 , the fluid withdrawal pump 520 , and the liquid reservoir 522 . the air block system 500 further comprises an air reservoir 802 , a power supply 804 , a plurality of power lines 806 , a gas permeable membrane 810 , and a power switch 808 . referring to fig8 , the air reservoir 802 is affixed to the end of the fluid outlet line 518 that is opposite the end of the fluid outlet line 518 that is connected to the reverse flow one way check valve 512 . in an embodiment , the air reservoir 802 can be affixed to the reverse flow one way check valve 512 directly without the intervening fluid outlet line 518 . the fluid withdrawal pump 520 is affixed to the air reservoir 802 with or without an intervening fluid line ( not shown ). the power supply 804 is operably connected to the fluid withdrawal pump 520 using power lines 806 . in the illustrated embodiment , there are two power lines 806 . a power switch 808 can be operably connected to at least one power line 806 and used to enable power delivery to the fluid withdrawal pump 520 through the power lines 806 . in an embodiment , the power supply 804 can be a battery system and the fluid withdrawal pump 520 can be electrically powered . the fluid removal system can be optimized to selectively withdraw only gasses such as air while leaving liquids behind , within the outer shell 504 . in an embodiment , a gas permeable membrane 810 can be operably connected within or about the outlet line 518 . the gas permeable membrane 810 is a filter comprising , for example , a microporous membrane fabricated from materials such as , but not limited to , polypropylene , polyethylene , polytetraflouoroethylene , other polyolefin , polyester , or the like . the membrane can have porous structures that penetrate from one side of the membrane to the other . the size of the pores can be about 100 microns with a range of about 50 microns to about 1000 microns . the pore density and pore size can be selected to be compatible with a pressure drop across the membrane , as generated by the pump 520 or other suction ( vacuum ) or pressure generating device , so as to remove a given volume of air over a reasonable length of time , for example 1 - cc in 5 minutes , while preventing the loss of blood or other liquids from the system . fig9 illustrates the air block subassembly 600 comprising the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , and the distal connector 510 affixed to the primary catheter 700 . the air block subassembly 600 comprises the perforated core tube 502 which further comprises an interior distal surface 910 that is smooth and gently sloped . a secondary catheter 900 is inserted through the air block subassembly 600 and the primary catheter 700 . the secondary catheter 900 comprises a hub 902 and a main tube 904 . referring to fig9 , the main tube 904 of the secondary catheter 900 is affixed to the hub 902 and one or more lumens within the main tube 904 are operably connected to one or more lumens in the hub 902 . the main tube 904 of the secondary catheter 900 is slidably inserted through the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the air block system 600 , and the central lumen of the primary catheter 700 . the proximal hemostasis valve 506 and the distal hemostasis valve 508 operably seal against the passage of fluids around the exterior surface of the main tube 904 . the inner surfaces of the core tube 502 are smooth and without bumps , especially on the distal end 910 of the core tube , so that the secondary catheter 900 , when inserted in the distal direction , does not hang up or catch on ridges , bumps , or ledges . the interior surface of the distal end 910 of the core tube 502 , when tapering from a larger to a smaller diameter when moving in the distal direction , beneficially has a relatively gentle angle of 1 to 45 degrees to facilitate advancement of the secondary catheter 900 , especially if the secondary catheter 900 comprises radial enlargements or a curvature or bend at right angles to the longitudinal axis . such gentle tapering and lack of bumps or ridges can also be present on the proximal end of the core tube 502 inner surface , and can reduce friction on a secondary catheter 900 which has radial enlargements while it is being withdrawn proximally through the core tube 502 . fig1 illustrates the air block subassembly 600 affixed to the primary catheter 700 with the main tube 904 of the secondary catheter 900 inserted through both the air block subassembly 600 and the primary catheter 700 . the air block subassembly 600 comprises the core tube 502 further comprising the plurality of fenestrations 528 , the outer shell 504 , the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , and the distal connector 510 . a bolus of air 1000 has escaped into the air block assembly 600 and is being removed from the lumen of the core tube 502 , through the fenestrations 528 , into the lumen of the outer shell 504 . referring to fig1 , an air bubble 1000 is shown trapped within the lumen of the core tube 502 . the air bubble 1000 is shown moving upward toward the reverse flow check valve 512 due to buoyancy forces generated by gravity acting on the bubble 1000 and the liquid within the air block system 600 . the air bubble 1000 will ultimately move out of the core tube 502 altogether where it will reside within the outer shell 502 prior to being withdrawn out through the reverse flow check valve 512 and away from the blood path . fig1 illustrates a side cross - sectional view of a dual chamber air block 1100 . the dual chamber air block 1100 comprises the first outer shell 504 , the first core tube 502 , the distal hemostasis valve 508 , the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , the reverse flow check valve 512 , the forward flow check valve 514 , the distal coupler 510 , the primary catheter 700 , and the secondary catheter 900 further comprising the secondary catheter hub 902 and the secondary catheter tube 904 . the dual chamber air block 1100 further comprises a second outer shell 1104 , a second core tube 1102 , a second reverse flow check valve 1112 , and a second proximal hemostasis valve 1130 . referring to fig1 , the distal end of the second core tube 1102 is affixed to and its central lumen is operably connected to the proximal end of the proximal hemostasis valve 506 . the second proximal hemostasis valve 1130 is affixed to and its through lumen is operably connected to the central lumen of the second core tube 1102 . the second reverse flow check valve 1112 is affixed to the second outer shell 1104 and its central lumen operably connected to the internal lumen of the second outer shell 1104 by way of a fenestration or outlet port in the second outer shell 1102 . a pressurized liquid source is operably connected to the forward flow check valve 514 or it is directly connected to the interior volume of the first outer shell 504 . referring to fig1 and 5 , the sizes of the two chambers of the dual chamber air block 1100 can be approximately the same , or they can vary by as much as 80 % in volume . the forward flow check valve 514 can be operably connected to the pressurized source 522 of liquid 526 . the liquid 526 can be delivered at pressures of between 20 and 300 mm hg . it is preferable that the liquid 526 be biologically compatible fluid such as , but not limited to , ringers solution , isotonic saline , heparinized saline , or the like . the liquid 526 can be sterilized and delivered through a sterile system to prevent infection to a patient . the liquid 526 , delivered at a pressure higher than that of the central venous circulation , will flow both distally and proximally , if allowed , within the first outer shell 504 and the second outer shell 1104 . the movement of the liquid 526 is controlled by the distal hemostasis valve 508 , the proximal hemostasis valve 506 , and the second proximal hemostasis valve 1130 . should air be entrained into the second outer shell 1104 through the second proximal hemostasis valve 1130 , the high pressure within the first outer shell 504 will prevent entrance of the air into the first outer shell through any potential opening or defect in the proximal hemostasis valve 506 . a leak or defect in the distal hemostasis valve 508 could result in the flow of the liquid 526 through the first catheter 700 and into the patient , but since the liquid 526 is biocompatible , this event will have no adverse clinical effect . any air that does become trapped within the system can be drawn out through the reverse flow check valve 512 or the second reverse flow check valve 1112 . in other embodiments , the forward flow check valve 514 can be eliminated and the line 516 can be directly connected to the outer shell 504 . in another embodiment , one or more of the reverse flow check valves 512 or 1112 can be eliminated and replaced by gas permeable membranes , or simply be connected to the fluid withdrawal line 518 . referring to fig5 , 6 , 7 , and 11 , the volume of the outer shell 504 or 1104 can vary between 0 . 5 cubic centimeter ( cc ) and 100 - cc . the size of the system is beneficially reduced to allow the system 500 , 600 , or 1100 to be connected to a primary catheter 700 and still be maneuvered without encumbering the user or hindering manipulation . the air block system 500 is beneficially sterilized prior to use to prevent infection to a patient . referring to fig5 , an air block apparatus 500 is disclosed herein , which prevents air from passing through a catheter , cannula , or sheath into a patient &# 39 ; s cardiovascular system , wherein the air block 500 comprises an outer shell 500 , further comprising a wall and an inner lumen 524 having a proximal end and a distal end , a core tube 502 comprising an axially elongate wall , an inner lumen , and a plurality of fenestrations 528 , wherein the core tube 502 resides within the outer shell 504 and is sealed to the outer shell 504 at its proximal end and its distal end , a first hemostasis valve 506 affixed to the core tube 502 at the proximal end of the core tube , a second hemostasis valve 508 affixed to the core tube 502 at the distal end of the core tube 502 , and an outlet port 530 affixed to the wall of the outer shell 504 , wherein the outlet port 530 is operably connected to the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 , wherein the fenestrations 528 in the wall of the core tube 502 are large enough to permit air or other gas to pass out of the core tube 502 and into the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell . in another embodiment , the air block apparatus can further comprise an inlet port 532 affixed to the wall of the outer shell 504 , wherein the inlet port 532 is operably connected to the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 . in another embodiment , the air block apparatus can further comprise an inlet port 530 operably connecting the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell with a source 522 of liquid 526 . the apparatus can also comprise a vacuum source 520 operably connected to the outlet port 530 , wherein the vacuum source 520 removes gas from the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 . referring to fig5 and 8 , the air block apparatus 500 can comprise a gas permeable membrane 810 operably connected between the vacuum source 520 and the outlet port 530 , wherein the gas permeable membrane 810 permits the removal of gas from the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 while substantially preventing the removal of liquid from the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 . referring to fig6 , the air block apparatus 500 can also have a core tube 502 that further comprises a central bulge 610 extending radially outward such that when the inner lumen 524 is oriented perpendicular to the line of gravity , gas moves radially away from the central axis of the core tube 502 toward the outer wall , where it is able to pass into the inner lumen of the outer shell through fenestrations 528 in the wall of the core tube 502 . the core tube 502 of the air block 600 can comprise a central bulge 610 extending radially outward , wherein said central bulge 610 is gently tapered along the inner distal surface 612 of the outer wall of the core tube 502 such that a catheter inserted therethrough , from the proximal end , does not catch , but is guided into the smaller diameter regions of the core tube without catching or hanging up as it is advanced distally . in another embodiment , the first , proximal hemostasis valve 506 of the apparatus is configured to receive a catheter and seal around said catheter when the catheter is inserted therethrough and further wherein the proximal hemostasis valve 506 is configured to seal substantially against the flow or air or liquid when nothing is inserted therethrough . the second hemostasis valve 508 can be configured to receive a catheter and seal around said catheter when the catheter is inserted therethrough and further wherein the distal , or second hemostasis valve 508 is configured to seal substantially against the flow or air or liquid when nothing is inserted therethrough . referring to fig6 and 7 , the air block apparatus 600 can further comprise an adapter 510 to permit attachment of the distal end of the second hemostasis valve 508 to a hub 702 of a catheter 700 such that the central lumen of the core tube 502 is operably connected to the inner lumen of the hub 702 of the catheter or sheath 700 as permitted by the second hemostasis valve 508 . the adapter 510 can be configured to permit removable attachment of the air block apparatus 600 to the hub of the catheter 700 . referring to fig5 , 6 , 7 , and 9 , in another embodiment , a method of preventing substantial infusion of air into the proximal end of a first catheter 700 is disclosed , the method comprising the steps of affixing an air block 600 having a longitudinal axis to the proximal end of a first catheter 700 , wherein the air block comprises an outer shell 504 , a fenestrated core tube 502 , a first hemostasis valve 506 , a second hemostasis valve 508 , an inlet port 532 , and an outlet port 530 , affixing a source 522 of sterile liquid 526 to the inlet port , affixing a gas withdrawal system 520 to the outlet port , inserting a secondary catheter 900 through the air block into the first catheter or sheath 700 , wherein the first and second hemostasis valves 506 and 508 prevent air from entering or escaping the air block 600 , orienting the air block 600 such that its longitudinal axis is substantially horizontal relative to the pull of gravity ; and removing gas bubbles that collect between the outer shell 504 and the fenestrated core tube 502 such that the gas bubbles no longer reside within the outer shell 504 . the method can further comprise the step of elevating the source 522 of sterile liquid 526 above the level of the outer shell 504 . the method can also comprise the step of activating a pump 520 to remove the gas from the outer shell 504 through the outlet port 530 . in another embodiment , the method can further comprise the step of removing the gas from the outer shell 504 through a gas permeable membrane 810 which is operably connected to the outlet port 530 . the method can involve replacement of the secondary catheter 900 with a guidewire at one or more points in the procedure . the method can further comprise the step of collecting the removed gas in a holding chamber 802 , which can be a separate structure or integral to the block 500 . in another embodiment , the method can comprise the step of returning any liquid , which was unintentionally removed from the system , back into the outer shell 504 through the inlet port 532 . the method can comprise the step of sterilizing the air block 500 or 600 prior to attaching it to the first catheter , sheath , or introducer 700 . the method can also comprising the step of packaging the air block 500 or 600 within a kit , wherein the kit comprises at least the first catheter or sheath 700 and the air block 500 , 600 . the method can comprise pre - affixing the air block to the hub 702 of the first catheter , sheath , introducer , or cannula 700 . the method of can comprise the step or steps of providing therapeutic intervention within the cardiovascular system wherein the instrumentation is placed through the air block apparatus 500 , 600 into the sheath or first catheter 700 . the method can comprise the step or steps of providing diagnostic intervention within the cardiovascular system through the air block apparatus 500 , 600 . the method can comprise routing the first catheter or sheath 700 to the right atrium of the heart through the venous system . subsequent steps can involve passing the first catheter or sheath 700 through the interatrial septum and resides , at its distal end , within the left atrium of the heart . in another embodiment , an apparatus 1100 is disclosed , which is adapted for preventing substantial infusion of air into the proximal end of a first catheter 700 comprising means for collecting air within a primary inner chamber 502 , means for collecting air within a primary outer chamber 504 , means for permitting the air to move from the primary inner chamber 502 to the primary outer chamber 504 , means for inserting a catheter 900 through the inner chamber 502 , means 506 for preventing substantial air from entering the primary inner chamber 502 from the proximal end of the primary inner chamber 502 , means 508 for preventing substantial air from leaving the primary inner chamber 502 at its distal end while still permitting passage of a catheter 900 therethrough , means for infusion of liquid into the primary outer chamber 504 , and means for removal of gas from the primary outer chamber 504 . the apparatus 1100 can further comprise a secondary , perforated , inner chamber 1102 surrounded by a secondary outer chamber 1104 , a means 1112 for removing air from the secondary outer chamber 1104 , and a secondary proximal hemostasis valve 1130 , wherein said secondary , or second , inner and outer chambers 1102 and 1104 , respectively , positioned proximally to the primary inner chamber 502 and operably separated from the primary outer chamber 504 by a means 506 to permit catheter passage between the primary 502 and secondary 1102 inner chambers while substantially prohibiting the flow of fluids between said primary 502 and secondary 1102 inner chambers . an air block apparatus 500 , 600 , 1100 is disclosed herein , which is adapted for preventing air from passing from a room through a catheter , sheath , cannula , or introducer 700 into a patient &# 39 ; s cardiovascular system comprising an outer shell 504 comprising a wall and an inner lumen having a proximal end and a distal end , a core tube 502 comprising an axially elongate wall , an inner lumen , and a plurality of fenestrations 528 , wherein the core tube 502 resides within the outer shell 504 and is sealed to the outer shell 504 at its proximal end and its distal end , a first valve 506 affixed to the inner lumen of the core tube 502 at the proximal end of the core tube 502 , wherein said first valve 506 permits the passage of a catheter 900 but substantially prohibits the flow of fluids , either liquid or room air , therethrough , a second valve 508 affixed to the inner lumen of the core tube 502 at the distal end of the core tube 502 , wherein said second valve 508 permits the passage of a catheter 900 but substantially prohibits the flow of fluids , either liquid or room air therethrough , an outlet port 530 for withdrawing any gas , including room air , collected in the outer shell 504 , away from the outer shell 504 , and a source 522 of sterile , biocompatible liquid 526 delivered at a pressure greater than central venous pressure , wherein the source 522 of sterile , biocompatible liquid 526 is operably connected to the inner lumen 524 of the outer shell 504 , wherein the sterile biocompatible liquid 526 is delivered at a pressure higher than that of the room air and substantially prevents the flow of room air from the first valve 506 into the inner lumen of the core tube 502 . an air block apparatus 500 , 600 , 1100 is disclosed , which is adapted for preventing gas from passing from a room environment through a catheter 700 into a patient &# 39 ; s cardiovascular system comprising a chamber 504 affixed to the proximal end of a first catheter 700 , wherein the chamber 504 is operably connected to a source 522 of liquid 526 which is pressurized to a level above that of the pressure within the cardiovascular system , a first valve 506 affixed to the proximal end of the chamber 504 , wherein said first valve 506 permits insertion of a second catheter 900 from a room environment through the first valve 506 and into the chamber 504 , and a second valve 508 affixed to the distal end of the chamber 504 , wherein said second valve 508 permits insertion of the second catheter 900 from the chamber 504 , through the second valve 508 , into the proximal end the first catheter 700 , wherein the first valve 506 and the second valve 508 are configured to permit catheter 900 passage but substantially prohibit the passage of air , from the room environment , therethrough . in one embodiment , the cross - sectional area of the outer shell 504 is substantially larger than the cross - sectional area of the catheter 700 . in one embodiment , the cross - sectional area of the outer shell 504 is at least three times greater than the cross - sectional area of the catheter 700 . in yet other embodiments , the cross - sectional area of the outer shell 504 is at least two times greater than the cross - sectional area of the catheter 700 . in another embodiment , the diameter of the outer shell 504 is substantially larger than the diameter of the catheter 700 . in one embodiment , the diameter of the outer shell 504 is at least three times greater than the diameter area of the catheter 700 . in yet other embodiments , the diameter of the outer shell 504 is at least two times greater than the diameter of the catheter 700 . fig1 illustrates an air embolism prevention device , or air block 1200 , comprising a shell 1202 , an exit valve 1204 , an intravascular sheath 1206 , and a catheter insert port 1208 . the air embolism prevention device 1200 prevents air bubbles from entering the intravascular sheath 1206 during any heart procedure , left - sided or right - sided . air bubbles that get introduced into the vasculature could cause stroke , myocardial infarct , or other ischemic event . the shell 1202 is affixed to the intravascular sheath 1206 by a coupler ( not shown ) or it is permanently attached by bonding , welding , or the like . the catheter insert port 1208 is affixed to the proximal end of the shell 1202 . the exit valve 1204 is affixed to the distal end of the shell 1202 and is coupled , at or near its distal end , to a point substantially near the proximal end of the intravascular sheath 1206 . the exit valve 1204 is operably connects the through lumen of the intravascular sheath 1206 to the internal volume of the shell 1202 under control of the valving mechanism within the exit valve 1204 . the insert port 1208 operably connects the external environment with the interior volume of the shell 1202 . fig1 illustrates a system and method of preventing air embolism during vascular procedures . the system , an air block or trap 1250 , comprises a case 1252 , a perforated cylindrical track 1254 further comprising fenestrations or perforations 1270 , an inlet valve 1256 , an outlet valve 1258 , an infusion port 1260 for a volume of pressurized liquid 1262 , an air escape valve 1264 , the volume of liquid 1262 , a volume of collected air 1266 , and a medical introducer sheath 1268 . the perforated cylindrical track 1254 allows catheter ( not shown ) passage and guide catheter ( not shown ) use when guidewires ( not shown ) have been introduced through the medical introducer sheath 1268 . the perforated cylindrical track 1254 further allows any air collected 1266 within its lumen to escape through the perforations 1270 into the surrounding chamber defined by annulus between the shell or case 1252 and the perforated cylindrical track 1254 . the pressurized infusion port 1260 prevents bleed out and air entry , maintaining a fluid ( saline ) interface at all times when the medical introducer sheath 1268 is used . the entire air block 1250 can be attached or affixed to a medical introducer sheath 1268 , catheter , cannula , or the like by way of a coupler ( not shown ) which engages , either permanently or removably , at or near the proximal end of the sheath 1268 hub ( not shown ). the inlet valve 1256 and the outlet valve 1258 are preferably hemostasis type valves , such as those known in the art of medical devices . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive . for example , the gas withdrawal system can be powered by an external power source or it can be powered manually . the scope of the invention is therefore indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope .
1
the present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which several embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein . rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . further details of attaching an application specific hardware assist function within an array processor for use in conjunction with the present invention is found in u . s . provisional application ser . no . 60 / 795 , 140 entitled “ methods and apparatus for attaching application specific functions within an array processor ” filed apr . 26 , 2006 and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . fig1 illustrates a sixteen - node video signal processor ( vsp 16 ) 100 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention . the vsp 16 100 contains four transform engine ( te ) clusters 101 - 104 , an interconnection network cluster switch 105 , a multi - channel direct memory access ( dma ) controller 106 , and an external memory 107 . the dma controller 106 interfaces with the external memory 107 over an external memory bus 108 to transfer data to and from the external memory to each of the te clusters over a multi - channel dma bus 109 . sixteen processor engines ( pes ) 110 - 125 are partitioned in groups of four pes per cluster as a 4 × 4 array organization . each pe provides programmable processing and hardware assist functions . sp / pe 0 110 is unique as compared to the other fifteen pes 111 - 125 , having an array controlling function combined with the pe function of pe 0 . the common features of the sixteen pes 110 - 125 include a set of instruction execution units including a multiply accumulate unit ( mau ) 130 , an arithmetic logic unit ( alu ) 131 , a store unit ( su ) 132 , a load unit ( lu ) 133 , a hardware assist ( ha ) 134 , a data select unit ( dsu ) 135 , a 256 × 5 slot very long instruction word memory ( vim ) 136 , a local pe register file 137 , and a data memory local 138 local to each pe and ha . each pe also contains local pipeline controls , decode logic , and control logic appropriate for each pe . all vsp 16 instructions are executed in a simple pipeline with a majority of instructions requiring a single execution stage and a few instructions requiring two execution stages that are pipelined . the unique sp / pe 0 110 combines a controlling function sequence processor ( sp ) combined with pe 0 functions . to support the sp and pe 0 , a separate sp register file and a separate pe 0 register file , illustrated in one block as sp / pe 0 register files 140 are used to maintain the processing context of the sp and pe 0 . though not limited to this , the sp / pe 0 shares a single vim 141 . to control the vsp 16 the sp has a single thread of control supported by an sp instruction memory 142 and an sp data memory 144 . the sp provides program control , contains instruction and data address generation units , supports interrupts , provides dma control , and dispatches instructions to the pes 110 - 125 . the sp executes branches and controls the fetching and issuing of instructions such as load vliw and execute vliw instructions . the load vliw instruction provides an indirect vim address and is used to load the instruction slots at the specified vim address . the execute vliw instruction causes a vliw to be selected at a specified indirect vim address and executed . the single sp thread of control supports 4 × 4 sub - threads which operate synchronously in lock step single instruction multiple data ( simd ) fashion . each sub - thread uses very long instruction words ( vliws ) which are indirectly selected and executed by the single sp thread . each vliw in each pe at the same vim address may be different but all unmasked pes access the same vim address when executing a vliw . five 32 - bit instruction slots are provided in each pe , such that with 16 pes 80 32 - bit instructions can execute simultaneously . in addition single , dual , quad , and octal packed data operations may be specified independently by each slot instruction thereby supporting up to 8 * 80 = 640 instruction specified operations per cycle . as an example of the processing power this provides , a vsp 16 operating at 250 mhz may achieve 640 * 250 mhz = 160 giga operations per second . the vsp 16 processor also uses an interconnection network cluster switch 105 providing single cycle data transfers between pes within clusters and between pes in orthogonal clusters . the communication operations are controlled by a dsu instruction which can be included in a vliw thereby overlapping communications with computations which with proper software pipelining the communication latency can be reduced to zero . the communication operations operate independently of the dma which may operate in the background to stream data between the local pe memories and the external memories . to support additional processing capability for application specific functions such as motion estimation / compensation and other high compute functions , a hardware assist ( ha ) unit with advantageous independent connections to local pe memory is provided . a ha unit has one or more multi - cycle tightly coupled state machine functions which provide memory intensive application specific operational capability to each of the pes in the vsp 16 . for example , ha unit 147 interfaces with dsu 148 and lu 149 and the local data memory associated with pe 4 114 as a transform engine 150 . the search is performed first at the full / integer pixel positions . a block of pixels of the current video frame , which is in the search range of a passed frame ( in temporal order ), is compared with all possible positions within the search range , looking for the smallest difference . for the best matching reference block , a motion vector is derived which describes the relative position of the two blocks . the full search at the integer pixel positions produces motion vectors at 16 × 16 block level , extracting results for 16 × 8 , 8 × 16 , 8 × 8 , and 4 × 4 blocks based on the sum of absolute difference ( sad ) criterion for each particular block size and given search range . next , partial search results ( sad for each current block position within the search range ) are made available in multiple miscellaneous register file ( mrf ) registers and / or the ha / pe local memory for further processing by the search refinement engine . the search refinement engine , which is the subject of this disclosure , performs half pixel interpolation on a two - dimensional full pixel window of 22 × 22 pixels by applying a 6 - tap finite impulse response ( fir ) filter in both horizontal and vertical directions . as the result of this step a new two - dimensional search window of 35 × 35 pixels is formed with interleaved existing full pixels and newly formed half pixel values . the half pixel motion search refinement step is performed next by comparing the current mb pixels with the nearest neighbor half pixel values in 8 directions : horizontal left / right , vertical up / down , and four diagonal directions . fig2 illustrates a matrix 200 with integer ( a ) and fractional sample positions , ½ ( b , c ) and ¼ ( d , e , f , g , h ), for luminance interpolation . the positions labeled a in fig2 represent reference picture samples in integer positions . other symbols represent interpolated values at fractional sample positions . the prediction values at integer positions are obtained by using the samples of the reference picture without alteration . the prediction values at half sample positions are obtained by applying a 6 - tap filter with tap values [ 1 , − 5 , 20 , 20 , − 5 , 1 ]. the prediction values at quarter sample positions are generated by averaging samples at integer and half sample positions . the process for each position is described below . samples at half sample positions labelled as ‘ b h ’ are obtained by first calculating intermediate value b applying the 6 - tap filter to the nearest samples ‘ a ’ at integer positions in horizontal direction . the final value are calculated using b h =(( b + 16 )& gt ;& gt ; 5 ). the samples at half sample positions labelled as ‘ b v ’ are obtained equivalently with the filter applied in vertical direction . samples at half sample positions labelled as ‘ c m ’ are obtained by applying the 6 - tap filter to intermediate values b of the closest half sample positions in either vertical or horizontal direction to form an intermediate result c . the final value is calculated using c m =(( c + 512 )& gt ;& gt ; 10 ). samples at quarter sample positions labelled as ‘ d ’, ‘ g ’, ‘ e ’ and t are obtained by averaging with truncation the two nearest samples at integer or half sample position using d =( a + b h )& gt ;& gt ; 1 , g =( b v + c m )& gt ;& gt ; 1 , e =( a + b v )& gt ;& gt ; 1 , f =( b h + c m )& gt ;& gt ; 1 . samples at quarter sample positions labelled as ‘ h ’ are obtained by averaging with truncation the closest ‘ b h ’ and ‘ b v ’ samples in diagonal direction using h =( b h + b v )& gt ;& gt ; 1 . fig3 illustrates a relationship matrix 300 of fractional sample position dependent variables in chrominance interpolation and surrounding integer position samples a , b , c , and d . fractional chrominance samples are obtained by using the equation : v =(( s − d x )( s − d y ) a + d x ( s − d y ) b +( s − d x ) d y c + d x d y d + s 2 / 2 )/ s 2 , where a , b , c and d are the integer position reference picture samples surrounding the fractional sample location . d x and d y are the fractional parts of the sample position in units of one eighth samples for quarter sample interpolation , and s is 8 for quarter sample interpolation . relationships between the variables in the above equation and reference picture positions are illustrated in fig3 . fig4 illustrates a hardware assist block diagram 400 for half pixel search window formation in accordance with the present invention . the register sizes are specified in terms of 12 - bit pixels , allowing register subsets to support 10 - bit pixels and 8 - bit pixels . the motion search refinement operation is initiated by use of a motion search refinement instruction which may combine features of a processing element load instruction for passing address generation values and compute register file values to the motion search refinement hardware assist block . the execution pipeline consists of six multi - cycle stages under control of ha execution state machines and control unit 402 : 1 . pe / ha memory read 404 2 . row fir filtering 406 3 . transpose memory write 408 4 . transpose memory read 410 5 . column fir filtering 412 6 . pe / ha memory write 414 the timing for input register load and fir filtering stages is overlapped with the transpose memory write cycles . the second pass of fir filtering is overlapped with transpose memory read cycles . the transpose memory write and read steps are sequential operations giving a minimum of 2 × 770 = 1 , 540 cycles to complete the search window formation for ½ pixel motion search refinement process . fig5 presents the flowchart 500 for a ½ pixel interpolation pipeline including general data flow information and general cycle timing for the various stages of the pipeline . the motion compensated search with ½ pixel accuracy is performed at eight ½ pixel neighboring positions with respect to the current best match . it is performed on the dsu_ms refinement hardware assist . while the present invention has been disclosed in the context of various specific illustrative embodiments , it will be recognized that the invention may be suitably applied to other environments and applications consistent with the claims which follow .
7
referring first to fig1 a boiling water reactor cavity 10 includes a steam outlet pipeline 11 which may typically be 21 . 5 inches in diameter . two or three such steam outlets extend from the upper region of a reactor assembly and during an outage time it is necessary to seal off the opening of each in turn so as to subject the pipelines to a pressure test . such a test is conducted by pumping either air or a liquid into the sealed off section of the pipeline 11 and observe whether or not leakage occurs ; for illustration the system herein described is for testing with pressurized water . in accordance with the invention an installation tool 12 is suspended from a support cable 13 hanging from an overhead crane to insert and later withdraw a removable plug 14 with respect to the mount of the pipeline 11 . referring to fig1 and 4 an operator 15 on a refueling seal platform 16 can reach and manipulate an upper horizontal arm 17 of the installation tool 12 , the arm 17 extending from the platform area outwardly into the reactor cavity 10 . a vertical arm 18 of the tool 12 extends downwardly to the level of the steam pipeline 11 where a lower horizontal arm 19 projects inwardly toward the plug 14 and pipeline 11 in a manner described below . a relatively short positioning arm 20 extends horizontally from the vertical arm 18 of the tool 12 to engage the inside of the reactor vessel to hold it in the proper vertical plane during operation . turning particularly to fig2 and 3 an adjustable lifting lug 22 has a lower collar portion 23 which telescopes over the end of the upper horizontal arm 17 of the tool 12 . a hook 24 at the lower end of the support cable 13 engages a lifting eye on the lug 20 to suspend the tool 12 in its proper position . it will be understood that the tool 12 would hang plumb from the cable 13 in more than one position depending upon whether the lower horizontal arm 19 is weighted by the plug 14 . if the lower end of the tool 12 is weighted with the plug 14 the lifting lug 22 must be attached closer to the outer end of the arm 17 so as to cause the tool 12 to hang plumb with its arm 18 vertical . for this reason , the lug 22 is slidable by its collar 23 along the arm 17 and can be fixed in six different positions by a pin 26 which fits through corresponding holes in the collar 23 and the arm 17 . the pin 26 is shown in detail in one locked position in fig3 and as with many of the parts of the apparatus it is connected to the collar 23 by chains 27 so that it cannot dislodge accidentally into the reactor assembly . note that a secondary support eye 28 is located on the far end of the arm 17 remote from the lug 20 . with the plug 14 removed from the tool 12 it is necessary if the tool is to be kept plumb to slide the collar 23 to the left as seen in fig2 to a different setting of the pin 26 . a control handle 30 is within reach of the operator on the end of the arm 17 of the tool 12 . a pull cable 31 extends from the control handle 30 around an appropriate pulley 32 and downwardly to another pulley 33 aligned with the lower horizontal arm 19 . the pull cable 31 then extends horizontally to a latch - pin assembly at the end of the arm 19 shown in detail in fig4 . the latch - pin assembly includes a cylinder 34 fixed to and projecting from the end of the lower horizontal arm of the tool 12 and having a conical nose frame 35 at its outer end . the plug 14 into which the tool is to be inserted has an inner axial hub 36 of slightly larger inside diameter than the outside diameter of the cylinder 34 . a flared guide 37 is attached to the inlet end of the hub 36 as seen particularly in fig5 to receive the nose frame 35 of the tool and direct the cylinder 34 telescopically into the hub 36 . affixed within the cylinder 34 is a transverse body 38 which has an inner axial bore 39 in which a cylindrical cam 40 is axially slidable . a rod 41 projects from the forward end of the cam 40 and has adjustment nuts 42 at its outer end against which a disc stop 43 is urged by a compression spring 44 . the spring 44 urges the cam 40 to the right as shown in fig4 so that a larger cam diameter 45 is within the transverse plane of four radial holes 46 in the body 38 . the cam also has a tapered surface 48 which is within the transverse plane of the holes 46 when the cam 40 is moved to the left as seen in fig4 against the force of the spring 44 . the operator 15 accomplishes such movement by pulling on the control handle 30 and thus causing the pull cable 31 to displace the cam 40 . as an alternate emergency cam displacement means , a secondary release handle 49 is affixed to the cam 40 and extends out of the lower horizontal arm 19 of the tool 12 . four latch pins 50 are radially mounted in the body 38 with follower ends 51 extending through the respective holes 46 into engagement with the cam 40 . compression springs 52 are located within the body 38 as shown to urge the latch pins 50 radially inwardly toward their retracted positions , which is prevented by the larger surface 45 of the cam 40 when the cam is in the position shown in fig4 . it will be seen that by displacement of the cam 40 to the left with a pull on the cable 31 against the spring 44 , the followers 51 ride down the tapered surface 48 of the cam to allow the four latch pins 50 to retract radially inwardly under the force of their springs 52 . when such retraction occurs the latch pins 50 withdraw from corresponding holes 53 in the hub 36 of the plug 14 and allow the tool 12 to be released from the plug 14 . from the foregoing it will be apparent that the plug 14 is releasably held on the end of the tool 12 by the latch - pin assembly while the plug is manipulated into place in the mouth of the steam line 11 . the operator then pulls the control handle 30 to release the latch pins 50 and the tool 12 is moved away with the plug 14 left in the steam line 11 . the process is reversed after the plug serves its purpose in a pressure test . the latch - pin assembly is guided into place while the operator holds the control handle 30 in its pulled back position . on release of the handle 30 as the cylinder 34 reaches the position in the hub 36 shown in fig4 the latch pins 50 spring into their desired locked positions . turning now to fig5 to 7 the plug 14 includes a stainless steel cylindrical welded body 55 on the hub 36 surrounded at its forward end by a pair of inflatable seals 56a and 56b of epdm rubber ( ethylene propylene diene monomer ). each seal has a deflated diameter less than and an inflated diameter greater than the interior dimensions of the pipeline 11 . the body also supports sixteen hydraulic cylinders and pistons 57 which provide the radial locking force required to withstand the desired pressure from either side of the plug . the cylinders 57 are in fact divided into two entirely separate redundant circuits with eight cylinders 57a of one circuit alternating around the plug with eight cylinders 57b of the other circuit , all of the cylinders being disposed in the same transverse plane . the piston rod 58 of each cylinder pivotally supports a shoe 59 having a knurled gripping surface and spring biased into retracted position . as shown in fig8 the connection between an end element 60 of each piston rod 58 and its associated shoe 59 is that of a loose universal ball and socket so that the shoe 59 can assume infinitely variable positions . the shoes are therefore self - adjusting to lie substantially flush with even out - of - round pipeline interiors . each shoe is slightly arcuate in shape as shown in fig6 to conform as closely as possible in curvature to the steam line 11 . the total force of the shoes 59 on the inside of the pipeline 11 can be accurately predetermined regardless whether the pipeline is somwhat out - of - round because it is a direct function of the hydraulic pressure within the cylinders 57 . there are three guide rollers 61 extending from the forward end of the plug 14 to allow it to roll to its proper place and there is one guide roller 62 at the rear of the plug to support its weight . an air vent 63 extends through the forward end of the body 55 of the plug as does a main steam line water - fill pressurization port 64 . a plurality of hydraulic and pneumatic pressure lines 65 extend downwardly to the plug and are attached by respective quick - connect fittings 66 . the hydraulic and pneumatic lines 65 and 66 extend upwardly to a control cabinet 68 located on the refueling floor of the reactor assembly . a typical control system and circuit for operating the plug 14 during a pressure test is shown schematically in fig9 . for purposes of better understanding the circuit diagram of fig9 it is to be understood that all components above the dot - dash line a are part of the plug 14 , all components grouped in the lower left corner of the figure within the dot - dash line b are located upstream of or beyond the control cabinet 68 , and all remaining components and lines between the dot - dash lines a and b are located in the control cabinet 68 or extending toward the plug 14 . standard shop compressed air at 100 psi , preferably backed up by a gas bottle 70 , delivers air through a pressure regulator 71 at a consistent 100 psi level monitored by a pressure gauge 72 . a quick - connect fitting 73 carries that air to a line 74 in the control cabinet 68 . a pressure regulator 75 in the line 74 reduces the pressure to 45 psi maximum which , through a check valve 76 and a pressure gauge 77 , is directed through a quick - connect fitting 78 to the plug 14 and the inflatable seal 56a . a shutoff valve 79 can be used to dump the air in the event of failure of the check valve 76 . during deflation of the inflatable seal 56a a shutoff valve 80 is opened to allow escape through a line 81 to the pool of the reactor . a totally separate system is provided for the inflatable seal 56b . it consists of a line 83 carrying the 45 psi air through a check valve 84 and pressure gauge 85 and through a quick - connect fitting 86 to the seal 56b . this system has its own bypass valve 87 for dumping of air and shutoff valve 88 for deflation through the line 81 . for purposes of conducting a hydraulic pressure test in the main steam line 11 ahead of the plug 14 , pressure regulator 90 operates a pressure intensifier 91 . demineralized water is carried through a line 92 , through a quick - connect fitting 93 and a shutoff valve 94 and check valve 95 , to a test pressure of 35 psi by means of the pressure intensifier 91 . this pressurized water passes through another check valve 96 , a shutoff valve 97 and a hydraulic pressure gauge 98 , through a quick - connect fitting 99 into the plug 14 where it exits forwardly through the main steam line water pressurization port 64 . as the steam line 11 is filled with water during the test , the ullage air is evacuated through the vent 63 , a quick - connect fitting 100 and a line 101 and thence through an appropriate shutoff valve 102 to the pool of the reactor through the line 81 . the hydraulic circuits for the cylinders 57a and 57b begin with a pressure regulator 103 off the 100 psi pneumatic line 74 which operates a pressure intensifier 104 receiving demineralized water from the line 92 through a shutoff valve 105 and check valve 106 . water at high pressure leaves the pressure intensifier 104 through a shutoff valve 107 and forks into two separate redundant hydraulic lines 109 and 110 . the line 109 passes through a three - way control valve 111 which can direct the liquid through a check valve 112 , bypassed with a normally closed shutoff valve 113 , and pressure gauge 114 through a quick - connect fitting 115 to the array of eight cylinders 57a in the plug 14 . similarly , a hydraulic line 110 carries the liquid through a three - way control valve 117 and a check valve 118 , bypassed with a normally closed shutoff valve 119 , then to a hydraulic pressure gauge 120 and through a quick - connect fitting 121 to the second array of eight hydraulic cylinders 57b . by changing the position of the three - way control valves 111 and 117 the liquid in the cylinders 57a and 57b can be evacuated through lines 122 and 123 respectively to the line 81 venting to the pool of the reactor . this hydraulic and pneumatic circuitry is described only for purposes of illustration because it will be apparent that variations can be made depending upon the desired testing sequence . for example , the pressurization port 64 can be connected to the air supply rather than the hydraulic supply if a pneumatic pressure test is desired on the steam line 11 and in that case the circuitry would be quite different . the operation of the circuitry and apparatus described heretofore should be apparent but it is appropriate to describe in a general sense the method of carrying out a test with the plug 14 of the invention . the plug 14 is inserted on the end of the installation tool 12 and , with the lug 20 located by an appropriate setting of the pin 26 , the cable 13 is used to swing the equipment into the reactor cavity with all appropriate hoses 65 connecting the plug 14 to the control cabinet 68 . when the plug 14 is in proper position , the control handle 30 is pulled outwardly to disengage the latch pins 50 and the tool 12 is swung away leaving the plug 14 in place in the steam line 11 . the shoes 59 supported by the cylinders 57a and 57b are normally in spring - biased retracted position until the valves are operated on the control cabinet 68 to activate the cylinders 57a and 57b . this brings their respective shoes into tight corresponding engagement with the inside of the steam line 11 and even if the surface of the steam line is somewhat out - of - round the shoes nonetheless self - adjust into forcible substantially flush engagement because of the universal nature of their pivotal mounting . the force of the shoes on the inside of the steam line is such that either set of shoes 57a or 57b could hold the plug in place against test pressure . by appropriate operation of the valves on the control cabinet 68 the two inflatable seals 56a and 56b are inflated to come into resilient contact with the inside of the steam line 11 as shown in fig7 . like the cylinders the two inflatable seals are independent of one another and each is capable of maintaining the seal during a test . a typical hydraulic test involves injecting the pressurized liquid through a port 64 and thus allowing ullage air to evacuate through the vent 63 and ultimately through the line 81 to the reactor pool . after the test the pressurizing liquid is also dumped through the line 81 back to the pool by operation of the controls as shown in fig9 . it is characteristic of the apparatus and method of the invention that a universally adjustable metal - to - metal grip is maintained by the plug on the steam line while separate inflatable seals are established . the scope of the invention is set forth not in the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment but in the following claims .
8
according to the present invention , a paperboard container is produced for containing liquids or liquid containing materials . the container is formed from paperboard or related paper substrates . for the purposes of this invention , the term paperboard refers to those grades and types of paper made on either cylinder board machines or multiwire , fourdrinier type machines as well as multiformers . fiber stock may be either recycled , or virgin or mixtures thereof , bleached or unbleached . additional information on paper and paperboard used in packaging applications may be found in james e . kline , chapter 10 , paper and paperboard , miller freeman publications , san francisco , calif ., 1982 , which is herein incorporated by reference . the paperboard or paper substrate for use in the present invention has a basis weight of from about 35 lbs / ream to about 220 lbs / ream and preferably from about 175 lbs / ream to about 220 lbs / ream . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the paper substrate has a thickness from about 4 to 25 mils and more preferably about 10 to 20 mils . the coated paperboard should be selected to produce a container having a cross directional ( cd ) stiffness as determined by the taber method of from 50 to 150 and more preferably of from 60 to 135 . the taber method is described in tappi test procedure t - 489 . the ratio of cross direction taber stiffness of the coated paperboard to its basis weight ( lb / ream ) is at least 0 . 20 and more preferably at least 0 . 5 . paperboard is generally stronger and stiffer in the machine direction ( md ) than in the cross direction . according to one embodiment of the present invention the machine direction preferably runs along the container from side to side , i . e . in a direction perpendicular with the top and bottom of the container . the machine direction runs from side to side of the container ; the fiber direction of the paperboard from top to bottom of the container is said to be the cross direction ( cd ). the coated paperboard used in the container according to the present invention preferably has a ratio of taber stiffness of md / cd of less than or equal to about 2 . 65 and more preferably less than or equal to about 1 . 92 . the paperboard or paper substrate material is coated on at least one side thereof with a degradable resin in a thickness of from about 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 mils . in one preferred embodiment , both sides of the paperboard substrate are coated with the degradable resin to a thickness of from about 0 . 5 to about 2 . 0 mils . in the present invention degradation includes biodegradation as well as degradation by moisture , light , oxygen and other well known means of breaking down waste materials . coating techniques , for example , extrusion coating , impregnation and the like , are well known in the art , and in accordance with the present invention , inner coatings and outer coatings may be applied by processes well known in the art . furthermore , the design , quality control and fabrication of folded cartons for the containment of liquids are well known in the art , and these processes and techniques may be used in making the containers of the present invention . characteristics of the biodegradable coating materials for use in the present invention include good moisture barrier properties , good thermal sealing properties , sufficient stiffness to give the container good crush resistance and biodegradability under composting conditions . examples of biodegradable resins include thermoplastic oxyalkanoyl polymers , e . g ., ε - caprolactone polymers and those that contain the recurring unit : ## str1 ## wherein x is an integer having a value of 2 , 3 and 5 - 7 , including polymers of beta propriolactone and δ - valerolactone ; polyesters of 3 - hydroxybutyric acid , 3 - hydroxyvaleric acid and mixtures thereof as well as copolymers of any of the above . suitable also are graft polymers prepared by reacting a lactone such as ε - caprolactone with hydroxyl or amino functional resins such as hydrolyzed ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymers ; segmented polyurethane prepared by reacting polycaprolactone bearing terminal hydroxyl groups with diisocyanates and , optionally , chain - extending glycols such as 1 , 4 butanediol . included also are aliphatic polyesters such as polyglycolic acid , polylactic acid , polydioxanone , poly ( trimethylene carbonate ) and their co - and terpolymers as well as blends of any of the above with polyesters prepared from alkanediols and alkanedicarboxylic acids including oxalates . preferred biodegradable resins for use in the present inven tion are polyhydroxyaliphatic acids ( phaa ). naturally occurring biodegradable substances are useful as fillers offering the advantage of reduced cost . such fillers include starch , tree bark , ground paper , peat moss and soy bean powder . polyhydroxyaliphatic acids in film form are biodegradable under composting conditions . one preferred polyhydroxyaliphatic acid , polycaprolactone ( pcl ) is available as a biodegradable thermoplastic resin from union carbide . it is synthesized from ε - caprolactone : ## str2 ## polycaprolactone in film form , has been demonstrated to be biodegradable under soil burial and composting conditions , as shown in fig1 - 3 . composting of pcl is thought to occur by the mechanism proposed in fig4 . other preferred polymers for use in the present invention are the commercially available phbv polymers of ici which are polyesters of 3 - hydroxybutyric ( hb ) and 3 hydroxyvaleric ( hv ) acids . their general structure is : ## str3 ## these polymers are produced by the fermentation of sugar by the bacterium alcaligenes eutrophus and will degrade to carbon dioxide and water when placed in the presence of microorganisms found in soil , sewage , and river bottoms as shown in fig5 . while pcl is claimed to undergo aerobic degradation , phbv will degrade under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions . to enhance or optimize functional properties and cost it may be desirable to blend these resins with other material . the successful blending of the aliphatic polyester with additives to provide improved properties and reduced cost without impairing degradability was a most useful and surprising aspect of this invention . additives and blending resins include those which are either miscible or mechanically compatible with aliphatic polyester . examples listed below are suitable for use with polycaprolactone : ______________________________________miscible mechanically compatible______________________________________pvc polyethylenesan polypropyleneabs natural rubberphenoxy styrene / butadienepolycarbonate elastomer & amp ; block copolymersnitrocellulose polyvinylacetatepoly ( vinylidene chloride ) polybutadienestyrene / allyl alcohol ethylene / propylenecopolymers rubber______________________________________ in addition , pcl may be blended with thermoplastic elastomers for improved toughness , adhesive , and flexibility . especially suitable are the elastomeric segmented polyurethanes prepared from aliphatic polyester diols , aromatic or alicyclic diisocyanates ; and , optionally , short chain diol or diamine chain - extender . accordingly , the skilled artisan can incorporate the many useful and unique properties of these additives into the coating composites to meet specific requirements of the various end uses contemplated . these materials may be added in from about 0 % to about 30 %, preferably from about 10 to about 20 %. although these materials alone are either slowly compostable or noncompostable , their use in limited amounts as described above does not impair the ultimate biodegradation of the coating materials . in addition to blended compositions , these compositions may be coated onto the paperboard substrate in successive layers . noncompostable or slowly compostable layers are so positioned so as not to interfere with composting of the remainder of the container . as an alternative , individual layers of the same or different blended materials may be used to form the substrate coatings . noncompostable and slowly compostable materials may be used in blends or as intermediate layers in limited amounts . when used in blends , these materials are preferably contained in less than 30 % and when found in film form are preferably less than 0 . 6 mils in thickness . these materials do not interfere with the compostability and degradation of the container and are found in the humus . after composting , these materials are from a practical standpoint indistinguishable from the rest of the humus . in one preferred embodiment , the coating is comprised of either 100 % aliphatic polyester or mixtures thereof with polyethylene in which the polyethylene is present at levels up to about 30 %. the addition of polyethylene reduces the rate of water vapor transmission which is advantageous for certain long shelf - life products . with the addition of as much as 30 % polyethylene to aliphatic polyester , composting is slower , but nevertheless effective under typical composting conditions , as shown in fig6 - 8 . as an alternative or in addition to the materials described above , starch may be added to the coating materials according to the present invention . starch may be added in from about 0 % to about 70 % and more preferably from about 40 to about 60 %. one commercially available starch based biodegradable material for use in the present invention is mater - bi ® produced by novamont . this product contains up to 60 % starch and 40 % of a biodegradable resin material . since both coatings and pulp - based substrate are degradable , disposable packages from these composites will decompose completely thus contributing to alternate waste treatment of paper based products . in addition to being completely degradable , the containers according to the present invention may be incinerated . fig9 , 11 , and 12 show several embodiments of the coated paperboard used in the production of the container according to the present invention . in fig9 layer 1 is a flexible , strong paper substrate . layer 2 is an interior or exterior coating of 80 - 100 % of a biodegradable resin having a thickness of from about 0 . 5 to about 2 . 0 mil . in fig1 , layer 1 is a paperboard substrate . an interior coating 2 and an exterior coating 3 are each present at a thickness of from about 0 . 5 to about 2 . 0 mil . when it is desirable to minimize the rate of water vapor transmission , the coated paperboard illustrated in fig1 or 12 can be employed . in fig1 , a layer 4 comprising a barrier layer , for example a high polyethylene content ( 30 - 100 %) layer is coated directly onto one side of the paperboard . this coating is less than 0 . 5 mil . in thickness and preferably about 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 mil . in one preferred embodiment , coatings 2 and 3 are comprised of at least 70 % and preferably 90 - 100 % of aliphatic polyester at a thickness of from about 0 . 5 to about 2 mils each . in addition to meeting all of the requirements described in ( a )-( f ) above , this embodiment provides an excellent barrier to moisture vapor . the polyethylene component which represents only about 1 - 3 % by weight of the total composition does not interfere with the rate of composting as it is confined to the innermost layer and therefore does not hinder the degradation of the outermost layers , i . e . : the aliphatic polyester or the cellulose pulp fibers . thus , in this embodiment of the invention , the outer surfaces 2 and 3 , which provide the initial sites for microbial attack , are composed of the biodegradable aliphatic polyester coatings . the pulp substrate 1 is accessible to microbial attack either through the degraded layer 3 or through the edges . in another alternative , the exterior coating layer 3 may be eliminated in which case exposure of the pulp layer is immediate and direct . fig1 represents an alternate configuration to the performance properties and compostability of fig1 . in this particular case , the high barrier layer 4 is positioned between two layers of pulp substrate 1 and 1 &# 39 ;. the container according to the present invention can be used to contain a variety of liquids and liquid containing materials . for example , the container may be used for beverages such as milk , juice , fruit punch , soda , frozen juice , and iced tea ; fabric softener ; butter ; margarine ; cosmetics such as shampoo , conditioner , suntan lotion and body lotion ; pancake syrup ; cooking oil ; processed grains , fruits and vegetables such as applesauce and pasta sauces ; frozen vegetables ; fruits ; breads and bread products and single - use wet wipes . in one embodiment , the container which is preferable for use with the present invention has cut ends which are sealed to avoid seepage of the liquid into or out of the body of the paperboard . the sealing of the edges may be done in a variety of manners . it may be accomplished by coating the edges , or by thinning the material down near the cut edges , i . e ., skivving . skivving of the edges is followed by folding the skivved areas over the cut edges . in another preferred embodiment , there is a moisture - impervious membrane provided over the contents . such membranes are sometimes referred to as lidding stock or material . membranes for this application are typically comprised of a strong barrier top layer with a heat sealable lower layer . non - limiting examples of top layers which may be used in the present invention , include paper , polyester , polyethylene , metallized polyester and polypropylene . non - limiting examples of heat seal layers include polyethylene , ethylene - vinylacetate copolymers , and aliphatic polyester . the edges of the membrane are adhered to the upper edges of the container and provide an effective storage and shipping seal . the membrane should peel away from the edges of the container at the seal without exposure of pulp fibers . additionally a moisture - impervious membrane can be heat sealed at the bottom of the container as well . the bottom of the container is preferably heat sealed by applying heat and pressure , as well known in the art . in one embodiment when the material to be contained is wet towellettes , the consumer obtains the product , rips open a perforation providing a slot or opening in the paperboard , permitting the hinged cap - like lid to be raised . this exposes the membrane , which is easily peeled off with the fingers and either stored in the box or thrown away . thereafter , sealing is done entirely by the raising and lowering of the hinged lid . the moist towels or napkins are preferably stacked and lie horizontally in the container and may be individually removed as needed . it is also possible to provide a separate or separable pouch , bag or liner within the container to provide further waterproofing protection . alternatively , this separable liner may be supplied during refilling of the container using a prepackaged bag of replacement wipes . the container according to the present invention provides sufficient stiffness to provide the consumer with a container having handleability and to provide crush resistance of the box during storage , shipment and under conditions of household use . containers according to the present invention preferably have a compression strength of at least 60 lbs . and more preferably at least 70 lbs . as tested in accordance with tappi test procedure t - 804 . the container should also preferably have a cross directional ring crush of at least 115 lbs . and more preferably at least 140 lbs . ring crush can be defined according to tappi test procedure t818 om - 87 . the compression strength of the containers is indicative of stacking and handling ability of the containers . higher stiffness and crush resistance in the cross direction of the paperboard provides improved stacking and handling of the containers . a . bleached paperboard grade dlc ( schoeller technical papers , pulaski , n . y . ); basis weight 175 lb / ream , 11 . 5 mils in thickness . taber stiffness md ( machine direction )× cd ( cross direction )= 65 × 35 . b . bleached paperboard grade 4554 ( westvaco ); basis weight 205 lb / ream ; 20 mil in thickness . a . polycaprolactone ( pcl ) tone polymers p - 767e and p - 787 ( representing different molecular weights with 767e being the lowest ), union carbide chemicals and plastics company , inc ., solvents and coatings materials division , bound book , n . j . c . linear low density polyethylene ( lldpe ); hexene based grade dfda - 7047 ( union carbide ) a . liquid containment was evaluated by the mason jar test as follows : the mason jar test to determine liquid containment of packaging materials this test procedure provides a convenient way to observe the liquid barrier properties of film , paper , coated paper and related packaging materials . failure in the test materials such as attack or penetration by the contained liquid or leaks through pin - holes and other coating imperfections are usually observed within the first 24 hours of the test . as can be seen from fig1 , a standard wide mouth ball type mason jar , 7 inch high and 31 / 2 inch wide is drilled with a 1 / 8 &# 34 ; hole for pressure equalization . the hole is plugged and the jar is filled with 600 ml of liquid . optionally , dye may be added to aid in observing the nature and location of failures . test specimen circles 3 and 5 / 16 &# 34 ; in diameter are placed between two rubber gaskets and then tightened on the jar with the outer screw type lid supplied with the jar . the assembly is examined daily for signs of leakage and penetration . in those cases where fluid consistently leaked around specimen edges , it was useful to heat seal the material to the rubber gaskets . test results are reported based upon sample composition , thickness , liquid , elapsed time and nature of failure . b . water vapor transmission ( wvt ) was measured according to tappi t523 on - 87 and astm f 1249 - 90 extrusion coatings were conducted using an egan single flight screw through a 15 inch t - type die with a 30 mil gap setting . polycaprolactone p - 767e was extruded with a temperature profile of 200 ° f . in the feed zone ; 225 °- 250 ° f . in the barrel and 245 ° f . in the die . films were collected on a matte finished steel chill roll at 55 °- 60 ° f . and combined through a nip roll with the substrate after surface treatment of the latter with corona discharge or flame to enhance adhesion . pcl - 767e was coated on one side of the westvaco paperboard at a thickness of 1 . 25 mils . the coated material was challenged with baby wet wipe lotion in the mason jar test with no signs of penetration or leakage after one month . its water vapor transmission rate was 15 . 65 gm / 100 sq . in ./ 24 hr . the coated paperboard from example 1 was coated on the other side with a second layer of pcl - 767e at 1 . 25 mil . the coated board basis weight was 311 . 5 g / sq . m . with a thickness of 23 mils . in the mason jar test , using downy ® fabric softener , manufactured by proctor & amp ; gamble , as the fluid , no leaks , swelling or penetration was observed after 1 . 3 months . similar results were observed with iced tea over a period of 26 days . water vapor transmission was 8 . 55 gm / 100 sq . in ./ 24 hr . phbv 8 % and 12 % were mixed in a 1 : 1 ratio and extruded on the dlc substrate at a thickness of 1 . 5 mil . the basis weight of the coated paper was 215 . 8 g / sq . m . in the mason jar test , this material resisted leakage penetration by baby wet wipe lotion for two months . the coating mix of example 3 was applied to one side of the dlc substrate at a thickness of 2 . 0 mil . total basis weight was 241 . 8 g / sq . m . the water vapor transmission value was 4 . 5 gm / 100 sq . in ./ 24 hr . polycaprolactone p - 767e and lldpe resin were mixed in a ratio of 90 % pcl and 10 % lldpe and extruded onto the westvaco paperboard at a coating thickness of from about 1 . 0 to about 1 . 3 mil . extrusion temperatures were 275 ° f . at the feed zone 325 °- 345 ° f . in the barrel ; and 345 ° f . in the die . basis weight was 291 . 5 g / sq . m . water vapor transmission was 11 . 0 gm / sq . in ./ 24 hr . in comparison to experiment 1 , water vapor transmission was reduced by 30 % due to the presence of the polyethylene . in this experiment a second coating layer was applied to the product of example 5 . coating thickness was 1 . 25 mil . and the basis weight measured at 303 . 9 g / sq . m . water vapor transmission was 5 . 33 gm / 100 sq . in ./ 24 hrs . in comparison to experiment 2 , water vapor transmission was reduced by 38 % due to the presence of polyethylene . in the mason jar test with baby wet wipe lotion , no leaks or penetration was observed for five weeks . pcl - 767e and lldpe were mixed in a ratio of 85 / 15 and extruded onto the westvaco paper at a thickness of 1 . 25 mil . water vapor transmission was 8 . 45 gm / 100 sq . in ./ 24 hr . in comparison to experiment 1 , water vapor transmission was reduced by 46 % due to the polyethylene . downey fabric softener was used in the mason jar test with no leaks or penetration after one month . a second layer of 85 / 15 pcl - 767e and lldpe at 1 . 25 mil . was applied to the other side of the substrate used in experiment 7 giving a total basis weight of 300 . 7 g / sq . m . water vapor transmission was 4 . 81 gm / 100 sq . m ./ 24 hr . in the mason jar test with baby wet wipe lotion , no leaks or penetration was observed for three weeks . in comparison with experiment 2 , water vapor transmission was reduced by 44 % due to the presence of polyethylene . examples 1 - 8 above illustrate the configurations as set forth in fig9 and 10 . with dlc as the substrate an 0 . 5 mil . coating of low density polyethylene ( quantum na - 206 ) was extruded on one side only . two layers of pcl 767e at 1 . 2 mil . each were then extruded onto first , the polyethylene side and second , the uncoated side . this composite is representative of the embodiment described in fig1 . the water vapor transmission rate was 1 . 22 gm / 100 in 2 / 24 hr . example 9 was repeated with a polyethylene coating of 0 . 3 mil . the water vapor transmission rate was 1 . 79 gm / 100 in 2 / 24 hr . taber stiffness according to tappi - 489 was 98 . 5 in the machine - direction and 60 . 0 in the cross direction . this is an example of the configuration shown in fig8 . the substrate , gaa - 11 , was a high tear strength , starch sized paper at 3 . 5 mil . thickness . it was extrusion coated with 2 . 0 mil . of pcl - 767e giving a material useful as a heat sealable lidding stock . the following examples illustrate test samples which were deemed to provide acceptable barrier properties and degradation properties for use in the present invention . 2 . 0 mils of 85 % pcl and 15 % lldpe was coated on both sides of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . 1 . 25 mils of 85 % pcl and 15 % lldpe was coated on both sides of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . 2 . 0 mils of 90 % pcl and 10 % lldpe was coated on both sides of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . 1 . 25 mils of 90 % pcl and 10 % lldpe was coated on both sides of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . first 0 . 5 mils of ldpe and then 1 . 25 mils of pcl were coated on one side of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . the other side of the based was coated with 2 . 0 mils of pcl . 0 . 5 mils of ldpe , 85 % pcl and 15 % texin 480a polyurethane was coated on both sides of a base of 215 lb / ream paperboard obtained from international paper . the oxygen permeability of these and other coatings on paperboard are compared in the chart below ( 23 ° c . ): ______________________________________ cc o . sub . 2 / 100 in . sub . 2 / 24 hourcoating sample 760 mm o . sub . 2 0 mm o . sub . 2______________________________________low density polyethylene ; 21 . 8 ( 80 % rh ) 17 . 2 ( 80 % rh ) reference example 3ser . no . 07 / 923 , 556 22 . 2 ( 30 % rh ) 17 . 3 ( 30 % rh ) example 2 13 . 8 ( 80 % rh ) 12 . 6 ( 80 % rh ) present invention 13 . 8 ( 30 % rh ) 12 . 4 ( 30 % rh ) example 6 29 . 0 ( 80 % rh ) 16 . 5 ( 80 % rh ) 33 . 0 ( 30 % rh ) 43 . 0 ( 30 % rh ) example 8 26 . 0 ( 80 % rh ) 15 . 4 ( 80 %) 30 . 4 ( 30 % rh ) 28 . 5 ( 30 % rh ) ______________________________________ the coated paper board materials described in the examples above are excellent candidates in the construction of containers for the packaging of liquids and wet products . ease of sealing and seal integrity were excellent , and surprisingly better than polyethylene which is the current industry standard . when exposed to hot air for 5 - 10 seconds , these coatings became tacky and readily formed strong coating to coating or coating to paper bonds . the present invention also provides for means by which the adhesive properties of the coated surface may be modified . for examples , in the opening and dispensing of a heat sealed container , the adhesion may be desirably reduced to allow a clean , fiber - free peel and separation of layers . these and related modifications may be achieved by blending or by topical treatment of the coatings described herein with low molecular weight , ( i . e ., 500 - 3000 ) aliphatic polyesters . the later have a tendency to be waxy and low in strength ; and , as such , weaken the adhesive interface and lower the cohesive strength of the coating . materials of this invention are well suited to the steps involved in converting coated paperboard into a folded carton including sheeting , printing , scoring , perforating , skivving , folding , and sealing . the result of the mason jar tests with typical fluids indicate that aliphatic polyesters in film form when coated on paper substrates are entirely satisfactory in containing a wide range of liquids . other embodiments of the invention will be invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims .
1
to make a person skilled in the art better understand the technical solution of the present invention , the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments . apparently , the described embodiments are a part , but not all , of the embodiments of the present invention . all other embodiments obtained by the person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort fall into the protection scope of the present invention . fig3 is a schematic sectional diagram of a structure of a liquid crystal display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention ; and fig4 is a schematic diagram showing principle that color shift is eliminated when alignment shifting occurs in a liquid crystal display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig3 and fig4 , this embodiment provides an array substrate 1 including a plurality of sub - pixel units ( each sub - pixel unit has a respective color ), wherein light forming units corresponding to the sub - pixel units and configured to form light in different colors are arranged on a light - exiting surface of the array substrate 1 , that is to say , each of the light forming units is configured to form light of a color of the sub - pixel unit which correspond to the light forming unit . the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 2 of this embodiment may form a liquid crystal display panel after being aligned and filled with liquid crystals , and the liquid crystal display panel may be applied in a display device . in the liquid crystal display panel , the sub - pixel units on the array substrate 1 and the color filters on the color filter substrate 2 are in one - to - one correspondence ( namely each of the color filters has the same color as the sub - pixel unit corresponding thereto ), and each sub - pixel unit and the color filter corresponding thereto form a sub - pixel . in this embodiment , the situation that a backlight module of the display device emits white light and the color filter substrate 2 includes red filters 21 , green filters 22 and blue filters 23 is taken as an example for illustration . of course , it is also feasible that the color filter substrate 2 further includes color filters of other colors ( such as yellow filters and cyan filters ). when a pure red picture is displayed , the red sub - pixel units in the array substrate 1 corresponding to the red filters 21 in the color filter substrate 2 is turned on , the white light emitted by the backlight module passes through the light forming units corresponding to the red sub - pixel units and provided on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate 1 and then becomes red light , and the red light may pass through the red filters 21 in the color filter substrate 2 at this moment , so that display of red is realized . in this process , if a small amount of red light irradiates onto the edges of color filters of another color adjacent to the red filters 1 in the color filter substrate 2 due to the alignment shifting generated during alignment of the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 2 , the rate that the red light pass through the color filters having the color different from red is quite low and is nearly zero according to the transmission principle of light , so that the red light substantially can not be emitted out from those positions . thus it can be seen that the light forming units corresponding to the sub - pixel units and configured to form light in different colors are arranged on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate 1 provided in this embodiment , so that the phenomenon of color shift due to the alignment shifting of the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 2 may be effectively avoided . preferably , each light forming unit in this embodiment includes a quantum dot layer which includes quantum dots capable of exciting light of a color of the sub - pixel unit corresponding to the light forming unit . that is to say , each light forming unit may be a quantum dot layer using quantum dots as a main component ( the quantum dot layer may further include a matrix material such as resin for forming a “ layer structure ”). here , the quantum dots are a quasi - zero - dimensional nano material and consist of a small quantity of atoms , and the sizes in three dimensions of each quantum dot are all below 100 nm . due to the special sizes , after being irradiated with light , the quantum dots may absorb the energy of the light and then reemit the light at their own characteristic wavelengths ( namely specific colors ), so that the quantum dots may achieve a function of “ forming light of specific colors ”. specifically , the emission spectra of the quantum dots may be controlled by changing the sizes and chemical components of the quantum dots . the quantum dots have the advantages of high photochemical stability and long fluorescence lifetime . different quantum dots are adopted in the light forming units to form light in different colors in this embodiment , so that the array substrate of this embodiment has better performance and longer service life . of course , the above - mentioned light forming units configured to form light in different colors may also be color filters of different colors , namely the light forming units are not limited to the quantum dot layers . preferably , the light forming units in this embodiment include red light forming units ( corresponding to the red sub - pixel units ), green light forming units ( corresponding to the green sub - pixel units ) and blue light forming units ( corresponding to the blue sub - pixel units ). each red light forming unit is a first quantum dot layer 13 comprising first quantum dots capable of exciting red light ; each green light forming unit is a second quantum dot layer 14 comprising second quantum dots capable of exciting green light ; and each blue light forming unit is a third quantum dot layer 15 comprising third quantum dots capable of exciting blue light . of course , the light forming units may further include yellow light forming units and the like , and accordingly , each yellow light forming unit is a fourth quantum dot layer comprising fourth quantum dots capable of exciting yellow light . further preferably , the particle size of the first quantum dots is 18 - 20 nm ; the particle size of the second quantum dots is 12 - 14 nm ; and the particle size of the third quantum dots is 6 - 8 nm . researches discover that the quantum dots with sizes within the above ranges may emit corresponding red , green and blue light , respectively . further preferably , the first quantum dots , the second quantum dots and the third quantum dots are any of cdse ( cadmium selenide ), zns ( zinc sulfide ), cds ( cadmium sulfide ) and cdte ( cadmium telluride ), respectively . as a preferred structure of this embodiment , the array substrate includes a substrate 19 and a gate layer ( not shown in the figure , namely a layer on which gates and gate lines are provided ), a gate insulating layer ( not shown in the figure ), a semiconductor layer ( not shown in the figure , namely a layer on which an active layer is provided ), a source and drain electrode layer ( namely a layer on which sources , drains and data lines 12 are provided ), a passivation layer 18 and a pixel electrode layer ( namely a layer on which pixel electrodes 11 are provided ) sequentially arranged on the substrate 19 . here , the light forming units , e . g . the first quantum dot layers 13 , the second quantum dot layers 14 and the third quantum dot layers 15 , are preferably arranged on the pixel electrode layer , and more specifically , the light forming units corresponding to the respective sub - pixel units may be directly positioned on the pixel electrodes 11 of the respective sub - pixel units ( of course , may also exceed the pixel electrodes 11 , as long as they do not exceed the sub - pixel units ). in the array substrate 1 , in most cases , the pixel electrode layer is positioned on the top layer , the pixel electrodes 11 in the pixel electrode layer need to be connected to the drains in the source and drain layer , and therefore , corresponding through - holes need to be formed in the passivation layer 18 , the gate insulating layer and the like . if the first quantum dot layers 13 , the second quantum dot layers 14 and the third quantum dot layers 15 ( these layers are preferably arranged on the same layer ) are arranged between the source and drain layer and the pixel electrode layer ( or arranged below the pixel electrode layer ), corresponding through - holes for connecting the pixel electrodes 11 to the drains also need to be formed in the first quantum dot layers 13 , the second quantum dot layers 14 and the third quantum dot layers 15 , so the process is relatively complicated . therefore , the first quantum dot layers 13 , the second quantum dot layers 14 and the third quantum dot layers 15 in this embodiment are preferably arranged on the pixel electrode layer , thus simplifying the process . of course , the first quantum dot layers 13 , the second quantum dot layers 14 and the third quantum dot layers 15 in this embodiment are not limited to being arranged on the pixel electrode layer , as long as these layers are arranged on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate . meanwhile , the structure of the array substrate of this embodiment is not limited to the above - mentioned structure of the array substrate , for example , the semiconductor layer and the gate insulating layer may also be positioned below the gate layer , that is , the thin film transistors in the array substrate may also have top - gate structures ; for another example , common electrode may also be arranged in the array substrate ( e . g . below the pixel electrodes , and an insulating layer is arranged between the common electrode and the pixel electrodes ), and the like . in brief , the light forming units should be positioned above the pixel electrode layer . specifically , as shown in fig3 and fig4 , the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 2 of this embodiment are aligned with each other and applied in a display device . here , the first quantum dot layers 13 correspond to the red filters 21 , the second quantum dot layers 14 correspond to the green filters 22 , and the third quantum dot layers 15 correspond to the blue filters 23 . as shown in fig4 , the alignment shifting occurs in the alignment of the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 2 . when red is displayed , the sub - pixel units in the array substrate 1 corresponding to the red filters 21 of the color filter substrate 2 is lightened under the control of the pixel electrodes 11 corresponding thereto , the white light emitted from the backlight module passes through the first quantum dot layers 13 ( comprising the first quantum dots ) and then becomes red light , and the red light passes through the red filters 21 in the color filter substrate 2 and then is displayed . when the red light irradiates onto the edge of the green filters 22 adjacent to the red filters 21 , the red light is shaded by the green filters 22 , that is , the red light cannot pass through the green filters 22 , thus eliminating the color shift phenomenon caused by cross color of red and green , and improving the display quality of the display device . meanwhile , due to the presence of the first quantum dot layers 13 capable of exciting red light , the white light emitted by the backlight module passes through the first quantum dot layers 13 capable of exciting red light and then becomes red light , and the red light irradiates onto the red filter 21 , which may further improve the chroma of the display device . similarly , the principle when green or blue is displayed is the same as that when red is displayed , and therefore is not described in detail herein . the light forming units corresponding to the sub - pixel units and configured to form light in different colors are arranged on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate 1 of this embodiment , and therefore the probability of color cast may be reduced . this embodiment provides a manufacturing method of an array substrate , the array substrate is the array substrate described in embodiment 1 and includes a plurality of sub - pixel units , and the manufacturing method of the array substrate includes steps of : forming , on a light - exiting surface of the array substrate , light forming units corresponding to the sub - pixel units , wherein each of the light forming units is configured to form light of a color of the sub - pixel unit which correspond to the light forming unit . preferably , each light forming unit includes a quantum dot layer which includes quantum dots capable of exciting light of the color of the sub - pixel unit corresponding thereto ; and , the step of forming , on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate , light forming units corresponding to the sub - pixel units includes : forming , on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate , a pattern including the quantum dot layers corresponding to the sub - pixel units through a patterning process . further preferably , the light forming units include red light forming units , green light forming units and blue light forming units . each red light forming unit is a first quantum dot layer comprising first quantum dots capable of exciting red light ; each green light forming unit is a second quantum dot layer comprising second quantum dots capable of exciting green light ; and each blue light forming unit is a third quantum dot layer comprising third quantum dots capable of exciting blue light . the manufacturing method of the array substrate specifically includes steps of : forming a pattern including the first quantum dot layers on the light - exiting surface of the array substrate through a patterning process ; forming a pattern including the second quantum dot layers on a substrate subjected to the above - mentioned step through a patterning process ; and forming a pattern including the third quantum dot layers on the substrate subjected to the above - mentioned steps through a patterning process . here , the first quantum dot layers , the second quantum dot layers and the third quantum dot layers correspond to the red filters , the green filters and the blue filters in the color filter substrate , respectively . that is to say , when the array substrate includes multiple different colors of quantum dot layers , the quantum dot layers are preferably formed through different patterning processes , respectively . of course , the sequence described in the above steps does not limit the forming sequence of the quantum dot layers , and the forming sequence of the quantum dot layers may be arbitrarily changed . in the present invention , the patterning process is a process in which a part of a previously formed film layer is removed , and the remaining part of the film layer is formed as the required pattern specifically , the patterning process may only include a photolithographic process , or include a photolithographic process and an etching step , and meanwhile may also include other processes such as printing and inkjet for forming a predetermined pattern ; and the photolithographic process is a process including film forming , exposure , development and other processes for forming a pattern by using a photoresist , a mask , an exposure machine and the like . a corresponding patterning process may be selected according to a structure formed in the present invention . this embodiment provides a display device including the array substrate 1 described in embodiment 1 and a color filter substrate aligned with the array substrate , the color filter substrate includes a plurality of color filters of different colors corresponding to the sub - pixel units of the array substrate , and each of the color filters has the same color as the sub - pixel unit of the array substrate corresponding thereto . the display device provided in this embodiment may be any product or component with a display function such as a liquid crystal panel , electronic paper , a liquid crystal television , a liquid crystal display , a digital photo frame , a mobile phone or a tablet computer . the display device of this embodiment includes the array substrate of embodiment 1 , and therefore , the display quality of the display device is higher . it could be understood that , the foregoing implementations are merely exemplary implementations adopted for illustrating the principle of the present invention , but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto . various variations and improvements could be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention , and these variations and improvements are regarded as the protection scope of the present invention .
6
the present invention is a method for improving the efficiency of acquiring vibratory data with hfvs techniques . with the hfvs method , data from a number of vibrators shaking simultaneously in seismic proximity to one another are separated by using ( in one embodiment ) a number of phase - encoded sweeps , where the number of sweeps is greater than or equal to the number of vibrators , resulting in a set of linear equations that can be solved simultaneously . the record length for each sweep includes an associated listen time containing reflections . the present invention eliminates the unproductive listening time for multiple sweeps but still provides the ability to separate the vibrator records and reduce contamination from harmonics . production rates can be increased by as much as 30 - 80 %. in the present invention , multiple vibratory sources are used to record a land or marine seismic survey , and the signals are recorded by one or more detectors as shown in fig1 for a land survey . each vibrator is excited by a different continuous sweep consisting of m segments , where m must be greater than or equal to the number of vibrators n , as illustrated in fig3 for four vibrators and four segments . in the embodiment depicted in fig3 , each sweep segment is composed of a full sweep from conventional hfvs , eliminating the listening time between sweeps . using such a sweep design , the vibrator begins and ends each sweep segment at rest . however , such a constraint is not necessary for the present inventive method . segmenting the sweep for each vibrator is a fundamental requirement of the present invention , but the sweep need not be designed around a pre - selected segment . instead , segmenting may be an arbitrary , after - the - fact step of parsing a longer sweep into shorter parts , with the only requirements on the longer sweep being the same as for any vibrator sweep in conventional vibroseis : the sweep should not exceed the inertial limitations of the vibrator , and the sweep should contain the full range of frequencies needed for target penetration and resolution . two particular types of sweeps that may be familiar to vibrator users are upsweeps ( steadily increasing frequency ) and down - sweeps ( steadily decreasing frequency ). both work well in the present invention ; e . g ., the segments may be upsweeps or down - sweeps . however , the present invention will work with segments that employ any physically realizable sweep type including linear , nonlinear and pseudo - random . in some preferred embodiments , each sweep segment is a linear up or down sweep that encompasses the full range of frequencies required for imaging the reflectors with the desired resolution as would be familiar to those who design seismic acquisition surveys . in other embodiments , the sweep segments could be composed of a combination of upward and downward progressions in frequency , nonlinear sweeps , or pseudo - random sequences . in preferred embodiments of the present invention , the duration of each segment is greater than the travel time for the target reflectors or greater than the listening time for conventional recording . just as with the correlation process , inversion of vibrator data compresses the energy from a sweep or sweep segment into a pulse . if a second sweep segment begins sooner than the travel time to and back from the deepest reflector of interest ( the “ listening time ”), then shallow reflections from the second segment can interfere with the deep reflections from the first segment . a dead time of any length can be inserted between segments , but preferably the dead time is zero because this is the value of the invention . as used herein in connection with the present invention , a “ continuous sweep ” means a sweep in which any dead time between sweep segments is preferably zero , but never more than the listen time used in conventional hfvs . the sweep for each vibrator must be unique , i . e ., no two vibrators can have exactly the same sweep . this is necessary in order that the data for each vibrator can be separated from the other vibrators . one way of accomplishing this is by applying a phase rotation to one or more of the segments of the sweep . for example , the first vibrator can have the first segment of the sweep at 90 degrees from all the other segments . the second vibrator can have the second segment at 90 ° from the other segments . the third vibrator has the third segment at 90 ° from the other segments . this pattern can continue for n vibrators and n segments as shown in fig3 . alternatively the phase angles discussed in the hfvs patents can be used for the different segments . using the cascaded sequence described by anderson in which subsequent segments are phase rotated by 0 , 90 , 180 and 270 degrees combined with the 90 ° phase rotation above , as shown in fig4 , has particular advantages in reducing harmonics . other ways of generating a unique sweep by using different frequency ranges , sweep rates , or by using different random sweeps can also be used in the present invention . fig5 is a flow chart showing the main steps of one embodiment of the present invention . in step 101 , the sweeps , as shown for example in fig3 or 4 , are loaded into the vibrator controllers for the corresponding vibrators . each vibrator receives a unique sweep , conveniently ( but not necessarily ) accomplished by the phase rotation technique discussed previously . unlike the hfvs method , the sweep is a single , long , continuous sweep , exemplified by the sweeps shown in fig3 and fig4 which are composed of four segments of 8 s each , followed by an 8 s listen time . this is to be contrasted with the typical hfvs sweep of fig2 in which there are four 8 s sweeps , but each is followed by an 8 s listen time . thus , in this example , to get the same amount of source energy into the ground takes 64 s with hfvs as compared to 40 s with the present inventive method . each of the n single continuous sweeps used in step 101 for the n vibrators must be divided into at least n segments , each segment in the sweep of any one vibrator being of the same length ( time duration ) as the corresponding segments in the sweeps of all the other vibrators . for example , the second segment should be the same length for all vibrators , as should the fourth ( or any other ) segment , but the length of the second segments can be different than the length of the fourth . in step 102 ( could be performed before step 101 ), the vibrators are located at preselected locations . all the vibrators are then simultaneously excited by their corresponding pilot sweep ( step 103 ), and a single long record is recorded from one or more detectors in step 104 . the length of the data record will be the length of the pilot sweep plus one listening time . in addition , the measured motions of each vibrator , typically signals from accelerometers mounted on the baseplate and on the reaction mass of each vibrator are recorded . besides its use in the s and s matrices in equations ( 1 )-( 5 ), this ground force signal , which may be computed as the mass - weighted sum of the baseplate and reaction mass accelerometer signals , is typically used in a feedback loop to control the excitation of the vibrator . any other signal such as the pilot signal itself that could be considered representative of the source signature may be used for the purposes of the present invention . in step 105 , the measured motion records for each vibrator are parsed into m traces ( shorter records ) composed of the m ≧ n individual time segments into which the pilot sweeps were divided in step 101 . the shorter records are then lengthened by adding zeros to the end , called padding the traces . the end padding should extend the duration sufficiently to , in effect ( not in reality ), provide a listening time ( two - way seismic wave travel time to the deepest reflector of interest ) for the segment . more padding beyond that desired amount will increase computation time without added benefit . zeros or padding can also be applied to the beginning of each trace if desired . because the segment length is preferably chosen to be longer than the desired listening time , it may be convenient to standardize the total padding duration to be the same as the original segment duration so that the total trace length is twice the segment length . the m traces become part of the sweep matrix s from equation ( 1 ). for example , s 11 is equal to the measured motion for the first vibrator for the duration of the first segment plus the zero padding at the end of the segment . the element s 12 is equal to the measured motion for the first vibrator for the duration of the second segment plus the zero padding at the end of the segment , etc . in step 106 , a copy of the geophone data record is parsed to make n shorter records , each of duration equal to a segment duration plus the duration of the padded length used for the measured motions . in one embodiment of the present invention , the first record would correspond to the first segment plus the data before and after the segment corresponding to the padded time . the second record would consist of the second segment plus the padded time , etc . the n records make up the vector d that appears in equation ( 1 ) above . the end padding in step 105 should be of sufficient duration to capture the seismic response due to the end of that source motion segment . if desired , more sweeps can be performed to build up energy , adding more rows to the sweep matrix s and the data vector { right arrow over ( d )}. because the system of simultaneous equations will not be linear in the time domain , the fourier transform is computed yielding the matrix s and vector { right arrow over ( d )}, and a separation and inversion filter f is derived in step 107 by inverting the matrix s using equation ( 9 ). equation ( 6 ) may be used if m is chosen to be equal to n . for m & gt ; n , the system of equations is over - determined , and a best - fit solution is obtained using a criterion such as least squares . this approach may be useful even where m is chosen to be equal to n because one of the vibrators may be temporarily unavailable and recording could proceed with fewer vibrators . the method can proceed even if the number of vibrators drops temporarily to one during acquisition . a person skilled in the art will understand that although matrix formalism is used in the preceding description , any method , numerical or analytical , of solving m simultaneous linear equations in n unknowns may be used in the present invention . next , in step 108 , the filter is applied to the data vector { right arrow over ( d )}, and the inverse fourier transform is computed resulting in n separated records e j ( f ) where f is frequency . with the above procedure , harmonics and data from subsequent and previous segments will appear at times greater than the segment length , and they will not interfere with the target reflections . persons skilled in the art will understand that the filter f could be inverse - transformed to the time domain and then applied to the time domain data . similarly , the order of steps 106 and 107 may be interchanged . such alternative procedures are insubstantial changes and hence equivalents to the procedure described above , and therefore are part of the present invention . fig6 and fig7 compare the first 2 . 5 seconds of model data after the process of separation and inversion using the conventional hfvs method ( fig6 ) and the method of the present invention ( fig7 ). the model data are generated using 51 receivers , 400 feet apart . four sources are located at distances of 5000 , 8333 , 11666 , and 15000 feet from the first receiver . the data for each source location were convolved with actual vibrator signatures from field measurements and combined to simulate simultaneous acquisition of the four sources . the vibrator sweep for hfvs was an 8 - s linear sweep from 8 to 128 hz . the vibrator sweep for the present invention is a 32 - s sweep composed of four 8 - s segments . the horizontal axis in each figure displays receiver location , by source . the results after separation and inversion of the model data show little difference between the two methods , and both perfectly separate the reflection data for the 4 sources . fig8 shows the separated and inverted results generated by the present invention for a longer time period of the continuous sweep than is shown in fig7 . the sweep segment is a down - sweep . as can be seen , the separated records are clean for the top 8 seconds , which corresponds to the segment length as illustrated in fig3 . ( this illustrates the reason why segment length in the present invention is preferably chosen to be at least as long as the seismic wave travel time down to and back up from the deepest reflector of interest .) interference from the subsequent sweep occurs after 8 s and interference from the previous sweep occurs after 15 s . these are separated into the individual source locations . noise from harmonics , which are not perfectly matched with the proper vibrator signatures , appears after the primary interference from the subsequent sweep at around 10 - 14 seconds . the foregoing description is directed to particular embodiments of the present invention for the purpose of illustrating it . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that many modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein are possible . for example , in step 107 of fig5 , the system of equations is fourier transformed to the frequency domain . any other transform that produces a system of linear equations in the transform domain will work in the present inventive method , and the appended claims are to be understood to include any such transforms . all such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention , as defined in the appended claims .
6
for a better understanding of the present invention some specific examples are given below by way of illustration . an electrode is prepared which comprises a current - conducting substrate of a titanium plate with the dimensions of 20 × 30 × 2 with the active mass deposited thereon and having the following composition , in percent by mass : sio 2 -- 10 , ruo 2 -- 45 , tio 2 -- 45 . the electrode is manufactured in the following manner . a titanium plate is degreased in a solution of 5 % naoh at the temperature of 60 ° c . for 10 minutes and etched for 10 minutes in a solution of hcl ( 20 % by mass ) at the temperature of 100 ° c . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared which contains 103 cm 3 of n - propyl alcohol , 1 . 84 cm 3 of ticl 4 , 0 . 55 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 3 . 2 ml of a solution of ruthenium chloride with the concentration of ruthenium of 19 . 2 % by mass . the solution is cast onto the finished titanium surface and the heat - treatment is conducted at a temperature within the range of from 370 ° to 470 ° c . the operation is repeated several times . the total content of ruthenium is equal to 3 . 5 g per one square meter of the electrode surface . the electrode is then tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the results illustrating variation of the rate of consumption of the active mass as determined by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation are shown in table 2 . table 2______________________________________number of testcycles 1 - 3 4 - 6 7 - 9 10 - 12______________________________________consumption rateof the active massper every 3 testcycles , mg / cm . sup . 2 0 . 48 0 . 22 0 . 05 0 . 06______________________________________ this electrode has been also tested as anode under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis in a solution of nacl with its concentration of 300 g / l at the temperature of 90 ° c ., anodic current density of 0 . 2 a / cm 2 . the anode potential is equal to 1 . 32 v relative to the normal hydrogen electrode ( nhe ). the prior art electrode with the composition of the active mass including (% by mass ); ruo 2 -- 46 , tio 2 -- 54 has been tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the test results are shown in table 1 above . as has been already mentioned , for the prior art electrode the rate of consumption of the active mass as measured by the radiochemical method under stationary conditions of chlorine electrolysis at a current density of 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 a / cm 2 is equal to 2 . 6 × 10 - 8 g / cm 2 . hr . an electrode is prepared in a manner similar to that described in the foregoing example 1 , but with the active mass of the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 30 ; ruo 2 -- 35 ; tio 2 -- 35 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 61 cm 3 of n - propyl alcohol , 1 . 44 cm 3 of ticl 4 , 1 . 72 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 2 . 52 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is cast onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment of example 1 . the electrode is then tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the results illustrating variation of the rate of consumption of the active mass as determined by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation are shown in table 3 below . table 3______________________________________number oftest cycles 1 - 3 4 - 6 7 - 9 10 - 12 13 - 15 16 - 18 19 - 21 22 - 24______________________________________rate ofconsump - tion of theactive massper every3 testcycles , mg / cm . sup . 2 0 . 47 0 . 27 0 . 155 0 . 086 0 . 098 0 . 100 0 . 073 0 . 086______________________________________ the electrode has been also tested under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis described in example 1 ; for the determination of the rate of consumption of ruthenium from the active mass the radiochemical method has been used at an anodic current density of 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 a / cm 2 . the rate of consumption of ruthenium was 2 . 2 × 10 - 8 g / cm 2 . hr . the potential was equal to 1 . 33 v ( nhe ). an electrode is prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 , except that the active mass has the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 35 , ruo 2 -- 20 , tio 2 -- 45 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 65 . 5 cm 3 of n - propanol , 1 . 28 cm 3 of ticl 4 , 1 . 39 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 1 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is cast onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the weight loss of the active mass for three cycles of testing is 0 . 50 mg / cm 2 . the potential under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis as described in example 1 is equal to 1 . 33 v ( nhe ). an electrode is prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 , except that its active mass has the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 75 , ruo 2 -- 20 , tio 2 -- 5 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 49 . 5 cm 3 of n - propanol , 0 . 1 cm 3 of ticl 4 , 2 . 08 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 0 . 7 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is cast onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is then tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the loss of the active mass for three cycles of testing is 0 . 41 mg / cm 2 . the potential under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis as described in example 1 is 1 . 35 v ( nhe ). an electrode is prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 , but with the active mass of the following composition ; percent by mass : sio 2 -- 50 , ruo 2 -- 45 , tio 2 -- 5 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 54 . 0 cm 3 of n - propanol , 0 . 1 cm 3 of ticl 4 , 1 . 38 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 1 . 58 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is deposited onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . losses of the active mass for three test cycles are equal to 0 . 33 mg / cm 2 . the potential under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis as described in example 1 is equal to 1 . 33 v ( nhe ). an electrode is produced in a manner similar to that of example 1 , except that the active mass has the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 45 . 8 , ruo 2 -- 33 . 8 , tio 2 -- 20 . 4 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 34 cm 3 of n - propanol , 1 . 08 cm 3 of sicl 4 , ticl 4 -- 0 . 345 cm 3 and 1 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is cast onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . these results illustrating variation of the rate of consumption of the active mass as determined by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation are shown in the following table 4 . table 4______________________________________number oftest cycles 1 - 3 4 - 6 7 - 9______________________________________rate of consumptionof the active massfor every threetest cycles , mg / cm . sup . 2 0 . 46 0 . 28 0 . 07______________________________________ the potential under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis as described in example 1 above is equal to 1 . 33 v ( nhe ). an electrode is produced in a manner similar to that of example 1 , except that the active mass has the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 19 . 0 , ruo 2 -- 42 . 2 , zro 2 -- 38 . 8 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 40 cm 3 of n - propyl alcohol , 0 . 830 g of zrcl 4 , 0 . 42 cm 3 of sicl 4 and 1 . 05 cm 3 of a solution of ruthenium chloride . the solution is cast onto a finished titanium surface and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the rate of consumption of the active mass per three cycles of testing is 0 . 40 mg / cm 2 . the potential under the chlorine electrolysis conditions described in example 1 is equal to 1 . 32 v ( nhe ). an electrode is prepared following the procedure similar to that of example 1 , except that the active mass has the following composition , percent by mass : sio 2 -- 10 , iro 2 -- 45 , tio 2 -- 45 . for the deposition of the active mass a solution is prepared containing 40 cm 3 of n - propanol , 0 . 42 cm 3 of sio 2 , 1 . 05 cm 3 of a solution of iridium chloride , 0 . 4 cm 3 of ticl 4 . the solution is cast onto the finished surface of titanium and subjected to the heat - treatment as in example 1 . the electrode is tested by the method of variable polarity and amalgamation . the rate of consumption of the active mass for three cycles of testing is equal to 0 . 5 mg / cm 2 . the potential under the conditions of chlorine electrolysis described in example 1 is equal to 1 . 34 v ( nhe ). therefore , as is seen from the foregoing examples , the electrodes according to the present invention feature a lower , by 20 - 25 %, rate of consumption of the active mass and expensive noble metal as compared to the anodes with the active mass consisting of tio 2 and ruo 2 widely employed in the art of chlorine electrolysis throughout the world .
2
fig1 shows a device having the features of the present invention , as a first exemplary embodiment . the figure shows a melting area 10 with glass melt 11 located therein . melting area 10 is shown as a schematic illustration only . in particular , various areas for melting and refining are not shown in the figure . melting area 10 is connected with a stirring crucible 13 via a feeder channel 12 . in the exemplary embodiment shown , feeder channel 12 and stirring crucible 13 are composed of platinum or a platinum alloy . in addition , a counter electrode 14 is located in the melting area 10 in the region of the glass melt 11 , the counter electrode being connected with a control system 16 by a line 15 . counter electrode 14 can also be located at another point . it is important that counter electrode 14 be located upstream of stirring crucible 13 and , in particular , upstream of a refining area . fig2 shows a schematic illustration of stirring crucible 13 and control system 16 in fig1 . as shown in the figure , molten glass is forwarded to stirring crucible 13 from feeder channel 12 , as indicated by arrow a . an outlet 17 is located on the side of stirring crucible 13 opposite feeder channel 12 , through which said outlet glass is forwarded for further production , as indicated by arrow b . in addition , a stirring mechanism 18 with a drive 19 is located in stirring crucible 13 . in the exemplary embodiment shown , stirring mechanism 18 is composed of platinum . in addition , a reference electrode 20 and a measuring electrode 21 are located in the region of stirring crucible 13 , the electrodes being immersed in the glass melt located in stirring crucible 13 . in the exemplary embodiment shown , reference electrode 20 is a zircon oxide reference electrode . a molybdenum rod can also be used as the reference electrode , if it is ensured that the molybdenum rod does not alloy on the surface in the melt , and that it is not alloyed . reference electrode 20 includes a supply line 22 and a discharge line 23 . supply line 22 and discharge line 23 serve to supply and carry away , respectively , gas with a defined oxygen partial pressure , as indicated by arrows c and d . reference electrode 20 is connected via a line 24 with a first evaluation unit 25 . reference electrode 20 is also connected via two lines 26 with a temperature measuring device 27 . in the exemplary embodiment shown , reference electrode 20 includes a thermoelement , the two ends of which are connected via lines 26 with temperature measuring device 27 , which is a thermoelement measuring device 27 in this case . thermoelement measuring device 27 is also connected via a line 28 with first evaluation unit 25 . electrode 21 is also connected via a line 29 with first evaluation unit 25 . in addition , electrode 21 also includes a thermoelement , which is connected via lines 30 with a temperature measuring device 31 similar to temperature measuring device 27 . the temperature of measuring electrode 21 measured by temperature measuring device 31 is forwarded to measuring device 25 via line 37 . lines 24 and 28 are connected via lines 32 and 33 with a second evaluation unit 34 similar to first evaluation unit 25 . a third input to second evaluation unit 34 is connected via a line 35 with feeder channel 12 in the region of the transition of feeder channel 12 to stirring crucible 13 . the outputs of first evaluation unit 25 and second evaluation unit 34 are connected via lines 36 , 38 with the inputs of a regulating unit 39 . the regulating unit 39 is also connected via a line 40 with feeder channel 12 in the region of the transition to stirring crucible 13 . in addition , regulating unit 39 is connected via line 15 with counter electrode 14 . the electromotive force , emf , between reference electrode 20 and electrode 21 is determined using first evaluation unit 25 and , based also on the temperatures determined by thermoelement measuring devices 27 and 31 , is converted to an oxygen partial pressure . this oxygen partial pressure is forwarded via line 36 to regulating unit 39 as the setpoint value for the regulation . second evaluation unit 34 determines the electromotive force between reference electrode 20 and the wall of stirring crucible 13 and / or feeder channel 12 in the region of stirring crucible 13 and converts it , based on the temperature determined by thermoelement measuring device 31 , to an oxygen partial pressure , which is forwarded to the regulating unit 39 via line 38 as the actual value for the regulation . regulating unit 39 compares the actual value of the oxygen partial pressure transferred from evaluation unit 34 with the setpoint value for the oxygen partial pressure transferred from evaluation unit 25 and regulates a reverse voltage between counter electrode 14 and feeder channel 12 in the region of the transition to stirring crucible 13 . the oxygen partial pressure in the region of the wall of stirring crucible 13 and feeder channel 12 in the region of the wall of stirring crucible 13 can be adjusted to a desired range in the manner described by reliably preventing disturbances to the glass that exits at b . fig3 shows a schematic illustration of a further exemplary embodiment of a stirring crucible 41 and a control system having the features of the present invention . identical elements are labelled with the same reference numerals . stirring crucible 41 is connected with melting area via a feeder channel 43 similar to feeder channel 12 . in contrast to stirring crucible 13 and feeder channel 12 , stirring crucible 41 and feeder channel 43 have a double - wall configuration , so that gas can be directed through between the walls . an inlet in the region of feeder channel 43 is connected with a regulating unit 45 using a gas line 44 . similar to regulating unit 39 , regulating unit 45 is connected with first evaluation unit 25 and second evaluation unit 34 . furthermore , regulating unit 45 includes an inlet for a gas line 46 and a further inlet for a gas line 47 . gas line 46 serves to supply a carrier gas such as nitrogen , as indicated by arrow e . gas line 47 serves to supply a reactive gas , as indicated by arrow f . water vapour and / or a hydrogen / nitrogen mixture can be used as the reactive gas . an outlet of stirring crucible 41 is connected via a gas line 48 with a washing bottle 49 , the outlet 50 of which leads to a waste gas purification system or an exhaust air line . similar to the exemplary embodiment in fig2 , regulating unit 45 performs regulation by comparing the actual value of the oxygen partial pressure at feeder channel 43 obtained from line 38 with the setpoint value of the oxygen partial pressure at electrode 21 obtained via line 36 . the mixing ratio of reactive gas f with carrier gas e is adjusted as a function of this setpoint / actual value comparison . the gas mixture obtained as a result is directed into the double wall of stirring crucible 41 and / or feeder channel 43 . by adjusting a suitable hydrogen or water vapour partial pressure in the double wall of stirring crucible 41 and / or feeder channel 43 , equilibrium is established between the diffusion of hydrogen from the glass melt through the wall of stirring crucible 41 and hydrogen from the double wall back through the wall and into the glass melt , so that a desired oxygen partial pressure at the interface of the metal and glass melt can be obtained . the gas then passes through gas line 48 and into washing bottle 49 , and can then be carried away via outlet 50 . fig4 shows a diagram that indicates safe ranges for various types of glass for various oxygen partial pressures in the glass melt . for example , a safe range for a glass af 37 extends from 10 − 3 to 0 . 4 bar . above 0 . 4 bar , o 2 bubbles start to form . below 10 − 3 bar , n 2 , co 2 and so 2 bubbles start to form . in an oxygen partial pressure range between 10 − 6 and 10 − 5 , no o 2 , n 2 , co 2 or so 2 bubbles form . alloy damage can occur at oxygen partial pressures below 10 − 6 bar . for duran 8330 glass ( from schott glas , mainz , germany ), a safe range without disturbances from 10 − 7 to 0 . 4 bar was determined for oxygen partial pressures . at oxygen partial pressures above 0 . 4 bar , o 2 bubbles can be expected to form , as is the case with af37 glass ( schoft glas ). when oxygen partial pressures are below 10 − 7 bar , there is a risk that alloy damage will occur . the third glass shown in the diagram is fiolax 8412 ( schott glas ). a safe range for oxygen partial pressure from 10 − 4 to 0 . 4 bar was determined for this glass . in this case , o 2 bubbles can be expected to form at oxygen partial pressures above 0 . 4 bar . and , at oxygen partial pressures below 10 − 4 bar , there is a risk of alloy damage . according to the present invention , damage and disturbance to the glass that is produced are prevented by determining a safe range , depending on the type of glass used , and regulating to oxygen partial pressures in the particular safe range using control systems 16 , 42 and , in particular , regulating units 39 , 45 .
2
in the following paragraphs , the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings . throughout this description , the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars , rather than as limitations on the present invention . as used herein , the “ present invention ” refers to any one of the embodiments of the invention described herein , and any equivalents . furthermore , reference to various feature ( s ) of the “ present invention ” throughout this document does not mean that all claimed embodiments or methods must include the referenced feature ( s ). generally , a traditional cable television provider , a community antenna television provider , a community access television provider , a cable television provider , a hybrid fiber - coax television provider , an internet service provider , or any other provider of television , audio , voice and / or internet data receives broadcast signals at a central station , either from terrestrial cables , and / or from one or more antennas that receive signals from a communications satellite . the broadcast signals are then distributed , usually by coaxial and / or fiber optic cable , from the central station to nodes located in business or residential areas . for example , community access television provider ( catv ) networks are currently deployed in several different topologies and configurations . the most common configurations found today are analog signals transmitted over coaxial cable and hybrid fiber - coax systems ( hfcs ) that employ both fiber optic and coaxial cables . the analog coax systems are typically characterized as pure analog systems . pure analog catv systems are characterized by their use of established ntsc / pal ( national television standards committee / phase alternation line ) modulation onto a frequency carrier at 6 or 8 mhz intervals . hfcs is a combination analog - digital topology employing both coaxial ( analog ) and fiber optic ( digital ) media that typically supports digitally modulated / encoded television channels above channel 78 . according to ansi / eia - 542 - 1997 , in the united states , the analog channels are modulated in 6 mhz allocations on channels 2 to 78 using frequencies from 55 to 547 mhz . when using hfcs , digital channels typically start at channel 79 and go as high as 136 and occupy a frequency range from 553 to 865 mhz . in some extended hfcs systems , channel assignments can go as high as channel 158 or 997 mhz . the current ansi / eia - 542 - 1997 standard only defines and assigns channels to these limits . the actual wire / cable media itself is generally capable of transmitting frequencies up to 3 ghz . in both catv and hfcs systems , typically the satellite downlink enters the cable company &# 39 ; s head - end and the video , and / or other data streams are de - multiplexed out . individual video data streams ( either ntsc , mpeg , or any other suitable protocol ) are extracted from the satellite downlink stream and routed to modulators specific for individual television channels . the outputs from each modulator are then combined into one broadband signal . from this point , the combined channels are amplified and sent out , either by coaxial or fiber optic cable , to the customers . in a hfcs , before the combined broadband signal leaves the head - end , the broadband signal is modulated onto a fiber optic cable for distribution into the field , such as residential neighborhoods , or business districts . modulation of the broadband signal is typically accomplished in one of two ways . in the first method , the entire broadband signal is sampled and digitized using a high speed analog to digital converter ( adc ). to perform reliable digital sampling , the data must be sampled at a rate of at least twice the highest frequency component to meet nyquist minimum sampling requirements . to provide a higher quality data stream , the signal should be sampled at 2 . 5 to 4 times the highest frequency , which entails sample rates of approximately 2 to 4 ghz . a parallel to serial converter then shifts the parallel output data of the adc into a serial format . the serial data then drives a laser diode for transmission over the fiber optic cable . the second method is broadband block conversion where the entire spectrum of the broadband signal is modulated onto the fiber optic cable . designated access nodes are located in neighborhoods , business districts and other areas . the access nodes contain a high speed digital to analog converter ( dac ) and a de - serializer . a fiber optic receiver detects the laser - modulated signal at the access node . a parallel to serial converter de - serializes the data and it is fed to the high speed dac . the data then leaves the access node on standard 75 ohm , rg - 6 or rg - 8 or other suitable coax cable and is distributed to the customer &# 39 ; s premises . thus , at the access node , the broadband signal is extracted from the fiber optic cable and transferred to a coaxial cable that connects to individual homes , apartments , businesses , universities , and other customers . support of multiple customers is generally accomplished by the use of distribution boxes in the field , for example , on telephone poles or at ground level . however , as the signal is continuously split at the distribution boxes , the received bandwidth is reduced and the quality of the signal is diminished , thereby diminishing the video , audio , and other data quality . the digital channels that generally reside on catv channels 79 and higher are fundamentally different than the analog channels that generally reside on channels 2 through 78 . the analog channels are comprised of modulated frequency carriers . the digital channels , which generally use the 6 mhz allocation system , are digitally modulated using quadrature amplitude modulation ( qam ). qam is a method of combining two amplitude modulated signals into a single channel , thereby doubling the effective bandwidth . in a qam signal , there are two carriers , each having the same frequency but differing in phase by 90 degrees . the two modulated carriers are combined for transmission , and separated after transmission . qam 16 transmits 16 bits per signal , qam 32 , 64 , and 256 each transmit 32 , 54 and 256 bits per signal , respectively . qam was developed to support additional video streams encoded with mpeg video compression . conventional catv and hfcs networks may employ qam levels up to qam 64 to enable up to 8 independent , substantially simultaneous mpeg video streams to be transmitted . at the customer &# 39 ; s location , the coaxial cable is connected to either a set - top box or directly to a television . the receiving device then de - multiplexes and de - modulates the video , audio , voice , internet or other data . although a television can directly receive the analog signal , a set - top box is generally required for reception of the digitally encoded channels residing on catv channels 79 and higher . the above - described networks , and other networks and communication systems that employ wired media , such as twisted - pair or coaxial cable , suffer from performance limitations caused by signal interference , ambient noise , and spurious noise . in these conventional natural gas pipeline media systems , these limitations affect the available system bandwidth , distance , and carrying capacity of the system , because the noise floor and signal interference in the wired media rapidly overcome the signal transmitted . therefore , noise within the wire line media significantly limits the available bandwidth of any communication system or network . generally , the conventional wisdom for overcoming this limitation is to boost the power ( i . e ., increase the voltage of the signal ) at the transmitter to boost the voltage level of the signal relative to the noise at the receiver . without boosting the power at the transmitter , the receiver is unable to separate the noise from the desired signal . thus , the overall performance of natural gas pipeline media systems is still significantly limited by the accompanying noise that is inherent in wire line media . increasing the bandwidth of communication without employing costly wire line or fiber optic connectivity to the home / business , while coexisting with the conventional natural gas utility delivery system , represents an opportunity to leverage the existing unutilized transmission media network infrastructure to enable the delivery of greater functionality . the present invention may be employed in any type of natural gas delivery segment that uses buried or shielded pipe to deliver natural gas , in whole , or in part . that is , this inventions resultant tampering and / or damage detection may be utilized in natural gas pipeline media , such as steel or plastic pipe , and linked to no fewer that one of the following : natural gas pipeline , optical , wireless , or satellite networks . as defined herein , tampering and / or damage is detected by one or preferably by a group of points or nodes connected by communication paths . the communication paths may be connected by wires , fiber optic , or they may be wirelessly connected however at least one segment must utilize a wireless connection transmitted within a underground or shielded natural gas pipeline . a tampering and / or damage detection system and method as defined herein can interconnect with other data networks and contain subnetworks . a tampering and / or damage detection system and method as defined herein can be characterized in terms of a spatial distance , for example , such as a local area tampering and / or damage detection system , a metropolitan area tampering and / or damage detection system , and a wide area tampering and / or damage detection system , among others . a tampering and / or damage detection system and method as defined herein can also be characterized by the type of data transmission technology in use on it , for example , a tcp / ip network , and a systems network architecture network , among others . a tampering and / or damage detection system as defined herein can also be characterized by whether it solely carries for use in the detection and classification of tampering and / or damage or additionally carries voice , data , or both kinds of signals . a network as defined herein can also be characterized by who can use the network , for example , a public switched telephone network ( pstn ), other types of public networks , and a private network ( such as within a single room or home ), among others . a network as defined herein can also be characterized by the usual nature of its connections , for example , a dial - up network , a switched network , a dedicated network , and a nonswitched network , among others . a network as defined herein can also be characterized by the types of physical links that it employs , for example wireless in gas pipeline and any one of the following optical fiber , coaxial cable , a mix of both , unshielded twisted pair , and shielded twisted pair , among others . the preferred embodiment of the present invention employs a “ carrier free ” architecture which does not require the use of high frequency carrier generation hardware , carrier modulation hardware , stabilizers , frequency and phase discrimination hardware or other devices employed in conventional frequency domain communication systems . the preferred embodiment of the present invention dramatically increases the bandwidth of the conventional last mile natural gas pipeline and wireless networks that employ natural gas pipeline , optical or in air wireless media , but can be inexpensively deployed without extensive modification to the existing natural gas delivery networks . the present invention provides increased bandwidth by injecting , or otherwise super - imposing a wireless signal into the existing natural gas delivery systems and subsequently recovers the signal at an end node , set - top box , subscriber gateway , or other suitable location resident on the same contiguous natural gas pipeline . in the preferred embodiment of the invention the wireless signal is of the from an impulse radio and thus employs pulses of electromagnetic energy that are emitted at nanosecond or picosecond intervals ( generally tens of picoseconds to a few nanoseconds in duration ). for this reason , ultra - wideband is often called “ impulse radio .” because the excitation pulse is not a modulated waveform , wireless has also been termed “ carrier - free ” in that no apparent carrier frequency is evident in the radio frequency ( rf ) spectrum . that is , the wireless pulses are transmitted without modulation onto a sine wave carrier frequency , in contrast with conventional radio frequency technology . ultra - wideband requires neither an assigned frequency nor a power amplifier . conventional radio frequency technology employs continuous sine waves that are transmitted with data embedded in the modulation of the sine waves &# 39 ; amplitude or frequency . for example , a conventional cellular phone must operate at a particular frequency band of a particular width in the total frequency spectrum . specifically , in the united states , the federal communications commission has allocated cellular phone communications in the 800 to 900 mhz band . cellular phone operators use 25 mhz of the allocated band to transmit cellular phone signals , and another 25 mhz of the allocated band to receive cellular phone signals . an example of a current system of monitoring the integrity of buried pipelines makes use of a physical device ( 10 ) which collecting data as it moves through the pipeline ( 15 ) is illustrated in fig1 . in one preferred embodiment ; an impulse which may have a 1 . 8 ghz center frequency , with a frequency spread of approximately 4 ghz , as shown in fig2 , illustrates two typical wireless transmissions used to traverse the pipeline . the pulses shown in fig2 illustrates that the narrower the wireless pulse in time , the higher its center frequency and the broader the spread of its frequency spectrum . this is because frequency is inversely proportional to the time duration of the pulse . a 600 picosecond wireless pulse will have about a 1 . 8 ghz center frequency ( 20 ), with a frequency spread of approximately 4 ghz . and a 300 picosecond wireless pulse will have about a 3 ghz center frequency ( 22 ), with a frequency spread of approximately 8 ghz . thus , wideband pulses generally do not operate within a specific frequency , and because these pulses are spread across an extremely wide frequency range , these wireless signals are preferred as they are more easily recoverable and can provide greater amounts of relative information . further details of impulse communication technology are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 728 , 632 ( in the name of gerald f . ross , and titled : transmission and reception system for generating and receiving base - band duration pulse signals without distortion for short base - band pulse communication system ), which is referred to and incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference . also , because these pulses are spread across an extremely wide frequency range , the power sampled at a single , or specific frequency is very low . for example , a one - watt signal of one nano - second duration spreads the one - watt over the entire frequency occupied by the pulse . at any single frequency , the pulse power present is one nano - watt ( for a frequency band of 1 ghz ). generally , the multiplicity of pulses are transmitted at relatively low power ( when sampled at a single , or specific frequency ), for example , at less than − 30 power decibels to − 60 power decibels , which minimizes interference with conventional radio frequencies . however , wireless pulses transmitted through most buried or shielded natural gas pipelines will not interfere with wireless radio frequency transmissions . therefore , the power ( sampled at a single frequency ) of wireless pulses transmitted though natural gas pipeline media may range from about + 100 db to about − 90 db . for example , in a preferred embodiment of this invention , data is provided via a fiber optic , wired or wireless means to a local network node . this data may contain data segments for use as test data for transmission into the natural gas pipeline in the wireless communication format . this data is then received by a second transceiver on the other side of the length of natural gas pipeline being monitored . when said transmitted test data is received on the other side of said length of natural gas pipeline being monitored , then it is analyzed to detect tampering or damage of the gas pipeline between the two points of monitoring . in a simple example of use , data representing a random data pattern may be transmitted into a natural gas pipeline at a first point of monitoring . the second point of monitoring trains on specific amplitudes of signals related to a complex threshold of acceptability based on time of year , temperature , etc . upon the condition of a second monitoring point , detecting a sudden drop in amplitude but signal still being present , the second monitoring point can correlate this condition to the excavation of a spectrally transparent plastic portion of the natural gas pipeline . while this is a simple illustrative example of one straightforward embodiment of this invention , it is anticipated that numerous variables including temporal , amplitude , phase , multi - path and other signal characteristics may be used as part of complex analysis via digital signal processing and predictive algorithmic techniques . considering these variables , it is understood to those skilled in the art that many complex digital signal processing techniques can be utilized to detect , classify and predict conditions of relevance to third party tampering and / or damage detection . the preferred embodiment may alternately make use of only one or optionally a plurality of monitoring points . in the case of a single monitoring point , detection is based on reflected signals as opposed to traversing signals and alternately data may be transmitted from a plurality of monitoring points and received by combinations of monitoring points such that data may be correlated and analyzed . as discussed above , an wireless system transmits a narrow time domain pulse , and the signal power is generally evenly spread over the entire bandwidth occupied by the signal . at any instantaneous frequency , such as at the am or qam carrier frequency , the wireless pulse power present is one nano - watt ( for a frequency band of 1 ghz ). this is well within the noise floor of any gas pipeline distribution network system and therefore does not interfere with operations of the natural gas distribution infrastructure . traditional wired and wireless network systems suffer from performance limitations caused by signal interference , ambient noise , and spurious noise . these limitations affect the available bandwidth , distance , and carrying capacity of the network system . with the network described in this invention ( buried or shielded gas pipeline communication systems ) the noise floor and outside signal interference in the gas pipeline is virtually zero . this is of course changed as these pipelines are excavated ; moved , altered or damaged hence data integrity becomes a key aspect of the monitoring of third party tampering or damage of natural gas pipelines . this low noise on the gas pipeline network is a significant advantage to the ability of the system to detect variations within the natural gas pipeline infrastructure . wireless technology makes use of the noise floor to transmit data , without interfering with the injection of a concentrated power carrier signal . moreover , wireless transmitted through a gas pipeline network has distinct advantages over its use in open air wireless applications . in a gas pipeline network environment , there are no concerns with intersymbol interference , and there are no concerns relating to multi - user interference . the present invention provides an apparatus and method to enable gas pipeline infrastructures to augment their safety of service by delivering tampering and / or damage detection services simultaneously with natural gas delivery . preferably , this tampering and / or damage detection services is delivered by introducing wireless signals into the existing natural gas delivery chain and routed via node and hub architecture into a network operations center ( noc ) which acts as a tampering and / or damage detection services system operator &# 39 ; s head - end . alternatively , wireless signals may be introduced into the gas pipeline distribution network at a plurality of locations , such as at the local distribution line 90 or at the gas main 80 , or at any other suitable location . in like fashion , network system operators can receive more data from individual tampering and / or damage detection services monitoring points by introducing end point generated data into existing contiguous gas pipeline . the present invention provides wireless communication across natural gas distribution networks and will be able to transmit and receive digital information for the purposes of tampering and / or damage detection services and other data exchanging purposes . referring to fig3 , the ultra - wideband communication within natural gas pipeline system 100 is configured to transmit ultra - wideband signals through an gas distribution network or system that includes steel , plastic or other pipe types . for example , the piped ultra - wideband ( wireless ) system 100 may transmit wireless signals through an existing or regional gas utility , which my be public , private , state , interstate or federal natural gas pipelines and may connect to an optical network , a cable television network , a community antenna television network , a hybrid fiber - coax television network , an internet service provider network , a pstn network , a wan , lan , man , tcp / ip network , a college campus , town , city , or any other type of network as defined above , that employs at least one leg of gas pipeline tampering and / or damage detection in whole or in part . the wireless pulse duration and transmitted power may vary , depending on several factors . different modulation techniques employ different wireless pulse timing , durations and power levels . the present invention envisions several different techniques and methods to transmit an wireless signal across a natural gas pipeline . one embodiment , may for example , use pulse position modulation that varies the timing of the transmission of the wireless pulses . one example of a pulse position modulation system may transmit approximately 10 , 000 pulses per second . this system may transmit groups of pulses 100 picoseconds early or 100 picoseconds late to signify a specific digital bit , such as a “ 0 ” or a “ 1 ”. in this fashion a large amount of data may be transmitted across a natural gas pipeline . an alternative modulation technique may use pulse amplitude modulation to transmit the wireless signal across a natural gas pipeline . pulse amplitude modulation employs pulses of different amplitude to transmit data . pulses of different amplitude may be assigned different digital representations of “ 0 ” or “ 1 .” other envisioned modulation techniques include on - off keying that encodes data bits as pulse ( 1 ) or no pulse ( 0 ), and binary phase - shift keying ( bpsk ), or bi - phase modulation . bpsk modulates the phase of the signal ( 0 degrees or 180 degrees ), instead of modulating the position . spectral keying , which is neither a ppm nor pam modulation technique , may also be employed . it will be appreciated that other modulation techniques , currently existing or yet to be conceived , may also be employed . a preferred modulation technique will optimize signal coexistence and pulse reliability by controlling transmission power , pulse envelope shape and pulse recurrent frequencies ( prf ). both pseudo - random and fixed prfs may be used , with the knowledge that a fixed prf may create a “ carrier - like frequency ,” which it and its higher order harmonics may interfere with the data carried in conventional rf carrier channels . however , with a pseudo - random prf the difficulties encountered with a fixed prf are usually avoided . one embodiment of a pseudo - random prf modulation technique may include a wireless pulse envelope that is shaped by a process to distortion mapping to pre - condition and compensate for multi - path , distortion , interference frequency components that the natural gas pipeline may naturally introduce or attenuate . wireless pulse conditioning for the given natural gas pipeline has the additional advantage of controlling the power spectral density of the transmitted data stream . several advantages exist when transmitting wireless pulses through natural gas pipeline as opposed to transmitting wireless pulses through the air in a traditional free space wireless medium . free space wireless wireless transmissions must consider such issues as inter - symbol interference ( isi ) and multi - user interference ( mui ), regulatory power constraints , all of which can severely limit the bandwidth of wireless transmissions . some modulation techniques , such as pulse amplitude modulation ( pam ), which offer the ability for high bit densities are not effective at long wireless distances . these , and other issues , do not apply to wireless pulses transmitted through natural gas pipelines . in addition , no variable multipath issues arise and there are no unpredictable propagation delay problems present in a natural gas pipeline network . therefore , it is estimated that an ultra - wideband system may be able to transmit data across a natural gas pipeline network in a range from 100 mbit / second to 10 gbit / second . this data rate will ensure that the tampering and / or damage detection service requirement of a utility provider can be met . a preferred embodiment of the tampering and / or damage detection service wireless device 40 will spread the signal energy of the wireless data stream across the a bandwidth that may range from 10 hz to approximately 1 ghz or as discussed above , to 10 ghz , or higher . this will ensure that the signal energy present at any frequency is significantly below the thermal limit of the natural gas pipeline ensuring coexistence with conventional natural gas delivery . for example , a wireless pulse would have a duration of about 1 nano - second in a wireless data stream that has a 1 ghz bandwidth . alternatively , the wireless pulse duration would be tailored to match the full frequency of a natural gas pipeline network . a narrow pulse width is preferred because more pulses can be transmitted in a discrete amount of time . pulse widths of up to 2 nano - seconds may be employed to guarantee pulse integrity throughout digitization , transmission , reception and reformation at the wireless subscriber device 50 . generally , an idealized pulse width would be calculated based on the frequency response of the specific natural gas pipeline system . referring to fig3 , the multiplicity of generated wireless pulses are sent from the utility service - provider 5 to the antenna 30 via a hub 35 , which combines the wireless pulses with the natural gas distribution 90 . one method to accomplish this task is to insert an antenna 70 carrying the wireless signals to a standard local natural gas main 80 directed toward the points of natural gas consumption . the wireless transceiver 401 is placed within the gas main 80 and gathers and provides data forwarded to and from the network operations center 85 via fiber optic transmitter / receiver in the hub 35 and node 30 . the wireless transmitter 40 comprises a modulator 45 that is structured to transmit a plurality of wireless signals . the fiber optic transmitter / receiver in the hub 35 converts the multiplicity of wireless pulses received from the natural gas pipeline network 90 into a corresponding optical signal . the gas signal generator can be either an antenna placed within the active gas pipeline , an antenna placed at a non - metallic ( e . g ., plastic elbow joint such that the signal is radiated into the pipeline or other suitable configurations . the wireless signal is then distributed through the active gas pipelines to residential neighborhoods , business districts , universities , colleges or other locations for distribution through the natural gas pipelines to subscribers and customers . other methods and techniques for combining a wireless pulse stream and an active ( or decommissioned ) gas pipelines may also be employed . for example , the wireless pulse stream may be sent to network hub 35 , which will then transceive the tampering and / or damage detection signals . shown in fig3 , a fiber multiplexer node 30 may be located at any one of the locations described above . the optical signals are received by the multiplexer node 30 and are converted into the wireless pulsed signals and introduced into the pipeline 90 using the antenna 70 and wireless transmitter / transceiver 40 . the combined wireless signals and natural gas are forwarded to a subscriber wireless device 50 located at the subscriber location . the subscriber wireless device 50 can be considered a tampering and / or damage detection gateway or router that provides detection data access to the wireless transceived across the natural gas pipeline 90 . the wireless receiver 50 comprises a detector 55 structured to receive no less than one wireless signal . one embodiment of the tampering and / or damage detection wireless device 50 will demodulate the multiplicity of wireless electromagnetic pulses back into a conventional rf carrier signal . the tampering and / or damage detection wireless device 50 may include all , some or additional components found in the service provider wireless device 40 . in this manner , additional bandwidth will be available to the natural gas pipeline network to provide additional tampering and / or damage detection data and functionality demanded by the customer . an representative embodiment of the present invention operating in a damage detection applications is illustrated in fig4 . a full service natural gas pipeline ( 210 ) surrounds a path ( 230 ) of internal gas flow and wireless transmission ( 220 ) signals . in this representative embodiment the pipeline ( 210 ) is a non - conductive polyethylene . when the pipeline conveys the wireless transmission ( 220 ) without tampering or damage as shown in fig4 a the received normal signal ( 240 ) is altered from the transmitted signal ( 220 ) by the conveyance . when tampering conditions fig2 b are present such as removing the earth ( 200 ) surrounding the pipeline ( 210 ) the received tampered signal ( 241 ) is altered from the normal received signal ( 240 ) as the conveyance path for this example of a non - conductive pipeline is no longer shielded by the surrounding earth ( 200 ). when damage conditions fig2 c are present such as puncturing the pipeline ( 210 ) the received damage signal ( 242 ) is altered from the normal received signal ( 240 ) as well as the received tampered signal ( 241 ) as the conveyance path for this example is now mechanically different . the present invention of transmitting wireless signals across a natural gas pipeline can employ any type of piped media . for example , the piped media can include plastic , steel , iron , rigid , flexible , valved and metered . this type of piping is most commonly used for delivering natural gas over long and short distances . the foregoing list of pipe media is meant to be exemplary , and not exclusive . as described above , the present invention can provide additional bandwidth to enable the transmission of large amounts of data over existing natural gas distribution networks , where the information carried across the natural gas pipeline network may be used in part for tampering and / or damage detection . additional bandwidth can also be utilized for greater detection , classification and other safety features . thus , it is seen that an apparatus and method for tampering and / or damage detection of natural gas pipelines by transmitting and receiving ultra - wideband signals through an active natural gas pipeline is provided . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above - described embodiments , which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation . the description and examples set forth in this specification and associated drawings only set forth preferred embodiment ( s ) of the present invention . the specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document . many designs , other than the above - described embodiments , will fall within the literal and / or legal scope of the following claims , and the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow . it is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well .
5
there is shown in fig1 a broken away perspective view of a portion of the crystal platelet and conductor array sandwich of the type described in my u . s . pat . no . 3 , 806 , 903 which portion is large enough to accommodate a representation of 4 bits . typically , the yttrium orthoferrite crystal platelet 10 has magnetic bubbles 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 formed therein and sustained by any suitable means for applying an external magnetic bias field . the bubbles are , of course , movable cylindrical magnetic domains . the uniaxial anisotropic ferromagnetic crystal platelet 10 is cut to have its major plane surfaces perpendicular to the easy axis of magnetization of the crystal and is provided not only with magnetic biasing means , but also with conductor access means to control the positions of the movable domains in the platelet 10 . the conductor access means comprises magnetic field generating conductors such as conductors 15 and 16 , extending in the x direction and conductors 17 and 18 , extending in the y direction . these conductor patterns are preferably deposited or otherwise formed on insulating substrates such as the glass plates 19 and 20 . thus , the conductors extending in the y direction are supported by glass plate 19 , while the conductors extending in the x direction are supported by glass plate 20 shown only in a fragment for clarity of illustration . in fact , there are of course , many more conductors parallel to each other extending in each direction and the crystal platelet is sandwiched between the glass plates 19 and 20 , which are coextensive with it and positioned adjacent to it . an appropriate half current applied to one x conductor and one y conductor will cause the bubble or cylindrical domain retained at the intersection of these two conductors to be moved from one subportion of the double loop illustrated to the other subportion . one of these subportions is arbitrarily assigned a value of binary 0 and the other , a value of binary 1 . any conventional means , such as described in my patent or in the literature may be used to detect the location of the bubble . the bubbles or cylindrical domains 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 in fig1 are fixed or held at the conductor intersection locations during inactive or non - reading intervals , either by providing a crystal with sufficient intrinsic coercivity as is assumed in fig1 or by providing conductor - controlled &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; latching bars as has been illustrated in the prior art . the use of conductor - controlled bars at the points of conductor intersection unnecessarily complicates the design and fabrication of the controlling conductor array . the alternate technique , in which intrinsic coercivity in the crystal is employed to localize the domains , has been found to be impractical in commercial practice since heat treatment cannot smooth out irregular bulk and surface defects in the crystal . as a result , the coercivity of the crystal platelet can vary widely over the area of the device and is very difficult to equalize in large scale production . in fig2 , 4 and 5 , there is shown an orderly array of coercive sites which act as latches and which extend over the predetermined portion of the plane of the major surface of the crystal platelet which is designed to include domain retaining locations . the array 30 is formed on or otherwise in intimte physical contact with the major plane surface of a crystal platelet 32 , which is otherwise entirely like the crystal platelet 10 of fig1 . the array 30 consists of a plurality of dots , such as the dot 31 , each of which may consist of a small bit of &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; or other material of high permeability by comparison to the permeability of the crystal . as is well known , &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; is a magnetic alloy having high permeability and usually consisting of iron , nickel and small quantities of other metals . fig2 is a micro photograph of a crystal platelet supporting a cylindrical domain 33 and other similar cylindrical domains on which the array 30 has been deposited . it will be observed that the maximum dimension in the plane of the crystal of the dot 31 is a minor fraction of the minimum diameter of the cylindrical domain which can be sustained in the given crystal platelet . preferably , the maximum dimension of the dot 31 is less than one fifth of the diameter of the cylindrical domain 53 or other similar domains when at their minimum sustainable size . although the array shown is an orthogonal array of dots extending in both the x and y direction and equally spaced along those two axes , it will be understood that any lattice comprising an orderly pattern or array of dots otherwise meeting the criteria set forth below may be used . for example , a dot array with different spacing along one axis of the plane when compared to the other will provide an anisotropic coercivity effect in the plane of the crystal and provide higher mobility in one direction when compared to any other . fig2 , and 4 are reproduced from photographs taken through a microscope showing crystal platelets having the local coercivity control array applied thereto . the photographs reproduced in figs . the 3 and 4 were taken with gradually increasing bias field causing the bubbles to shrink progressively in the respective views . however , this shrinkage did not occur and does not occur continuously or monotonically as it does in the absence of the coercivity control array , but rather occurs in discrete jumps as illustrated in the drawings . there is no stable bubble size in between these three illustrated sizes and an additional minute increment of bias field from that used produce the distribution shown in fig4 will cause all bubbles to disappear . closer scrutiny of the bubble circumferences revealed that the bubbles always attach themselves to minimum energy lines established by the rows of the coercivity control dots and that the bubble size differences which occur in quantum jumps between the three pictures are substantially equal to the center - to - center dot spacing between rows of dots . the jumping from one size to the next is clearly noticeable when visually observed under the microscope and the change in bubble diameter is always substantially equal to some multiple of the spacing between the rows of dots . the little &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; dots thus apparently provide a stabilizing force . this conclusion is further supported by the observed fact that during switching of the cylindrical magnetic domains from one location to another at a given intersection , the bubble domains can tolerate much more intense accelerating field pulses without breaking up when the &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; dots are used on the platelet than they can in their absence . as a result of this phenomenon , it has been possible to repeatedly switch an yttrium orthoferrite bubble from the 0 to the 1 position in a memory loop of the type illustrated with a 70 nanosecond current pulse of between 800 microamperes and 1 ampere . the coercivity control array of dots thus gives as an additional benefit the possibility of higher switching rates than can be achieved in their absence . an additional observed desirable effect of the use of the coercivity dot array is its effect upon the range of applied bias field values throughout which the bubble is stable and as a consequence , the range of achievable bubble diameters which can be sustained in a given platelet . an yttrium orthoferrite platelet was measured without the coercivity control dot array and the average of 20 measurements of the range of magnetic bias field throughout which stable cylindrical domains could be maintained was observed to be 9 . 21 oersteds with a standard deviation of 1 . 90 oersteds . the same platelet to which the illustrated array of coercivity dots identified was applied was then subjected to similar observation and measurement , and it was found that the range of magnetic bias fields throughout which stable bubbles could be sustained was 12 . 05 oersteds with a standard deviation based on 20 measurements of 3 . 24 oersteds . the advantage deriving from the fact that the use of the array by controlling the coercivity leads to more stable bubbles and higher switching rates is thus augmented by the fact that both smaller and larger cylindrical domains can be achieved in a given platelet and by the fact that even for a median size domain , the device will operate stably over a wider temperature range since the required bias field is temperature dependent as is known in the art . the material of the crystal platelet in the example recited above was yttrium orthoferrite and the coercivity dots were formed of &# 34 ; permalloy .&# 34 ; the stable bubble dimensions with the use of the array of dots shown ranged from 87 . 5 micrometers , which in fact equalled the space occupied by seven rows of dots , to 162 . 5 micrometers which equal the space occupied by 13 rows of dots . the normal range of bubble size sustainable in the orthoferrite material ( which was a crystal platelet 100 micrometers thick ) ranges from 80 micrometers to 120 micrometers . the &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; dots illustrated in the pattern were on 12 . 5 micrometers center - to - center spacing and were 1 , 000 angstroms in thickness . the diameter of each dot was between 2 and 3 micrometers . the array of &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; dots was formed on the surface of the orthoferrite crystal platelet by first depositing thereon a commercially available photoresist masking layer in which the dot pattern was formed by conventional photolithographic techniques . the &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; material was then sputtered through the dot indicating holes so formed in the photoresist mask and thereafter the remainder of the photoresist material was lifted off in a manner well known in the art . in order to achieve the results desired from the array of coercivity control dots , there should be a minimum of three dots along a diameter of the minimum bubble size which can be sustained in the given crystal and a maximum of nine dots along such a diameter . in the prior art the use of &# 34 ; permalloy &# 34 ; patterns for guiding or latching magnetic bubbles has applied t - bars or the like , which for the most part are larger than a bubble diameter or which at the smallest have been larger than half a bubble diameter , in order for them to perform their intended functions . such patterns will not and cannot give rise to the results desired herein . at the above suggested maximum size limit for a coercivity control dot of three dots per diameter of the mimimum size bubble and assuming that the dots are equally spaced , then the maximum dot size is on fifth of a bubble diameter . while the maximum size of the control dot is set by these functional considerations , the minimum usable size is limited only by the smallest size practically achievable with photolithographic techniques . also , the smallest spacing between dots is in practice equal to a diameter of the dot being used , but larger or uneven spacings are unable , subject to the above limitations as to the number of dots per linear diameter of bubble size . if the dots are too large or too closely spaced together , the effect on the magnetic fields becomes simply that of the prior art latching bars and the desired coercivity control is not achieved . if the dots are too widely spaced apart , the desired fringing of the magnetic field lines between the individual dots of the array of dots in and through the void spaces is not achieved on a uniform basis . finally , the thickness of the dot measured perpendicularly to the surface of the crystal should not be more than half the diameter of the dot . in the example given above , and illustrated in the drawings , the coercivity control dots have a thickness of 1 , 000 angstrom units and a diameter between 2 and 3 micrometers and were deposited on a crystal platelet of 100 micrometers thickness . in addition to improving the switching rate and bubble stability as discussed above , the array of coercivity control dots also makes possible a means of detecting the presence of bubbles by their motion which has not heretofore been available . in the past , either the presence in a bit location or the motion of bubbles into or out of such a location has been detected by various means , such as optical detection by faraday or magneto - optic kerr effect , electrical detection by hall or pseudo - hall effect or magneto - resistive effect , or inductive detection by field change due to bubble expansion and collapse . each of these techniques has a particular feature which makes it attractive to a particular design of magnetic domain field access serial shift register type memories . the detection and sensing means afforded by the use of the array of coercivity dots disclosed herein ( which for convenience will hereafter be referred to as &# 34 ; stubble &# 34 ;) detects the motion or passage of a cylindrical domain and is particularly adapted for use in conductor access random access memories . a cylindrical domain which moves in a platelet in such a device , which platelet has an array of either ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic dots on either or both of its surfaces will be periodically distorted by the attraction of the fringing fields of these dots . during the movement of the domain , it will therefore undergo a periodic expansion and contraction in size which can be electromagnetically sensed by an overlaying coil . thus , as the domain moves over the stubble , it produces a pseudo - barkhausen noise in the sensing coil which signals its passage . the known predetermined spacing between the stubble dots and the measurable velocity of the motion of the domain for a given driving current , are sufficient to determine approximately what the frequency of the resulting pseudo - barkhausen noise will be . knowing this predicted value , a precise measurement of the actual resulting noise can be made by any suitable signal frequency sensing technique . an amplifier approximately tuned to the barkhausen frequency of the platelet device can then be used to select the desired signal . by placing the sensing coil , which detects the pseudo - barkhausen signal , in such a manner that it will not inductively couple into the driving coil , the signal - to - noise ratio of the system can be kept very high . one way to avoid this coupling is to place the sensing coil 40 , which is tuned by capacitor 41 to the desired barkhausen frequency , around the outside of the crystal platelet device . this arrangement is illustrated in fig6 wherein it is contemplated that the terminals 42 and 43 will be connected to the sensing amplifier and that appropriate drive circuitry will be provided for the schematically illustrated conductor access loops . in fig7 and alternate coil arrangement is shown wherein the sensing circuit 50 is tuned by capacitor 51 and the output line 52 is connected between ground and the sensing amplifier . in this arrangement , coupling to the drive coils is avoided by placing the sensing loops of the conductor 50 symmetrically over the reentrant driving loops so that the two halves of the driving loop cancel each other inductively . for example , the two halves 54 and 55 of a driving conductor at one bit location are surrounded by a sensing loop 56 which is shaped and dimensioned in such manner that the inductively coupled signal from a current in loop 54 is just cancelled by the signal resulting from the same current as it flows through loop 55 . thus , the coil 56 will be affected only by the changes in magnetic field resulting from the changes in shape of the bubble as it moves between the two positions indicated between the loops of the drive coil and will not be affected by the field of the drive signal itself . the arrangement shown in fig6 has the advantage that there is less direct coupling to the drive current pulse but it has the disadvantage of loss of sensitivity . the arrangement shown in fig7 has the advantage of higher sensitivity , but it requires exact juxtapositioning and very precise form and dimension control for both the drive circuit loops and the sensing coil loops to avoid coupling of the drive current pulses into the sensing circuit in inductive imbalance . there has thus been described a means for attaining a uniform coercivity control in a crystal platelet which coercivity is sufficiently large to mask out coercivity variations in the platelet itself and which at the same time affords important advantages such as a more stable bubble pattern which can be switched at higher rates and which is less susceptible to ambient temperature variation and which can be detected by a sensing means not heretofore available .
6
hereinafter , an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator will be described with regard to exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the attached drawings . fig3 is a lateral cross - sectional view for explaining a case where an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator is installed , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig4 is a cross - sectional view of fig3 . fig5 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig6 is a cross - sectional view of a mounting fixture 110 of an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig7 is an exploded perspective view of fig6 . fig8 a through 8c are cross - sectional views for explaining movement of the mounting fixture 110 of fig6 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 through 8c , the apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator is installed in a hand hole ‘ h ’ of an upper portion of one side of westinghouse f - type steam generator disposed in an accommodation room , and includes the mounting fixture 110 , a guide rail 120 , a detector 130 , a driver 140 , a foreign object remover 150 , a local controller 160 , and a remote controller 170 . as illustrated in fig3 , the mounting fixture 110 is fixed to a flange surface of the hand hole ‘ h ’ by bolts ‘ s ’, and is used to stably fix and support the guide rail 120 . as illustrated in fig6 and 7 , the mounting fixture 110 includes a flange 111 having four bolts ‘ s ’ so as to fix the mounting fixture 110 to the flange surface of the hand hole ‘ h ’, a panning plate 112 whose front surface is coupled to the flange 111 so as to slide in a lateral direction of the flange 111 , a tilting lever 113 hinged to a rear surface of the panning plate 112 so as to optionally tilt , a rail supporter 114 coupled to the tilting lever 113 so as to support the guide rail 120 that will be described , and two cable guides 115 disposed on a rear surface of the tilting lever 113 so as to stably accommodate cables from the detector 130 therein and to prevent the cables from the detector 130 from being entangled and damaged . the mounting fixture 110 having the above - described structure may stably support the guide rail 120 so that the detector 130 may stably move along the guide rail 120 . in detail , the mounting fixture 110 may finely adjust a detection angle of the detector 130 by finely adjusting an angle of the guide rail 120 . with regard to the mounting fixture 10 , four screw holes 110 a each having a circular shape , to which the bolts ‘ s ’ are inserted , are formed in four edges of the flange 111 , respectively , so that the mounting fixture 10 is coupled to a steam generator 10 . thus , the mounting fixture 110 may roll in a direction indicated by an arrow of fig8 a by optionally rotating the flange 111 and then coupling the bolts ‘ s ’ to the screw holes 111 a . the flange 111 and the panning plate 112 includes connectors 111 b and 112 a , respectively , which have corresponding shapes to each other and are formed on surfaces of the flange 111 and the panning plate 112 , which come in contact with each other , as illustrated in fig7 . in addition , the flange 111 and the panning plate 112 are coupled by sliding them onto each other by the connectors 111 b and 112 a . the panning plate 112 may be moved in a direction ( a horizontal direction ) indicated by an arrow of fig8 b by control pins 116 disposed at both sides of the flange 111 . as illustrated in fig7 , the tilting lever 113 hinged to the rear surface of the panning plate 112 is coupled to hinge blocks 112 b screwed to a lower portion of the panning plate 112 by pins 112 c so as to optionally tilt . in this regard , the tilting lever 113 tilting with respect to the panning plate 112 includes a knuckle joint 117 having a first end in contact with the panning plate 112 and a second end having a screw thread formed thereon so as to optionally tilt with respect to the panning plate 112 , and a control bolt 118 coupled to the screw thread formed on the second end of the knuckle joint 117 . the control bolt 118 rotates around the knuckle joint 117 to push the knuckle joint 117 , and then the tilting lever 113 may tilt in a direction indicated by an arrow of fig8 c . in addition , the tilting lever 113 may include a pair of brackets 113 a so that lateral surface portions of the rail supporter 114 may be supported by the brackets 113 a . at this time , the rail supporter 114 may be coupled to the flange 111 , the panning plate 112 and the tilting lever 113 so as to pass through the flange 111 , the panning plate 112 and the tilting lever 113 in a horizontal direction . the guide rail 120 , which will be described later , may be fixed to a lower portion of the rail supporter 114 . as illustrated in fig3 , the mounting fixture 110 having the above - described structure is stably fixed to the flange surface of the hand hole ‘ h ’ by bolts ‘ s ’, the guide rail 120 is coupled to the rail supporter 114 , and then the detector 130 , which will be described later , is inserted into the steam generator 10 along the guide rail 120 . by this structure , sludge or foreign objects may be inspected . at this time , the mounting fixture 110 may optionally roll due to the screw holes 111 a of the flange 111 . simultaneously , the panning plate 112 may pan with respect to the flange 111 by coupling the connectors 111 b and 112 a , which have corresponding shapes to each other , by using a dovetail coupling method in which the connectors 111 b and 112 a are coupled by sliding them onto each other . in addition , simultaneously , the tilting lever 113 may tilt with respect to the panning plate 112 by hinging the panning plate 112 to the tilting lever 113 . thus , the rail supporter 114 coupled to the tilting lever 113 may rotate around the center of the hand hole ‘ h ’ right and left by about 10 to about 15 degrees , and may be finely adjusted in horizontal and vertical directions . in addition , a horizontal and vertical level gage 119 may be installed on the rail supporter 114 so as to check a change in an angle of right and left rotation of the mounting fixture 110 , and a change in an angle of horizontal and vertical movement of the mounting fixture 110 , and thus a change in a movement angle of the mounting fixture 110 may be easily checked . fig9 is a schematic perspective view of a guide rail 120 of an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is an exploded perspective view of the guide rail 120 of fig9 . a first end of the guide rail 120 is coupled to a center stay rod ‘ c ’ disposed at a central portion of the steam generator 10 , and a second end of the guide rail 120 is coupled to the driver 140 that will be described later . the second end coupled to the driver 140 is fixed to the rail supporter 114 of the mounting fixture 110 , thereby guiding the detector 130 that will be described later into the steam generator 10 ( into the gap of a bundle of heating tubes ). as illustrated in fig9 , the guide rail 120 includes a plurality of rod - shaped rods with a predetermined length , wherein the rods may be separately coupled , and thus the length of the guide rail 120 may be extended or reduced . according to the present embodiment , the guide rail 120 includes three guide rods 121 , 122 and 123 . in detail , as illustrated in fig1 , the guide rail 120 includes a first guide rod 121 , a second guide rod 122 and a third guide rod 123 . the first guide rod 121 includes a gripper 124 that is disposed at a first end of the first guide rod 121 so as to support and fix the center stay rod ‘ c ’ by tightening the center stay rod ‘ c ’, and a connecting block 125 that is formed at a second end of the first guide rod 121 and has a screw hole 125 a so as to be coupled to the second guide rod 122 . the second guide rod 122 includes a clamping bolt 126 that is formed at a first end of the second guide rod 122 and is screwed to the screw hole 125 a formed in the connecting block 125 so as to be coupled to the first guide rod 121 , and a connecting block 125 that is formed at a second end of the second guide rod 122 and includes a screw hole 125 a formed at the center of center of the connecting block 125 so as to be coupled to the third guide rod 123 , like in the first guide rod 121 . in addition , the third guide rod 123 includes a clamping bolt 126 that is formed at a first end of the third guide rod 123 and is screwed to the screw hole 125 a formed in the connecting block 125 of the second guide rod 122 , like in the second guide rod 122 , and the driver 140 supplying power is coupled to a second end of the third guide rod 123 . according to the present embodiment , the first , second and third guide rods 121 , 122 and 123 , that is , three guide rods constitute the guide rail . alternatively , separate guide rods may be further used to extend or reduce the length of the guide rail 120 , if necessary . fig1 is a perspective view of a detector 130 of an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is an exploded perspective view of the detector 130 of fig1 . fig1 is a schematic perspective view of a configuration of gears of a detecting portion 132 of a detector 130 of an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is a front view for explaining a case where the detecting portion 132 of the detector 130 of fig1 moves right and left , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is a perspective view for explaining a case where a foreign object remover 132 d is inserted into a guide rail 120 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is a reference diagram for explaining a case where the foreign object remover 132 d of fig1 is installed , according to an embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig5 , the detector 130 may be coupled to a lower end of the guide rail 120 so as to slide onto the lower end of the guide rail 120 , and may move forwards and backwards by the driver 140 that will be described later . thus , the detector 130 is inserted into the steam generator 10 along the guide rail 120 , and thus may visually inspect foreign objects , and may simultaneously remove foreign objects . referring to fig1 , the detector 130 may visually inspect or remove sludge or foreign objects . the detector 130 may include the detecting portion 132 rotating right and left , a detection driving portion 134 supplying power to the detecting portion 132 so as to drive the detecting portion 132 , and a bracket portion 136 connecting the detecting portion 132 to the detection driving portion 134 so as to be coupled to the guide rail 120 . the detecting portion 132 inserted into gaps of the heating tubes in the steam generator 10 is installed in front of the bracket portion 136 so as to inspect or remove sludge or foreign objects . as illustrated in fig1 and 13 , the detecting portion 132 includes a body 132 a coupled to the bracket portion 136 and having a bobbin ‘ b ’ formed in the body 132 a , a steel belt 132 b disposed in the body 132 a and having a first end wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’, a photographing sheet 132 c coupled to a second end of the steel belt 132 b and having an end at which a charge - coupled device ( ccd ) sensor and a light emitting display device ( led ) are installed so as to generate a image signal of a visual inspection , and the foreign object remover 132 d installed adjacent to the photographing sheet 132 c so as to remove sludge and foreign objects , which are checked by the photographing sheet 132 c . as illustrated in fig1 , the body 132 a is configured so that a plurality of gears are engaged to each other , wherein the bobbin ‘ b ’ rotates as the gears rotate . in addition , the steel belt 132 b is configured to be wound or loosened by a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation from a state where an end of the steel belt 132 b is wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’. the body 132 a includes an intermittent gear ‘ g ’ having a plurality of protrusions 132 a - 1 formed on a central portion thereof so that the steel belt 132 b may be smoothly wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’. the steel belt 132 b includes a coupling hole 132 b - 1 into which the protrusions 132 a - 1 formed on the intermittent gear ‘ g ’ are inserted so that the steel belt 132 b may be wound or loosened on the bobbin ‘ b ’ according to rotation of the intermittent gear ‘ g ’. in addition , the steel belt 132 b may be flexible so as to be easily wound or loosened on the bobbin ‘ b ’. the foreign object remover 132 d is installed adjacent to and behind the photographing sheet 132 c , and removes sludge or foreign objects detected by the photographing sheet 132 c . in addition , the foreign object remover 132 d includes a wire 132 d - 1 extended into or out of the body 132 a of the detecting portion 132 , and a foreign object removing tool 132 d - 2 installed at an end of the wire 132 d - 1 and having various shapes of a tong , a magnet , a ring , and the like . as illustrated in fig1 and 16 , an end of the foreign object remover 132 d is inserted into a foreign object remover hole 128 formed in the guide rail 120 , and passes along a foreign object remover groove 128 a of the guide rail 120 , which is manually performed by an operator when foreign objects are discovered . then , as illustrated in fig1 , the wire 132 d - 1 is extended out of the detection driving portion 134 , and then passes through a flexible tube 138 that will be described . then , the wire 132 d - 1 together with the detecting portion 132 is inserted into the gaps of the heating tubes along a groove formed in the body 132 a . the detection driving portion 134 includes a housing 134 a installed at a rear surface of the bracket portion 136 , transferring a driving force to the detecting portion 132 and coupled to the bracket portion 136 , a tilting motor 134 c installed in the housing 134 a and supplying power to the detecting portion 132 so as to rotate the detecting portion 132 towards both sides of the detecting portion 132 , as illustrated in fig1 , and a feeding motor 134 b supplying power so that the photographing sheet 132 c of the detecting portion 132 may be extended or reduced out of the body 132 a . although not illustrated , the tilting motor 134 c rotates the body 132 a in directions of both sides thereof through a spindle ( not shown ) disposed in the body 132 a , and the feeding motor 134 b coupled to a bevel gear ( not shown ) disposed in the body 132 a rotates the intermittent gear ‘ g ’ and the bobbin ‘ b ’ so that the steel belt 132 b may be wound into the body 132 a . the bracket portion 136 connecting the detecting portion 132 to the detection driving portion 134 may be formed so that an upper portion of the bracket portion 136 is coupled to a lower end of the guide rail 120 , as illustrated in fig1 . in addition , the bracket portion 136 may be formed so as to slide on the guide rail 120 . as illustrated in fig1 , the flexible tube 138 may be wound on the wire 132 d - 1 of the foreign object remover 132 d so as to function as a guide used for the detecting portion 132 to smoothly rotate with respect to lateral surfaces of the bracket portion 136 , and for the foreign object remover 132 d to be smoothly extended in or out of the detecting portion 132 in a rotating direction of the detecting portion 132 . fig1 is a perspective view of the driver 140 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is an exploded perspective view of the driver 140 of fig1 . fig1 is a reference diagram for explaining a case where a moving belt 144 of the driver 140 is inserted into the guide rail 120 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig1 and 18 , the driver 140 may be coupled to an end of the guide rail 120 , for example , an end of the third guide rod 123 to which the mounting fixture 110 is coupled , may supply power to the detecting portion 132 so that the detecting portion 132 may be moved along the guide rail 120 into the steam generator 10 , and may include a main housing 142 , the moving belt 144 , and a driving motor 146 . as illustrated in fig1 , an end of the main housing 142 is coupled to the guide rail 120 , and simultaneously may be coupled to the rail supporter 114 of the mounting fixture 110 . as illustrated in fig1 , the main housing 142 includes an intermittent gear 142 c - 1 engaged to a plurality of gears and having a plurality of protrusions formed on an outer circumference surface of the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 , wherein the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 is engaged to a pinion gear 142 c so as to drive the moving belt 144 . a first end of the moving belt 144 is wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’, and a second end of the moving belt 144 is coupled to the bracket portion 136 of the detector 130 so that the detector 130 may move along the guide rail 120 . that is , as illustrated in fig1 , the first end of the moving belt 144 may be wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’, and the second end of the moving belt 144 may be coupled to the detector 130 through a guiding groove 127 formed in a lower portion of the guide rail 120 so that the detector 130 may move by as much as a length by which the moving belt 144 wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’ is loosened . the driving motor 146 is engaged to a plurality of gears disposed in the main housing 142 so that the gears may be engaged to each other and may rotate as the driving motor 146 rotates . thus , the protrusions of the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 engaged to the pinion gear 142 c are coupled into a plurality of through holes 145 formed in the moving belt 144 so as to drive the moving belt 144 , and thus the bobbin ‘ b ’ rotates so that the moving belt 144 may be wound or loosened on the bobbin ‘ b ’. in detail , with regard to the driver 140 , the bobbin ‘ b ’ on which the moving belt 144 is wound , and a plurality of gears connected to a motor are disposed in the main housing 142 , and thus the moving belt 144 is driven so as to rotate the bobbin ‘ b ’ clockwise and counter clockwise , as illustrated in fig1 . in addition , the gears are coupled to the driving motor 146 that are disposed at one side of the gears . as the driving motor 146 rotates , a gear 142 c rotates . then , the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 engaged to the gear 142 c rotates so that the moving belt 144 wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’ may be wound or loosened so as to move the detector 130 . the gears installed in the main housing 142 includes a bevel gear 142 a engaged to the driving motor 146 , and the pinion gear 142 c engaged to the bevel gear 142 a through a needle gear 142 b and engaged to the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 having a plurality of protrusions formed on an outer circumference surface of the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 . when the driving motor 146 supplies power , the bevel gear 142 a rotates , and therefore the pinion gear 142 c engaged to the bevel gear 142 a rotates so that the moving belt 144 may be wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’. as illustrated in fig1 , with regard to the moving belt 144 , the through holes 145 are formed in a longitudinal direction of the moving belt 144 at predetermined intervals . intermittent gear 142 c - 1 of the pinion gear 142 c may be inserted into the through holes 145 so that the moving belt 144 may be wound or loosened on the bobbin ‘ b ’ according to the rotation of the pinion gear 142 c . a roller 147 pressurizing the moving belt 144 downwards is installed at an upper side of the pinion gear 142 c so that the intermittent gear 142 c - 1 of the pinion gear 142 c may be correctly inserted into the through holes 145 of the moving belt 144 . a handle 148 is installed at one side of the main housing 142 of the driver 140 so that a worker may manually wind or loosen the moving belt 144 on the bobbin ‘ b ’. in an emergency , the bobbin ‘ b ’ may be rotated by manually rotating the handle 148 , and thus the detector 130 may be moved . fig2 is a diagram for explaining a case where an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator is installed at a steam generator 10 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . a local controller 150 is installed around the steam generator 10 , and controls the mounting fixture 110 , the guide rail 120 , the detector 130 , and the driver 140 . the local controller 150 includes a monitor and a control panel . a remote controller 160 is positioned in an operating room remote from the steam generator 10 in order to avoid radioactivity from the steam generator 10 . in addition , the remote controller 10 may perform automatic control using a special operating program , in addition to the same function as that of the local controller 150 , and may record and edit visual inspection data . the local controller 150 and the remote controller 160 have general structures , and thus their detailed description will not be given here . the apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator may operate as follows . first , the mounting fixture 110 is installed on a flange surface of the hand hole ‘ h ’ of the steam generator 10 . the guide rail 120 on which the detector 130 and the driver 140 are previously mounted is coupled to the mounting fixture 110 . then , a first end of the guide rail 120 is fixed to the center stay rod ‘ c ’ installed at the center of the steam generator 10 by the gripper 124 that is disposed at the first end of the guide rail 120 . at this time , the mounting fixture 110 is finely adjusted in horizontal and vertical directions by the control pins 116 , a control bolt 118 , and the like of the mounting fixture 110 . then , a cable connected to the driver 140 is extended so as to connect the driver 140 to the local controller 150 installed adjacent to the steam generator 10 and the remote controller 160 installed out of a container , and thus foreign objects may be visually inspected and may be removed . after the apparatus for visually inspecting and removing foreign object in gaps of an upper portion of a bundle of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator is installed , electricity is supplied to the driver 140 through the local controller 150 and the remote controller 160 so as to loosen the moving belt 144 wound on the bobbin ‘ b ’, and thus the detector 130 may be inserted into the steam generator 10 through the guide rail 120 . the body 132 a of the detector 130 inserted into the steam generator 10 is rotated by the detection driving portion 134 in a desired direction , and then the bobbin ‘ b ’ and the intermittent gear ‘ g ’ may rotate so that the steel belt 132 b is extended out of the body 132 a . at this time , while the photographing sheet 132 c is installed at an end of the steel belt 132 b , the gap of the heating tube is inspected through a ccd camera installed at the photographing sheet 132 c , and an image signal of this inspection is transmitted to the remote controller 160 . when foreign objects are discovered in the gap of the heating tube , a worker inserts the foreign object remover 132 d installed on the detector 130 into the gap of the heating tube through the body 132 a of the detecting portion 132 . according to the present invention , an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator may visually inspect sludge and foreign objects in the gap of the heating tube disposed on the upper portion of the tube sheet of the secondary side of the steam generator , and simultaneously may remove foreign objects when foreign objects are discovered in the gap of the heating tube . by performing an operation under high radioactivity by remote control , the amount of radioactivity exposed to a worker may be significantly reduced . as described above , according to the present invention , although a technology used in an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator is very simple , technological effects thereof is excellent . accordingly , according to the present invention , an apparatus for visually inspecting and removing a foreign object in gaps of a bundle of heating tubes of an upper portion of a tube sheet of a secondary side of a steam generator may visually inspect and simultaneously remove foreign objects effectively by inserting a detector visually - inspecting and optionally - removing foreign objects into the steam generator through a hand hole connected to an upper bundle of a secondary side of the steam generator . in addition , due to a mounting fixture , a guide rail may be finely adjusted and stably supported in horizontal and vertical directions , and may be stably supported . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims .
5
substituents designated parenthetically herein indicate that the substituent is optionally present , e . g ., a 4 -( substituted ) amino compound contains either an unsubstituted 4 - amino group or a substituted 4 - amino group . reaction scheme i illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . the unsubstituted compound of formula i is a known compound and other compounds of formula i can be prepared by methods known to those skilled in the art and disclosed , e . g ., in chemistry of heterocyclic compounds ( english edition ), 1981 , 16 , ( 12 ), 1286 - 1288 ( zyryanov ). in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme i a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula ii is provided by nitrating a tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula i . conventional conditions for such reactions are well known . preferred conditions in the instance where r is hydrogen involve heating in acetic acid in the presence of nitric acid . preferred conditions in other instances will depend upon the particular tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol used , and those skilled in the art will be able to select suitable conditions . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 2 ) of reaction scheme i a 4 - nitrotetraozolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - sulfonate of formula iii is provided by reacting a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula ii with a sulfonyl halide or preferably a sulfonic anhydride . suitable sulfonyl halides include alkylsulfonyl halides such as methanesulfonyl chloride and trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride , and arylsulfonyl halides such as benzenesulfonyl chloride , p - bromobenzenesulfonyl chloride and p - toluenesulfonyl chloride . suitable sulfonic anhydrides include those corresponding to the above - mentioned sulfonyl halides . sulfonic anhydrides are preferred in view of the fact that the sulfonate anion generated as a by - product of the reaction is a relatively poor nucleophile and as such does not give rise to undesired side products such as those in which the nitro group is displaced . a particularly preferred sulfonic anhydride is trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride . the reaction is preferably carried out by combining a compound of formula ii with a base , preferably an excess of a tertiary amine base ( e . g ., a trialkylamine base such as triethyl amine ) in a suitable solvent such as dichloromethane and then adding the sulfonyl halide or sulfonic anhydride . the addition is preferably carried out in a controlled fashion ( e . g ., dropwise ) and at a reduced temperature ( e . g ., is about 0 ° c .). the product can be isolated by conventional methods or it can be carried on without isolation as described below in connection with step ( 3 ). in step ( 3 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv is provided by reacting a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - sulfonate of formula iii with an amine , preferably in the presence of an excess of an amine base in a solvent such as dichloromethane . suitable amines include ammonia and preferably primary amines . primary amines provide 5 - substituted amino compounds of formula iv wherein the amino substituent is represented by r 1 . particularly preferred amines include isobutylamine and 2 - aminomethyl - 2 - propanol . the reaction can be carried out by adding an excess of amine to the reaction mixture resulting from step ( 2 ). the reaction can also be carried out by adding an excess of amine to a solution of the compound of formula iii in a solvent such as dichloromethane . as the sulfonate is a relatively facile leaving group the reaction can be run at ambient temperature . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 4 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 4 , 5 - diamine of formula v is provided by reducing a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv . methods for such reduction are well know to those skilled in the art . preferably the reduction is carried out using a conventional heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst such as platinum on carbon or palladium on carbon . the reduction can be conveniently carried out on a paar apparatus in a solvent such as ethanol . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 5 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline of formula vi is provided by reacting a ( 5 - substituted ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 4 , 5 - diamine of formula v with a carboxylic acid or an equivalent thereof . suitable equivalents to carboxylic acid include acid halides , orthoesters , and 1 , 1 - dialkoxyalkyl alkanoates . the carboxylic acid or equivalent is selected such that it will give rise to the desired 6 - substituent in the compound of formula vi wherein the 6 - substituent is designated r 2 ( e . g ., acetyl chloride will give rise to a compound where r 2 is methyl ). the reaction can be run in the absence of solvent or preferably in an inert solvent in the presence of a carboxylic acid or equivalent thereof with sufficient heating to drive off any alcohol or water formed as a side product of the reaction . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 6 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) n - triphenylphosphenyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine of formula vii is provided by reacting a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 ] quinoline of formula vi with triphenylphosphine . the reaction can be carried out by combining a compound of formula vi with triphenylphosphine in a suitable solvent such as 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene and heating . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 4 - amine of formula viii is provided by hydrolysis of a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) n - triphenylphosphenyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine of formula vii . such a reaction can be carried out by general methods well known to those skilled in the art ( e . g ., by heating in a lower alkanol in the presence of an acid ). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture by conventional means . in reaction scheme i , r ′ can be any group that can be incorporated into a sulfonyl halide or a sulfonic anhydride . alkyl ( e . g ., methyl ), haloalkyl including perfluoroalkyl ( e . g ., trifluoromethyl ) and aryl ( e . g ., phenyl , halophenyl and tolyl ) are all suitable . reaction scheme ii illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . compounds of formula ix and methods for their preparation are known and disclosed , e . g . in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 988 , 815 ( andre ), and 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), both patents being incorporated herein by reference . in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme ii a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv is provided by reacting a ( 4 - substituted ) amino - 2 - chloro - 3 - nitroquinoline of formula ix with sodium azide . the reaction can be carried out by combining the compound of formula ix with sodium azide in a suitable solvent such as n , n - dimethylformamide and heating ( about 50 ° c .). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . steps ( 2 ), ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) of reaction scheme ii can be carried out in the same manner as steps ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i respectively . reaction scheme iii illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . compounds of formula x and methods for their preparation are known and disclosed , e . g ., in european patent application 90 . 301776 . 3 , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 689 , 338 ( gerster ), 4 , 698 , 348 ( gerster ), 4 , 929 , 625 ( gerster ), 4 , 988 , 815 ( andre ), 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), and 5 , 389 , 640 ( gerster ) all six patents being incorporated herein by reference . in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme iii a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4hydrazino - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula xi is provided by reacting a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4 - chloro - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula x with hydrazine . the reaction can be carried out by combining a compound of formula x with an excess of hydrazine and heating if necessary . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 2 ) of reaction scheme iii a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline of formula vi is provided by reacting a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4 - hydrazino - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula xi with sodium nitrite . the reaction can be carried out by combining the compound of formula xi with sodium nitrite in a suitable solvent ( e . g ., water ) in the presence of an acid ( e . g . acetic acid ). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . steps ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) of reaction scheme iii can be carried out in the same manner as steps ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i respectively . the compounds of formula viii can be used in the form of acid addition salts such as hydrochlorides , dihydrogen sulfates , trihydrogen phosphates , hydrogen nitrates , methane sulfonates and salts of other pharmaceutically acceptable acids . pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of formula viii are generally prepared by reaction of the respective compound with an equimolar amount of a strong acid , preferably an inorganic acid such as hydrochloric , sulfuric or phosphoric acid or an organic acid such as methanesulfonic acid in a polar solvent . isolation of the salt is facilitated by the addition of a solvent in which the salt is insoluble ( e . g ., diethyl ether ). processes of the invention provide as a final product a 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine , preferred embodiments of which can be represented by formula vii . preferably the 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine is a compound defined by one of formulas xxi - xxv below : r 11 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl , hydroxyalkyl , acyloxyalkyl , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , said benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms and halogen , with the proviso that if said benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then said moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; acylaminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; disubstituted aminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; morpholinoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; r 21 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r a is independently selected from the group consisting of alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , halogen and alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from 0 to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r a groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; r 12 is selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing 2 to about 10 carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing 2 to about 10 carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing 3 to about 6 carbon atoms ; and cycloalkyl containing 3 to about 6 carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms ; and r 22 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two such moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r b is independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from zero to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r b groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; r 23 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two such moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r c is independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from zero to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r c groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; r y is hydrogen or a carbon - carbon bond , with the proviso that when r y is hydrogen r x is alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , hydroxyalkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , 1 - alkynyl of two to about ten carbon atoms , tetrahydropyranyl , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , 2 -, 3 -, or 4 - pyridyl , and with the further proviso that when r y is a carbon - carbon bond r y and r x together form a tetrahydrofuranyl group optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of hydroxy and hydroxyalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms ; r 24 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , phenyl , and substituted phenyl wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen ; and r d is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; r 15 is selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen ; straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about ten carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about ten carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing two to about ten carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing two to about ten carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; hydroxyalkyl of one to about six carbon atoms ; alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about six carbon atoms ; acyloxyalkyl wherein the acyloxy moiety is alkanoyloxy of two to about four carbon atoms or benzoyloxy , and the alkyl moiety contains one to about six carbon atoms ; benzyl ; ( phenyl ) ethyl ; and phenyl ; said benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when said benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than six carbon atoms ; acylaminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; disubstituted aminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; morpholinoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; r s and r t are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , phenyl , and substituted phenyl wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen ; x is selected from the group consisting of alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , haloalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkylamido wherein the alkyl group contains one to about four carbon atoms , amino , substituted amino wherein the substituent is alkyl or hydroxyalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , azido , alkylthio of one to about four carbon atoms ; and r e is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; the compounds recited above are disclosed and claimed in the several patents noted above in the summary of the invention and discussed below . in instances where n can be zero , one , or two , n is preferably zero or one . the substituents r a - r e above are species embraced by r . the preferred r substituent is hydrogen . the substituents r a - r e above are species embraced by r 1 . the preferred r 1 substituents are alkyl of one to about six carbon atoms , hydroxy alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about 6 carbon atoms , and arylalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about three carbon atoms . most preferably the r 1 substituent is 2 - methylpropyl , 2 - hydroxy - 2 - methylpropyl , benzyl or phenylethyl . the substituents r 21 - r 25 above are species embraced by r 2 the preferred r 2 substituents are hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , hydroxyl alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , haloalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , and aryloxymethyl . most preferably the r 2 substituent is hydrogen , methyl , ethoxymethyl , or benzyl . certain r substituents , r 1 substituents , and r 2 substituents will be incompatible with the particular reaction conditions described above in connection with the reaction schemes . those skilled in the art , however , will be able to select alternative conditions under which the several steps can be carried out and / or methods of functional group protection and manipulation that will allow the use of the processes of the invention in the preparation of 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amines of diverse structures . certain 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amines have been disclosed as antiviral agents ( see , e . g ., european patent application 90 . 301776 . 3 ( gerster ), u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 689 , 338 ( gerster ), 4 , 929 , 624 ( gerster ), 5 , 266 , 575 ( gerster ), 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), and 5 , 389 , 640 ( gerster ) all five patents incorporated herein by , reference ). certain of these compounds are also known to induce biosynthesis of cytokines such as interferons , interleukins , and tumor necrosis factor in humans and in mice . the examples below are intended to illustrate the invention . all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated . anthranilic acid ( 274 . 3 g ) and acetic anhydride ( 1 . 1 l ) were combined then heated at reflux for 3 . 5 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with methanol ( 550 ml ) then concentrated under vacuum to provide 2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3 , 1 - benzoxazine as a brown oil . the crude 2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3 , 1 - benzoxazine was dissolved in acetic acid ( 1 . 9 l ). sodium azide ( 130 . 0 g ) was added to the solution in portions with stirring . the reaction mixture was cooled in an ice bath to maintain the reaction temperature at 25 to 30 ° c . during the addition . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at ambient temperature over the weekend . the acetic acid was removed under vacuum to provide a white solid . the solid was combined with 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 1 . 4 l ) then heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . additional sodium hydroxide ( 120 g of 50 % sodium hydroxide ) was added . the mixture was heated on a steam bath for an additional hour then allowed to cool to ambient temperature overnight . additional sodium hydroxide ( 120 g of 50 % sodium hydroxide ) was added . the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 2 hours then allowed to cool . the reaction mixture was poured with rapid stirring into a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 1 . 0 l ) and ice ( 3 l ). the resulting mixture was stirred at ambient temperature overnight . a precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then slurried with water ( 4 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then oven dried at 50 ° c . to provide 278 . 0 g of crude 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid as a tan solid , m . p . 157 - 160 ° c . the crude material was dissolved in 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 2 . 5 l ). the resulting solution was heated ( 95 - 99 ° c .) for 2 . 5 hours , cooled , then poured with vigorous stirring into a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 500 ml ) and ice ( 5 l ). the resulting mixture was allowed to stir for 2 hours . the precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water , then slurried with water ( 3 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then dried overnight at ambient temperature to provide 228 g of 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid , m . p . 164 - 166 ° c . acetone ( 3 . 2 l ) and 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid ( 228 g ) were combined then stirred at ambient temperature for 15 minutes . potassium carbonate ( 228 g ) was added to , the reaction mixture in a single portion . iodoethane ( 366 . 8 g ) was added dropwise to the reaction mixture producing a slight exotherm . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for about 4 hours then stirred overnight while cooling to ambient temperature . the precipitated salts were removed by filtration then rinsed with acetone . the combined filtrates were evaporated under vacuum . the residue was dissolved in dicholromethane ( 1 . 5 l ). the dicholromethane solution was washed with water ( 1 . 5 l ), dried over magnesium sulfate then concentrated under vacuum to provide 227 g of ethyl - 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate as a white solid m . p . 98 - 100 ° c . potassium ethoxide ( 173 . 5 g ) was added in portions with stirring to a mixture of ethyl - 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate ( 227 g ) and n , n - dimethylformamide ( 1 . 6 l ). the reaction mixture was cooled with an ice bath to control the resulting exotherm . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight at ambient temperature then quenched with water ( 17 l ). the ph was adjusted to ph 5 with acetic acid ( 170 ml ). the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then reslurried with water ( 2 . 5 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then oven dried ( 55 to 60 ° c .) for 16 hours to provide 169 . 0 g of a white solid . a 3 . 0 g sample was recrystallized from ethanol / dicholoromethane to provide tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol as a white solid , m . p . 248 ° c . ( dec .). analysis : calculated for c 9 h 6 n 4 o : % c , 58 . 06 ; % h , 3 . 25 ; % n , 30 . 09 ; found : % c , 58 . 02 ; % h , 3 . 29 ; % n , 30 . 20 . tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 10 g , 54 mmole , example 1 ) was suspended in acetic acid ( 200 ml ) then warmed to 4 ° c ., nitric acid ( 4 ml of 16m , 59 mmole ) was added to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture was heated at 80 ° c . for 30 minutes then allowed to cool to ambient temperature . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then recrystallized from isopropanol / water to provide 8 . 1 g of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol hydrate as light yellow plates , m . p . 186 . 5 - 187 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 9 h 5 n 5 o 3 . h 2 o : % c , 43 . 38 ; % h , 2 . 83 ; % n , 28 . 10 ; found : % c , 43 . 27 ; % h , 2 . 84 ; % n , 28 . 25 . sodium abide ( 19 . 5 g , 0 . 3 moles ), 2 - methyl -[( 2 - chloro - 3 - nitroquinolin - 4 - yl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 29 . 6 g , 0 . 10 mole , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 988 , 815 example 12 ) and n , n - dimethylformamide ( 100 ml ) were added to a jacketed 1 liter round bottom flask with the outside portion containing acetone . the reaction mixture was stirred with a stirring bar and the acetone refluxed to provide a constant internal reaction temperature of 53 ° c . after 18 hours the reaction mixture was diluted with water ( 100 ml ). the resulting yellow precipitate was isolated by filtration then washed with 50 % n , n - dimethylformamide / water until the washes became light colored . the yellow / green solid was then washed with water , pressed dry and washed with ether . the solid was air dried to provide 27 . 2 g of crude product as a yellow / light green solid . this material was recrystallized from ethanol / dichloromethane to provide 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol as a yellow crystalline solid , m . p . 204 ° c . ( dec .). analysis : calculated for : c 13 h 14 n 6 o 3 : % c , 51 . 65 ; % h , 4 . 67 ; % n , 27 . 8 ; found : % c , 51 . 30 ; % h , 4 . 69 ; % n , 27 . 43 . 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 30 . 2 g , 0 . 10 mole , example 3 ), ethanol ( 300 ml ) and 5 % pd / c ( 1 . 0 g of 50 % water wet ) were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated . the mixture was diluted with dichloromethane then filtered to remove the catalyst . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum . the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol to provide 20 . 5 g of [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol as a yellow / green crystalline solid , m . p . 164 - 167 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 13 h 16 n 6 o : % c , 57 . 33 ; % h , 5 . 92 ; % n , 30 . 88 ; found : % c , 56 . 94 ; % h , 5 . 88 ; % n , 30 . 80 . [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol ( 5 g , 0 . 18 mole , example 4 ) was dissolved in triethyl orthoformate ( 17 g ). the solution was heated at 120 ° c . for 20 hours . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to ambient temperature then it was diluted with 1 n hydrochloric acid . formic acid ( 20 ml ) was added to the mixture which was then heated at reflux for an hour . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum then neutralized with sodium hydroxide . the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol / ethyl acetate to provide α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 245 - 249 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 o : % c , 59 . 55 ; % h , 4 . 99 ; % n , 29 . 77 ; found : % c , 59 . 44 ; % h , 4 . 93 ; % n , 29 . 65 . acetyl chloride ( 16 g , 0 . 020 mole ) was added dropwise to a solution of [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol ( 5 g , 0 . 18 mole , example 4 ) in acetonitrile . the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 4 hours . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then dissolved in acetic acid ( about 50 ml ). this solution was refluxed for 2 hours then neutralized with carbonate . the crude product was isolated by filtration then recrystallized initially from hexane / ethyl acetate then from ethanol / ethyl acetate to provide α , α , 5 - trimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 202 - 205 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 15 h 16 n 6 o : % c , 60 . 8 ; % h , 5 . 44 ; % n , 28 . 36 ; found : % c , 60 . 68 ; % h , 5 . 48 ; % n , 28 . 28 . 4 - chloro - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline ( 10 . 0 g , 0 . 0385 moles , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 689 , 338 example 77 ) was added to hydrazine ( 30 ml ). the mixture heated rapidly to reflux . the solid dissolved with a vigorous heat of reaction then a precipitate formed as the reaction mixture refluxed . the reaction mixture was diluted with water . the precipitate was isolated by filtration then suspended in water ( 100 ml ). the solid was brought into solution by the addition of acetic acid . the solution was filtered to remove traces of undissolved solid . the filtrate was made basic by the addition of ammonium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water then dried to provide 8 . 0 g of crude product as a white solid . a sample of this material was recrystallized from methanol to provide 4 - hydrazino - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline , m . p . 202 - 205 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 17 n 5 : % c , 65 . 86 ; % h , 6 . 71 ; % n , 27 . 43 ; found : % c , 65 . 20 ; % h , 6 . 6 ; % n , 27 . 5 . a solution of sodium nitrite ( 2 . 0 g , 3 mmole ) in water ( 5 ml ) was added to a solution of 4 - hydrazino - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline ( 4 . 0 g , 15 . 7 mmole , example 7 ) in a mixture of acetic acid ( 5 ml ) and water ( 50 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 15 minutes . a precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water then air dried to provide 4 . 1 g of crude product . this material was recrystallized from dichloromethane / ethanol to provide 3 . 0 g of 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a cream colored crystalline solid , m . p . 208 - 212 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 14 ; % h , 5 . 30 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 62 . 60 ; % h , 5 . 2 ; % n , 31 . 5 . a suspension of 4 - chloro - α , α - dimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 1 - ethanol ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 6 mmole , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 689 , 338 example 189 part d ) in hydrazine ( 3 ml , 6 . 9 mmole ) was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour then diluted with water . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration . the solid was dissolved in a mixture of acetic acid ( 2 ml ) and water ( 15 ml ) then combined with a solution of sodium nitrite ( 0 . 5 g ) in water . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water and dried to provide 0 . 71 g of α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a white solid , m . p . 246 - 247 ° c . ( shrunk at 230 ° c .). analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 o : % c , 59 . 56 ; % h , 5 . 00 ; % n , 29 . 77 ; found : % c , 59 . 45 ; % h , 5 . 06 ; % n , 29 . 51 . 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline ( 0 . 2 g , 0 . 75 mmole , example 8 ), triphenylphosphine ( 0 . 4 g , 1 . 5 mole ) and 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene ( 5 ml ) were combined and heated at reflux overnight . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum then diluted with cyclohexane ( 25 ml ). the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with cyclohexane then dried to provide 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine as a solid , m . p . 209 - 210 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 32 h 29 n 4 p : % c , 76 . 78 ; % h , 5 . 84 ; % n , 11 . 19 ; found : % c , 76 . 03 ; % h , 5 . 87 ; % n , 11 . 09 . triphenylphosphine ( 4 . 5 g , 17 . 0 mmole ) was added to a mixture of α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol ( 2 . 4 g , 8 . 5 mmole , example 9 ) and 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 3 hrs then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with methanol ( 400 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 50 ml of 0 . 5n ) then heated on a steam bath for 2 hours . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then washed with ether . the solid was dissolved in water and the solution was made basic with 10 % sodium hydroxide . after stirring for 30 minutes , the reaction mixture was filtered . the collected solid was rinsed with water and ether then recrystallized from n , n - dimethylformamide / ethanol to provide about 1 g of 4 - amino - α , α - dimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 1 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 271 - 273 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 16 n 4 o : % c , 65 . 6 ; % h , 6 . 29 ; % n , 21 . 86 ; found : % c , 65 . 37 ; % h , 6 . 26 ; % n , 21 . 61 . 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine ( 100 mg , example 10 ) was suspended in a mixture of methanol ( 3 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 10 ml of 0 . 5n ). the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 2 hours then allowed to stand at ambient temperature overnight . the reaction mixture was filtered . the filtrate was made basic with 10 % sodium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then dried to provide 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine . the spectral properties of this material matched those of an authentic sample . aqueous sodium hydroxide ( 30 g of 50 %) was added to a suspension of 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 34 . 0 g , 0 . 1125 mole , example 3 ) in water ( 500 ml ). the mixture was heated on a steam bath and the solid dissolved rapidly . the solution was heated for about 30 minutes and then upon stirring a solid began to precipitate . the mixture was made acidic with 6n hydrochloric acid . the resulting solid was isolated by filtration ; washed in succession with water , ethanol and ether ; then dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . to provide 23 . 2 g of crude product as a pale yellow / green solid . a sample ( 3 . 2 g ) was recrystallized initially from methanol / dichloromethane and then from toluene to provide 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol . analysis : calculated for c 9 h 5 n 5 o 3 : % c , 46 . 76 ; % h , 2 . 18 ; % n , 30 . 29 ; found : % c , 46 . 85 ; % h , 2 . 23 ; % n , 29 . 91 . triethylamine ( 0 . 6 ml , 4 . 32 mmole ) was added to a suspension of4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 1 . 0 g , 4 . 32 mmoles , example 2 ) in dicholromethane ( 20 ml ). the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . triflic anhydride ( 0 . 73 ml , 4 . 32 mmole ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 0 ° c . the reaction mixture was diluted with dichloromethane ( 50 ml ), washed with 0 . 5 n hydrochloric acid , dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with hexanes ( 100 ml ), refluxed for 15 minutes and filtered . a solid precipitated from the filtrate on cooling . the solid was isolated by filtration and dried to provide 0 . 2 g of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - yl ] trifluoromethanesulfonate as a white solid , m . p . 132 - 134 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 10 h 14 f 3 n 5 o 5 s : % c , 33 . 07 ; % h , 1 . 11 ; % n , 19 . 28 ; found : % c , 33 . 19 ; % h , 1 . 28 ; % n , 19 . 61 . isobutylamine ( 1 ml ) was added to a solution of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - yl ] trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 37 mmole , example 14 ) in dichloromethane ( 50 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 4 hours , diluted with dichloromethane ( 50 ml ), washed with water ( 2 × 50 ml ), dried over magnesium sulfate then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was purified by filtering through a layer of silica gel eluting with 2 % methanol in dichloromethane . the resulting yellow solid was recrystallized from ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 31 g of n -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine , m . p . 152 - 154 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 13 h 14 n 6 o 2 : % c , 54 . 54 ; % h , 4 . 93 ; % n , 29 . 35 ; found : % c , 54 . 45 ; % h , 4 . 73 ; % n , 29 . 47 . n -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 5 mmole , example 15 ), ethanol ( 100 ml ) and pt / c were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated at 50 psi ( 3 . 44 × 10 5 pa ). the reaction mixture was filtered to remove the catalyst then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was recrystallized from ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 35 g of n 5 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine as off white needles , m . p . 148 - 150 ° c . analysis . calculated for c 13 h 16 n 16 : % c , 60 . 92 ; % h , 6 . 29 ; % n , 32 . 79 ; found : % c , 60 . 94 ; % h , 6 . 25 ; % n , 32 . 93 . n 5 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine ( 0 . 2 g , 0 . 78 mmole , example 16 ) was combined with diethoxymethyl acetate ( 2 ml ) and heated on a steam bath for 3 hours . water ( 10 ml ) and 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 2 ml ) were added and the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . a solid was isolated by filtration then recrystallized from methanol / ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 16 g of 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a white crystalline solid , m . p . 210 - 212 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 14 ; % h , 5 . 30 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 63 . 12 ; % h , 5 , 32 ; % n , 31 . 61 . triethylamine ( 6 ml ), 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 8 . 7 g , 37 . 6 mmole , example 13 ) and dichloromethane ( 100 ml ) were combined and stirred at ambient temperature until a solution was obtained . the solution was cooled to − 15 ° c . triflic anhydride ( 6 . 5 ml ) was added in portions to the cooled solution . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to ambient temperature then filtered through a layer of silica gel . the filtrate was washed with cold dilute hydrochloric acid then dried over magnesium sulfate . triethylamine ( 5 . 25 ml ) was added to the dichloromethane solution and the resulting mixture was stirred for about 10 minutes . tert - butylamine ( 4 . 2 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for about 15 minutes . the resulting solid was isolated by filtration then purified by silica gel chromatography to provide the crude product as a yellow solid . this material was recrystallized from ethanol / water to provide 5 g of n -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine . the structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy . n -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine ( 4 . 2 g , example 18 ), ethanol ( 100 ml ) and pt / c ( 0 . 5 g ) were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated . the reaction mixture was filtered to remove catalyst then concentrated to dryness under vacuum . the residue was recrystallized from ethyl acetate / dichloromethane to provide n 5 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine as a pale blue crystalline solid . diethoxymethyl acetate ( 1 . 9 ml ) was added dropwise to a solution of n 5 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine ( 1 . 5 g , 5 . 9 mmole , example 19 ) in acetic acid ( 15 ml ). the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour then made basic with sodium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then recrystallize from ethanol to provide 6 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 ,- a ] quinoline , m . p . 224 - 226 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 13 ; % h , 5 . 29 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 62 . 90 ; % h , 5 . 44 ; % n , 31 . 52 . 6 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline ( 1 g , 3 . 8 mmole , example 20 ) was added to hydrochloric acid ( 5 ml of 6n ); water ( 20 ml ) was added and the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to ambient temperature then made basic ( ph 11 ) by the addition of sodium hydroxide solution . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , dried then recrystallized from n , n - dimethylformamide to provide 0 . 65 g of the desired product as a solid . a sample of this material was refluxed in a large amount of dichloromethane / methanol , isolated by filtration , then dried to provide 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a solid , m . p .& gt ; 300 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 10 h 6 n 6 : % c , 57 . 14 ; % h , 2 . 88 ; % n , 39 . 98 ; found : % c , 56 . 89 ; % h , 3 . 10 ; % n 39 . 34 . the structure was confirmed by both mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy .
2
an electrical machine with a heat exchanger is provided in fig1 . the electrical machine 100 may be a generator , a motor , or other electrical machine . the heat exchanger 110 may be in fluid communication with the electrical machine 100 to cool the airflow through the electrical machine 100 . the electrical machine 100 may include a drive end 112 that may be connected to a mechanical load in the case of a motor or may be driven by a turbine , such as an air turbine , hydraulic turbine , or other power input source in the case of a generator . the drive end 112 is connected to the rotor shaft 114 and rotates therewith . the rotation of the rotor shaft 114 also rotates the rotor assembly 122 and the fan blades 116 . the rotation of the fan blades 116 pulls air from the inlet port 118 into the electrical machine 100 . the airflow from the air inlet 118 is directed by the diverter 120 . the air diverter 120 forces air across the front end of the windings in the stator assembly 124 . the air is then allowed to flow through air channels in the rotor assembly 122 . airflow may be apportioned through the air channels in the rotor assembly 122 by devices such as chokes located through the rotor assembly 122 . the airflow may then be collected through the fan blade assembly 116 and distributed to the output port 126 . the output port 126 provides the airflow from the electrical machine 100 to the heat exchanger 110 . the airflow from the electrical machine 100 circulates through the heat exchanger 110 , as denoted by arrow 128 . heat is removed from the airflow 128 by an airflow 132 which is circulated from the inlet port 130 of the heat exchanger 110 to the outlet port 134 of the heat exchanger 110 . accordingly , the heat from the airflow 128 of the electric machine 100 transfers the heat generated by the electric machine 110 to the airflow 132 which is then transported away from the electric machine 100 as it leaves the heat exchanger 110 . it is contemplated within this disclosure that the rotor 122 and the stator 124 may be switched such that the rotor 122 is located outside of the stator 124 . in the configurations shown , the rotation of the rotor 122 pushes the air radially through the stator . however , in an implementation where the rotor is outside the stator , rotation of the rotor would pull the air through the stator and , in the same manner , air would be directed to the fan assembly 116 and distributed to the heat exchanger 110 . fig2 is an illustration of an electrical generator which may be an implementation of the electrical machine 100 in fig1 . airflow is received from the inlet port 118 and distributed circumferentially around the electric machine . the airflow is shown as being distributed to a top portion of the electric machine by arrow 212 and to a bottom portion of the electric machine by arrow 210 . however , it should be noted that the stator and rotor would typically be cylindrical in nature and , therefore , the airflow would be distributed circumferentially around the entire electrical machine by the air diverter 120 . the air diverter 120 would provide the airflow 212 to the windings 215 of the electric machine . the air diverter 120 may provide the air through openings within a plate while other solid portions of the plate may block airflow , thereby diverting the airflow to the openings which are distributed circumferentially around the plate and aligned radially with the end turns of the windings . the airflow will be drawn through the electrical machine by the fan assembly 116 and also by rotation of the rotor assembly 122 . accordingly , the airflow 212 may be split into an airflow 214 that is drawn around the outside of the stator assembly 124 by the fan assembly 116 and also airflow 216 which is drawn through axial air channels 218 in the rotor assembly 122 . the airflow 216 is drawn into the axial air channels 218 by rotation of the rotor assembly 122 . the rotation of the rotor assembly 122 pushes air through radial air channels 220 in the stator assembly 122 . each of the radial air channels 220 in the rotor assembly 122 are aligned with corresponding radial air channels 222 in the stator assembly 224 . for example , air channels 224 in the rotor may be aligned in the axial dimension with the air channels 226 at the same axial location in the stator . multiple air channels 224 and 226 have the same axial location but are radially spaced around the rotor and stator . to aid in the distribution of air through the radial air channels along the axial length of the rotor assembly 122 , one or more devices , for example chokes , may be located within the axial air channel 218 at one or more axial locations along the length of the rotor assembly 122 . for example , an internal choke 228 may be located within the first few radial channels . the internal choke 228 may block a portion of the airflow 216 , thereby aiding distribution of the airflow through the first few radial channels . the internal choke 228 may block 25 % of the cross - sectional area of the axial air channel 218 although various other percentages may be used depending on the location of the choke within the air channel and the axial location of the choke within the air channel . in addition , a plurality of chokes may be used and located at variously axial locations along the length of the rotor assembly 122 . further , each choke may block an increased amount of cross - sectional area of the channel 218 as the axial location increases from the intake of the axial channel 218 to the exit of the axial channel 218 . for example , while the interior choke 228 may block 50 % of the cross - sectional area of the channel 218 , a choke that is closer to the exit of the axial channel 218 may block a larger percentage of the cross - sectional area , for example choke 230 at the exhaust of the axial channel 218 may block 75 % of the cross - sectional area of the channel 218 . accordingly , the airflow that is diverted through the radial channels , denoted by arrows 232 , may join up with the airflow 214 diverted along the outside of the stator . airflows 232 and 214 may then be drawn back across the exhaust side of the windings into the intake opening 234 of the fan assembly 116 . further , a portion of the airflow 216 through the axial air channel 218 may exit the exhaust end past the exhaust choke 230 , as denoted by arrow 233 . the airflow 233 may join up with the airflows 214 and 232 entering the intake port 234 of the fan assembly 116 . accordingly , the airflows are then communicated to the exhaust port 126 , as denoted by arrow 236 . a method for cooling an electric machine , such as a generator is provided by the flow chart in fig3 . the method 300 starts in block 310 . in block 310 , cool air enters electric machine . for example , the cool air may enter from a heat exchanger at a drive end along the top of the electric machine . in block 312 , the airflow is routed by an air diverter . the air diverter balances the air distribution around the perimeter of the housing . as noted in block 314 , the air diverter routes the airflow across the winding end . for example , the airflow pulled through the air diverter flows across the end turns of the windings and into the center of the rotor . most of the airflow may be pulled into the center of the rotor through air channels oriented axially through the rotor assembly . some airflow may immediately move outside of the stator core traversing around the outside of the stator . other portions of the airflow may then be pulled into the center of the rotor core , as noted by block 316 . rotation of the rotor core causes a natural pumping action that is combined with the shaft fan pumping action to draw the air to the non - drive end of the electric motor . in block 318 , the rotation of the rotor causes the air in the rotor to be expelled through radial vents towards the outer portion of the rotor . the radial vents may be located along the axial length of the rotor thereby drawing air through the entire rotor . for example , i - beams in the radial vents may naturally act as a centrifugal fan to pump the air radially to the outer edge of the rotor . an interior choke inside the rotor may slow down the incoming air , as denoted by block 320 . the interior choke minimizes the separation of the air from the outer surface of the axial air channels , as discussed elsewhere in this application . without the choke , the separation of air from the outer radial surface of the air channels which may starve the airflow through the first few radial vents and , thereby , create a hot spot in the magnets , windings , or laminates . in block 322 , air continues through the rotor and is distributed through the radial vents pulling heat from the rotor laminations and magnets . an additional exhaust choke may be located at the non - drive end of the rotor to ensure that most of the air space is forced through radial vents . the exhaust choke helps to ensure that most of the air is forced through the radial vents rather than traveling axially through the entire rotor and collecting at the fan entrance . air from the rotors blow into stator radial vents as denoted by block 324 . the stator radial vents are axially aligned with the rotor radial vents . the air from the rotor flows radially through the stator pulling heat from the stator core and windings , as denoted by block 326 . the air that flows radially through the stator collects in the outer axial stator air passageway . air then moves to the non - drive end through the stator axial air passageway , as denoted in block 328 . air is then routed across the non - drive end windings , as denoted in block 330 . the air passing over the end turns cools the windings by pulling heat from the end turns . the airflows from the end turns to the center of the shaft mounted fan . air then enters the shaft mounted fan and is discharged radially , as denoted in block 332 . air leaves the non - drive end and may , for example , be provided to a heat exchanger at a top of the electric machine at the non - drive end . if the heat is provided to a heat exchanger , the hot air enters the counter - flow air to exchange the heat thereby cooling the airflow , as denoted by block 336 . cooled air may then be provided from the heat exchanger back to the electric machine , as provided in block 310 , where the cycle may continue . fig4 is a color illustration of the airflow through an electric machine . the airflow is denoted at the intake by reference numeral 410 . cooler air is shown by the blue color and hotter air at the top of the display temperature range is shown as a red color . accordingly , it can be seen that the airflow 410 starts at the intake as blue and traverses to the non - drive end absorbing heat from the electric machine . therefore , the increase in temperature is denoted by the green and yellow colors at the non - drive end of the airflow . further , it is noted that a vacuum illustrated at circle 412 may form at the drive end of the axial rotor shaft . as such , the airflow would separate from the outer surface of the axial air channel that travels through the rotor . the separation may starve the first few radial air channels . however , the airflow then is directed to the outer surface , as denoted by reference numeral 414 , as the airflow progresses longitudinally along the axial air channel . the separation at reference numeral 412 may starve the first few radial channels of airflow thereby causing overheating in portions of the drive end of the electric machine . devices , such as chokes , may be located within the axial air channel to redistribute the airflow in a balanced manner through all the radial channels . fig5 is a color depiction of airflow illustrating an electric machine where no inner choke is utilized and a 75 % exhaust choke is utilized . the airflow is denoted at the entrance port by reference numeral 510 . the airflow through the first channel is denoted by reference numeral 512 and the airflow through the second radial channel is denoted by reference numeral 514 . the flow through the first channel 512 and the second channel 514 is much smaller in volume than the airflow through the latter radial channels . therefore , the airflow is less able to cool the drive end of the rotor and stator . this can be visualized by the yellowish color of the airflow near the drive end which denotes a higher temperature in the air circulating around the stator and rotor . fig6 is a color depiction of airflow illustrating an electric machine where a 25 % inner choke and a 75 % exhaust choke is utilized . the airflow is denoted at the entrance port by reference numeral 610 . compared with fig5 , the airflow through the first channel 612 and the airflow through the second radial channel 614 are greatly increased . accordingly , the rotor and stator towards the drive end are much cooler , as visualized by the darker green color . further , good airflow is maintained in the radial passages in the middle of the rotor and stator due to the exhaust choke at the non - drive end of the axial channel . fig7 is a graph illustrating the temperature of the rotor interior ( e . g . magnets ), stator laminations , and windings with respect to the axial distance from the drive end of the electric machine . the temperature of the windings is illustrated by line 710 . the temperature of the stator laminations is denoted by reference numeral 712 and the temperature of the magnets is denoted by reference numeral 714 . generally , the temperature of the rotor interior is less than the temperature of the stator laminations . further , the temperature of the stator laminations is generally less than the temperature of the windings . the graph provided in fig7 relates the temperature of the magnet , stator laminations , and windings with no interior choke and a 75 % exhaust choke . this also corresponds to the airflow in fig5 . these temperatures are with a 63 ° c . air from a heat exchanger and a 40 ° c . ambient temperature . fig8 is a graph illustrating the temperature of the magnet , stator laminations , and windings with respect to the axial distance from the drive end of the electric machine . the temperature of the windings is illustrated by line 810 . the temperature of the stator laminations is denoted by reference numeral 812 and the temperature of the magnets is denoted by reference numeral 814 . the graph provided in fig8 relates the temperature of the magnet , stator laminations , and windings with a 25 % interior choke and a 75 % exhaust choke . in this context , a 25 % choke relates to , for example , a 25 % reduction in the cross sectional area of the air channel . this also corresponds to the airflow in fig4 . these temperatures are with a 63 ° c . air from a heat exchanger and a 40 ° c . ambient temperature . fig9 is a graph illustrating the temperature of the magnet , stator laminations , and windings with respect to the axial distance from the drive end of the electric machine . the temperature of the windings is illustrated by line 910 . the temperature of the stator laminations is denoted by reference numeral 912 and the temperature of the magnets is denoted by reference numeral 914 . the graph provided in fig9 relates the temperature of the magnet , stator laminations , and windings with a 50 % interior choke and a 75 % exhaust choke . this also corresponds to the airflow in fig6 . these temperatures are with a 63 ° c . air from a heat exchanger and a 40 ° c . ambient temperature . in one example , design goal may be to keep the variation in the stator lamination to less than 10 degrees c . variation while minimizing the average magnet temperature and minimizing the peak winding temperature . in this case the pressure drop may also be observed to minimize fan power . the preferred configuration for one implementation was achieved with the 25 % inlet choke and 75 % exhaust choke which achieved a 7 degree c . stator temperature variation ( max to min ) and had an average magnet temperature of 31 . 9 deg c . the improved performance of this implementation is illustrated by the limited variation in line 812 and 814 in fig8 . this improved performance is clarified when comparing , with the system having no interior choke and 75 % exhaust choke in fig7 . the system of fig7 , has a 9 degree c . stator temperature variation and had an average rotor interior temperature of 30 . 1 deg c . the improved performance can also be compared with the system having 50 % interior choke and 75 % exhaust choke in fig9 . the system of fig9 had a 13 degree c . stator temperature variation ( max to min ) and had an average magnet temperature of 28 . 3 deg c . ( fan power was also increasing ). thus it is possible to “ over choke ” the interior choke . the exhaust choke was less sensitive although it did seem to function better at about 75 % ( or greater ) or the shaft mounted fan aft of the rotor could pull too much air and the rear rotor vents could starve . fig1 is an end view of a rotor assembly 122 . the rotor may be made up of a number of plates in the form of round disks . the disks may then be stacked and fastened to form the rotor assembly 122 . the axial channels in the rotor assembly 122 are denoted by reference numeral 218 . the interior choke 228 can be seen blocking approximately 25 % of the axial channel 218 . further , the exhaust choke 230 may be seen blocking a larger portion of the axial channel 218 . for example , the exhaust choke 230 may block approximately 75 % of the cross - sectional area of the axial channel 218 . further , a hole may be provided in each of the plates allowing the rotor shaft 114 to extend therethrough . the rotor shaft 114 may be keyed to each of the plates thereby causing rotation of the rotor assembly 122 based on rotation of the rotor shaft 114 . fig1 is one of a plurality of plates that may be used to build the rotor assembly 122 . the plate 1110 may be formed of a laminated steel or other magnetically conductive materials . the rotor plate 1110 may be in the form of a disk such as a circular disk . the plate 1110 may include a plurality of holes 1114 arranged circumferentially around a center of the plate . the holes 1114 may form a portion of the axial air channel through the rotor assembly 122 . the plate 1110 may also include a hole 1118 through the center of the plate allowing the rotor shaft to extend therethrough . in addition , the hole 1118 may include one or more keyways 1112 allowing the rotor shaft to engage the plate 1110 and rotate it along with the rotation of the rotor shaft . in addition , the plate may include a plurality of holes 1116 allowing fasteners to extend therethrough , thereby fastening the plurality of plates together to form the rotor assembly 122 . fig1 is rotor vent plate that may be used to build the rotor assembly 122 . the rotor vent plate 1210 may be formed of a laminated steel or other magnetically conductive materials . the rotor plate 1210 may be in the form of a disk such as a circular disk . the plate 1210 may include a plurality of holes 1214 arranged circumferentially around a center of the plate . the plate 1210 may also include a hole 1218 through the center of the plate allowing the rotor shaft to extend therethrough . in addition , the hole 1218 may include one or more keyways 1212 allowing the rotor shaft to engage the plate 1210 and rotate the plate 1210 with the rotation of the rotor shaft . the plate 1210 may include i - beams 1220 welded to a surface of the plate and extending radially . the i - beams 1220 may be located around the circumference of the plate 1210 . the i - beams 1220 may be periodically spaced about the circumference , for example with equal angular spacing . further , one or more i - beams may also be attached to portions 1222 of the plate extending between the holes 1214 , as denoted by reference numeral 1224 . the rotation of the plate 1210 causes the i - beams 1220 to force the air radially to the outer edge of the plate 1210 . accordingly , the rotor may act like a centrifugal pump . in addition , the plate 1210 may include a plurality of holes 1216 allowing fasteners to extend therethrough , thereby fastening multiple plates together to form the rotor assembly 122 . fig1 is a plate for restricting air flow that may be used to build the rotor assembly 122 . the plate 1310 may be formed of a laminated steel or other magnetically conductive materials . the rotor plate 1310 may be in the form of a disk such as a circular disk . the plate 1310 may include a plurality of holes 1314 arranged circumferentially around a center of the plate . the holes 1314 may form a portion of the axial air channel through the rotor assembly 122 . specifically , the holes 1314 may have a smaller cross sectional area than the holes 1114 through plate 1110 . as such , the portion of the plate 1310 extending into the axial air channel defined by holes 1114 forms a choke to redistribute airflow through the axial air channel . the plate 1310 may be located after the first few radial air channels or vents . alternatively , multiple plates 1310 may be located along the rotor assembly , for example having holes 1314 with different shapes and / or cross sectional areas . as such , plate 1310 may form an interior choke for the rotor assembly 122 . the holes 1314 may have less than 90 % of the cross sectional area of the holes 1114 . the holes 1314 may have a cross section area more than 60 % of the cross section area of the holes 1114 . in some applications , the cross section area of the holes 1314 may be about 75 % of the cross sectional area of holes 1114 . the plate 1310 may also include a hole 1318 through the center of the plate allowing the rotor shaft to extend therethrough . in addition , the hole 1318 may include one or more keyways 1312 allowing the rotor shaft to engage the plate 1310 and rotate it along with the rotation of the rotor shaft . in addition , the plate may include a plurality of holes 1316 allowing fasteners to extend therethrough , thereby fastening the plurality of plates together to form the rotor assembly 122 . fig1 is a plate for restricting air flow that may be used to build the rotor assembly 122 . the plate 1410 may be formed of a laminated steel or other magnetically conductive materials . the rotor plate 1410 may be in the form of a disk such as a circular disk . the plate 1410 may include a plurality of holes 1414 arranged circumferentially around a center of the plate . the holes 1414 may form a portion of the axial air channel through the rotor assembly 122 . specifically , the holes 1414 may have a smaller cross sectional area than the holes 1114 through plate 1110 . as such , the portion of the plate 1410 extending into the axial air channel defined by holes 1114 forms a choke to redistribute airflow through the axial air channel . the plate 1410 may be located at the exhaust end of the axial air channel . as such , plate 1410 may form an exhaust choke for the rotor assembly 122 . the holes 1414 may have less than 40 % of the cross sectional area of the holes 1114 . the holes 1414 may have a cross section area more than 10 % of the cross section area of the holes 1114 . in some applications , the cross section area of the holes 1414 may be about 25 % of the cross sectional area of holes 1114 . the plate 1410 may also include a hole 1418 through the center of the plate allowing the rotor shaft to extend therethrough . in addition , the hole 1418 may include one or more keyways 1412 allowing the rotor shaft to engage the plate 1410 and rotate it along with the rotation of the rotor shaft . in addition , the plate may include a plurality of holes 1416 allowing fasteners to extend therethrough thereby fastening the plurality of plates together to form the rotor assembly 122 . fig1 is a plate that forms the radial stator vents . the plate 1510 may be made of a laminated steel or other magnetically conducting material . the plate 1510 may have an opening 1512 allowing the rotor to extend therethrough . the plate 1510 may be in the shape of a disk and may include projections 1514 extending inwardly toward the center of the plate 1510 and as such , towards the rotor . the plate may include i - beams 1516 welded to a surface of the plate and extending radially . the i - beams may extend from the edge of the plate along the center of the projections inwardly towards the rotor . the projections 1514 may form channels 1518 that may be oriented axially with respect to the stator . fig1 is a plate that forms the air diverter 120 . the plate 1610 may be formed of a metal , plastic , or other material sufficiently sturdy for diverting air flow through the electric machine . the plate 1610 may be in the form of a disk such as a circular disk . the plate 1610 may be mounted to the housing of the electrical machine and , therefore , may be stationary . the plate 1610 may include a plurality of holes 1616 arranged circumferentially around a center of the plate . as such , the holes 1616 may from an annual passage through the plate 1610 . the holes 1616 may force the airflow to the outer portion of the electric machine . in particular , the holes 1616 may be located radially outside the windings such that a portion of the airflow is forced to travel from the air inlet across the end turns of the windings before entering the rotor axial channels . the annular opening formed by the holes 1616 may have an inner diameter that is larger than the diameter of a circular pattern formed by the axial air channels of the rotor . further , the annular opening may have an inner diameter that is larger than the rotor diameter . in addition , the annular opening may have an outer diameter that larger than the diameter of the stator windings , such that the airflow is forced past the stator windings prior to entering the axial air channels . the air diverter may be located axially adjacent to the windings such that the air flow is not allowed to travel directly to the axial air channels of the rotor without interacting with the end turns of the windings . the plate 1610 may also include a hole 1614 through the center of the plate allowing the rotor shaft to extend therethrough . fig1 is an illustration identifying one implementation of an air diverter . the housing of the electric machine 1710 may include an air inlet port 1714 and an air exhaust port 1716 . air may flow through the inlet port 1714 and be diverted by the air diverter 1712 peripherally around the circumference of the housing 1710 . in fig1 , the air diverter 1712 may be formed by a disk shaped plate like the air diverter shown in fig1 . as such , projections from the air diverter 1712 may form openings that direct the air over the end turns of the winding in the stator . as such , the air would flow over the end turns of the windings and then towards the rotor and through axial air channels in the rotor to cool internally both the rotor and stator . the air will then proceed from the rotor and stator to the exit port 1716 such that the heat may be removed from the electric machine . fig1 is an illustration identifying one implementation of an air diverter . the housing of the electric machine 1810 may include an air inlet port 1814 and an air exhaust port 1816 . air may flow through the inlet port 1814 and be diverted by the air diverter 1812 peripherally around the circumference of the housing 1810 . in fig1 , the air diverter 1812 may be a baffle formed by a partially conical or cylindrical surface . the baffle may be extending radially inward from the housing of the electrical machine . as such , the partially conical or cylindrical surface of the air diverter 1812 may direct a portion of the airflow from the inlet port 1814 over the end turns of the winding in the stator . as such , the air would flow over the end turns and the windings and then towards the rotor and through axial air channels in the rotor to cool internally both the rotor and stator . the air will then proceed from the rotor and stator to the exit port 1816 such that the heat may be removed from the electric machine . fig1 is an illustration identifying one implementation of an air diverter . the housing of the electric machine 1910 may include an air inlet port 1914 and an air exhaust port 1916 . air may flow through the inlet port 1914 and be diverted by the air diverter 1912 peripherally around the circumference of the housing 1910 . in fig1 , the air diverter 1812 is formed by a cylinder located around the rotor shaft and extending radially outward . the cylinder may be have a radius greater than the distance from the center of the rotor shaft to the axial air channels . as such , the cylinder may direct the air over the end turns of the winding in the stator . as such , the air would flow over the end turns and the windings and then towards the rotor and through axial air channels in the rotor to cool internally both the rotor and stator . the air will then proceed from the rotor and stator to the exit port 1816 such that the heat may be removed from the electric machine . while a particular implementation of the above described concepts may be a permanent magnet machine , the concepts are equally applicable to electrical machines in general . other types of electrical machines incorporating the above described elements may include , but are not limited to , wound - field synchronous , induction , switched reluctance , or variable reluctance machines . further , any of the elements described above may be implemented alone or in combination regardless of the particularly described exemplary embodiments . as a person skilled in the art will readily appreciate , the above description is meant as an illustration of the principles of this application . this description is not intended to limit the scope or application of this invention in that the invention is susceptible to modification , variation and change , without departing from spirit of this application , as defined in the following claims .
7
as used herein , the term “ alkoxy ” is intended to include c 1 - c 8 alkoxy and alkoxy derivatives of polyols having repeating units such as butylene oxide , glycidol oxide , ethylene oxide or propylene oxide . as used herein , the terms “ alkyl ” and “ alkyl capped ” are intended to include c 1 - c 18 alkyl groups , and in one aspect , c 1 - c 6 alkyl groups . as used herein , the term “ aryl ” is intended to include c 3 - c 12 aryl groups . as used herein , the term “ arylalkyl ” is intended to include c 1 - c 18 alkyl groups and , in one aspect , c 1 - c 6 alkyl groups . as used herein , the term “ formally charged moiety ” means a moiety having at least one formal positive charge or at least one formal negative charge in aqueous solution at a ph in the range from 7 to 11 . the terms “ ethylene oxide ,” “ propylene oxide ” and “ butylene oxide ” may be shown herein by their typical designation of “ eo ,” “ po ” and “ bo ,” respectively . as used herein , the term “ laundry care composition ” includes , unless otherwise indicated , granular , powder , liquid , gel , paste , unit dose bar form and / or flake type washing agents and / or fabric treatment compositions . as used herein , the term “ fabric treatment composition ” includes , unless otherwise indicated , fabric softening compositions , fabric enhancing compositions , fabric freshening compositions and combinations there of . such compositions may be , but need not be rinse added compositions . as used herein , “ cellulosic substrates ” are intended to include any substrate which comprises at least a majority by weight of cellulose . cellulose may be found in wood , cotton , linen , jute , and hemp . cellulosic substrates may be in the form of powders , fibers , pulp and articles formed from powders , fibers and pulp . cellulosic fibers , include , without limitation , cotton , rayon ( regenerated cellulose ), acetate ( cellulose acetate ), triacetate ( cellulose triacetate ), and mixtures thereof . articles formed from cellulosic fibers include textile articles such as fabrics . articles formed from pulp include paper . as used herein , the articles including “ the ”, “ a ” and “ an ” when used in a claim , are understood to mean one or more of what is claimed or described . as used herein , the terms “ include ”, “ includes ” and “ including ” are meant to be non - limiting . as used herein , the term “ maximum extinction coefficient ” is intended to describe the molar extinction coefficient at the maximum wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers to 750 nanometers . as a consequence of their manufacturing process , the thiophene azo dyes disclosed herein may contain a distribution of repeating units in their polymeric moiety . accordingly , in one aspect , the molecular weight of the thiophene azo dyes disclosed herein may be reported as an average molecular weight , as determined by its molecular weight distribution . the test methods disclosed in the test methods section of the present application should be used to determine the respective values of the parameters of applicants &# 39 ; inventions . unless otherwise noted , all component or composition levels are in reference to the active portion of that component or composition , and are exclusive of impurities , for example , residual solvents or by - products , which may be present in commercially available sources of such components or compositions . all percentages and ratios are calculated by weight unless otherwise indicated . all percentages and ratios are calculated based on the total composition unless otherwise indicated . it should be understood that every maximum numerical limitation given throughout this specification includes every lower numerical limitation , as if such lower numerical limitations were expressly written herein . every minimum numerical limitation given throughout this specification will include every higher numerical limitation , as if such higher numerical limitations were expressly written herein . every numerical range given throughout this specification will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such broader numerical range , as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expressly written herein . all documents cited are , in relevant part , incorporated herein by reference ; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention . the hueing agents of the present invention include thiophene azo dyes which contain a formally charged moiety . however , these thiophene azo dyes do not comprise a meta - bis ( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - trimethylammonium propyl ) amino tolyl group . in one aspect , the aforementioned thiophene azo dyes comprise a thiophene moiety , an azo moiety and a coupler moiety , said thiophene moiety being covalently bound to said azo moiety and said coupler being covalently bound to said azo moiety , at least one of said thiophene and / or azo moieties comprising a formally charged moiety . the hueing agents of the present invention may be dyes , pigments , or polymeric colorants generally comprising a chromophore constituent and a polymeric constituent . the chromophore constituent is characterized in that it emits or absorbs wavelength in the range of blue , red , violet , purple , or combinations thereof upon exposure to light . in one aspect , the chromophore constituent exhibits an absorbance spectrum maximum in the wavelength range of about 400 nanometers to about 750 nanometers , in another aspect of about 520 nanometers to about 650 nanometers , in yet another aspect of about 540 nanometers to about 630 nanometers , in another aspect of about 560 nanometers to about 610 nanometers , in another aspect of about 565 nanometers to about 580 nanometers in methanol solution . examples of suitable polymeric constituents include polyoxyalkylene chains having multiple repeating units . in one aspect , the polymeric constituents include polyoxyalkylene chains having from 2 to about 30 repeating units , from 2 to about 20 repeating units , from 2 to about 10 repeating units or even from about 3 or 4 to about 6 repeating units . non - limiting examples of polyoxyalkylene chains include ethylene oxide , propylene oxide , glycidol oxide , butylene oxide and mixtures thereof . in one aspect of the invention , the thiophene azo dye contains a formally charged moiety , with the proviso that the dye does not comprise a meta - bis ( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - trimethylammoniumpropyl ) amino tolyl group . the thiophene azo dye exhibits , in the wavelength range of about 400 nm to about 750 nm in methanol solution , or of about 520 nm to about 650 nm in methanol solution , or of about 540 nm to about 630 nm in methanol solution , or of about 560 nm to about 610 nm in methanol solution , or of about 565 nm to about 580 nm in methanol solution , a maximum extinction coefficient from about 1000 to about 1 , 000 , 000 liter / mol / cm , or from about 5 , 000 to about 750 , 000 liter / mol / cm , or from about 10 , 000 to about 500 , 000 liter / mol / cm , or from about 20 , 000 to about 250 , 000 liter / mol / cm . the thiophene azo dye exhibits a molecular weight from greater than 300 daltons , or from about 300 daltons to about 5000 daltons , or from about 350 daltons to about 3000 daltons , or from about 400 daltons to about 1500 daltons . the thiophene azo dye exhibits an aqueous partition value from about 10 % to 100 % or from about 20 % to 100 % or from about 30 % to 100 % or from about 40 % to 100 %, said dye comprising a non - covalently bound charge balancing counterion . the thiophene azo dye further exhibits an aqueous partition value from 0 % to about 40 %, from 0 % to about 30 %, from 0 % to about 20 %, or from about 1 % to about 10 %, said dye comprising a covalently bound charge balancing counterion . the thiophene azo dye of the present invention may be represented by general formula ( i ): a .) r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are each independently selected from hydrogen , electron - withdrawing moieties , and electron - donating moieties , provided that at least one of r 1 , r 2 and r 3 is an electron - withdrawing moiety ; in another aspect , r 1 is an electron - withdrawing moiety ; in yet another aspect , r 1 and r 3 are electron - withdrawing moieties ; and b .) wherein x is an organic moiety having a molecular weight from about 65 daltons to about 4855 daltons , or from about 150 daltons to about 2855 daltons , or from about 193 daltons to about 1355 daltons , or from about 300 daltons to about 855 daltons , or from about 400 daltons to about 600 daltons , or from about 420 daltons to about 575 daltons . in yet another aspect of the thiophene azo dye , each r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be independently selected from hydrogen , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl , ( c 3 - c 10 )- aryl , carboxylate , cyano , sulfonate , phosphonate , sulfate , acetate , nitro , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ester , halogen or amino moiety , or each r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be independently selected from hydrogen , nitro , cyano , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ester or ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl . in a further aspect of the thiophene azo dye , the x may be a moiety having formula ( ii ) below : i .) r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( iii ) below i .) each r 8 is independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 8 alkyl optionally substituted with a hydroxy , or acetyl ; iii .) y is selected from a sulfonate , carboxylate , a phosphonate or quaternary ammonium species selected from an imidazolium , pyridinium , morpholinium , piperidinium , or a moiety having formula ( iv ) below : i .) r 9 is a c 1 - c 8 alkyl moiety optionally substituted with — oh , ii .) r 10 is selected from c 1 - c 18 alkyl moiety optionally substituted with — oh , or c 2 - c 8 alkyl substituted with sulfonate , or c 1 - c 8 alkyl substituted with carboxylate , iii .) z is a charge balancing counterion of unit charge c ; the index b is 1 when r 10 is a c 1 - c 18 alkyl moiety optionally substituted with — oh , otherwise the index b = 0 ; or , r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( v ) below : i .) each r 11 and r 12 is independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 8 alkyl , aryl , acetyl or hydroxyl moiety ; m and n are independent and are integers from 0 to 10 , or , r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( vi ) below : i .) r 13 is selected from an aryl moiety , arylalkyl moiety such as a benzyl moiety , c 1 - c 18 alkyl moiety , or a siloxane moiety ; ii .) each r 14 is independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 4 alkyl ; m is an integer from 0 to 10 ; and ii .) r 5 can be the same as r 4 or selected from c 1 - c 12 alkyl moiety , aryl moiety or arylalkyl moiety such as a benzyl moiety ; wherein the index a is an integer from 0 to 4 , or from 0 to 3 , or from 0 to 2 , and each r 6 may be independently selected from a c 1 - c 6 alkyl , a c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , a nitro , a hydroxyl , a halogen , or — nhc ( o ) r 22 wherein r 22 is selected from h , — nh 2 , c 1 - c 6 alkyl , phenyl , —( ch 2 ) s or 23 where the index s is 1 or 2 and r 23 is selected from me , phenyl , and — co 2 ch 2 cn ; — nhso 2 r 24 wherein r 24 is c 1 - c 4 alkyl or phenyl ; said alkyl , alkoxy and acetamido moieties may be optionally substituted with a formally charged moiety ; wherein each r 4 and r 5 can independently be selected from : a ) [( ch 2 cr ′ ho ) x ( ch 2 cr ″ ho ) y r 15 ]; d ) the amino addition product of styrene oxide , glycidyl methyl ether , isobutyl glycidyl ether , isopropylglycidyl ether , t - butyl glycidyl ether , 2 - ethylhexylgycidyl ether , and glycidylhexadecyl ether , followed by the addition of from 1 to 10 alkylene oxide units wherein at least one such alkyleneoxide unit is substituted with r 15 that is not — h ; wherein r ′ is selected from the group consisting of h , ch 3 , ch 2 — o —( ch 2 ch 2 o ) z r 15 , and mixtures thereof ; r ″ is selected from the group consisting of h , ch 2 — o —( ch 2 ch 2 o ) z r 15 , and mixtures thereof ; x + y ≦ 20 ; y ≧ 1 ; z = 0 to 10 ; each r 15 is independently selected from — h and — ch 2 chr 18 n + r 19 r 20 r 21 wherein r 18 is selected from — h and — ch 3 ; each r 19 and r 20 is independently selected from c 1 - c 4 alkyl optionally substituted with — oh ; r 21 is independently selected from c 1 - c 12 optionally — oh substituted alkyl or ( ch 2 ) r o p q ; the index r is an integer from 1 to 8 ; the index p is 0 or 1 ; and wherein q is an anionic group selected from — co 2 − , and — so 3 − ; r 16 is selected from the group consisting of h , ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) z r 15 wherein z = 0 to 10 , and mixtures thereof ; r 17 is selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 16 alkyl , c 6 - c 10 aryl groups , and mixtures thereof ; the index m is an integer from 0 to 4 and each r 6 is as defined above ; z is a charge balancing counterion of unit charge c ; the index b is equal to the number of non - h r 15 groups that do not comprise a covalently bound charge balancing counterion ; further provided the molecule contains at least one non - h r 15 group . in a further aspect of the thiophene azo dye , x may be a moiety having formula ( ii ) below : i .) r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( iii ) below i .) r 8 is a hydrogen , c 1 - c 4 alkyl moiety or aryl moiety ; ii .) y is a quaternary ammonium species selected from a group consisting of an imidazolium , or a moiety having formula ( iv ) below : i .) r 9 is a c 1 - c 2 alkyl moiety , ii .) r 10 is selected from c 1 - c 8 alkyl moiety optionally substituted with — oh , or c 2 - c 4 alkyl substituted with sulfonate , or c 1 - c 4 alkyl substituted with carboxylate , iii .) z is a charge balancing counterion of unit charge c ; the index b is 1 when r 10 is a c 1 - c 8 alkyl moiety optionally substituted with — oh , otherwise the index b = 0 ; or , r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( v ) below : i .) each r 11 and r 12 is independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 4 alkyl or aryl moiety ; m and n are independent and are integers from 0 to 5 , or , r 4 is selected from a moiety having formula ( vi ) below : i .) r 13 is selected from an aryl moiety , benzyl moiety , or a c 1 - c 18 alkyl moiety ; ii .) each r 14 is independently selected from hydrogen or — ch 3 ; m is an integer from 0 to 10 , ii .) r 5 can be the same as r 4 or selected from c 1 - c 6 alkyl moiety or benzyl moiety ; iii .) wherein the index a is an integer from 0 to 2 , and each r 6 may be independently selected from methyl , methoxy , or acetamido moiety . in one aspect of the thiophene azo dye of the present invention , each r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be independently selected from hydrogen , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl , ( c 3 - c 10 )- aryl , carboxylate , cyano , sulfonate , phosphonate , sulfate , acetate , nitro , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ester , halogen or amino moiety , or each r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be independently selected from hydrogen , nitro , cyano , ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl ester or ( c 1 - c 4 )- alkyl . in yet a further aspect , the thiophene azo dye of the present invention may be represented by formula ( viii ): wherein the a moiety is selected from the group consisting of table 1a moieties nos . 1 - 118 , or table 1a moieties nos . 6 - 11 , 15 , 21 - 23 , 30 - 31 , 33 - 39 , 41 , 43 , 46 - 48 , 50 - 55 , 57 - 58 , 64 - 65 , 70 - 73 , 77 - 78 , 82 - 86 , 88 - 90 , 93 - 95 , 99 - 100 , 104 - 106 , and 110 - 118 , or table 1a moieties nos . 9 - 11 , 15 , 23 , 34 - 35 , 37 - 39 , 41 , 43 , 47 , 50 - 51 , 57 - 58 , 77 , 83 , 89 , 95 , 106 , and 110 - 118 ; and wherein the x moiety is selected from the group consisting of table 4x moieties nos . 1 - 31 . in yet another aspect , the thiophene azo dye of the present invention may be represented by wherein the moiety a is selected from table 1a moieties nos . 1 - 118 , or from table 1a moieties nos . 6 - 11 , 15 , 21 - 23 , 30 - 31 , 33 - 39 , 41 , 43 , 46 - 48 , 50 - 55 , 57 - 58 , 64 - 65 , 70 - 73 , 77 - 78 , 82 - 86 , 88 - 90 , 93 - 95 , 99 - 100 , 104 - 106 , and 110 - 118 , or from table 1a moieties nos . 9 - 11 , 15 , 23 , 34 - 35 , 37 - 39 , 41 , 43 , 47 , 50 - 51 , 57 - 58 , 77 , 83 , 89 , 95 , 106 , and 110 - 118 ; a = 0 to 2 ; when a = 1 or 2 , r 6 is selected from table 2 r 6 substituent identity and position nos . 1 - 40 , or from table 2 r 6 substituent identity and position nos . 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 - 9 , 11 - 14 , 21 , 23 - 24 , 31 , 33 - 34 , 36 and 40 , or from table 2 r 6 substituent identity and position nos . 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 31 , 36 and 40 ; and r 4 and r 5 grouping is selected from table 3 r 4 and r 5 groupings nos . 1 - 69 , or from table 3 r 4 and r 5 groupings nos . 3 - 6 , 10 , 13 - 14 , 17 - 21 , 23 - 24 , 27 - 28 , 31 - 35 , 37 - 38 , 41 , 44 - 49 , 51 - 52 , 54 - 56 , 58 , 60 - 69 , or from table 3 r 4 and r 5 groupings nos . 3 , 5 - 6 , 10 , 13 - 14 , 17 , 19 - 21 , 24 , 27 - 28 , 31 - 34 , 38 , 41 , 44 - 48 , 52 , 54 - 55 , 58 , 60 - 64 and 69 . a moieties may be selected from the moieties shown in table 1 : it is contemplated to be within the scope of this invention that the thiophene azo dye having a formally charged moiety may comprise any one of the a moieties selected from table 1 , any one of the r 6 substituents selected from table 2 , any one of the r 4 and r 5 groupings selected from table 3 , and any one of the x moieties selected from table 4 . in yet another aspect of the invention , suitable thiophene azo dyes include , but are not limited to , the structures shown in table 5 : the hueing agents described in the present specification may be incorporated into laundry care compositions including but not limited to laundry detergents and fabric care compositions . the laundry care compositions including laundry detergents may be in solid or liquid form , including a gel form , and / or unit does forms , including multi - compartment unit dose forms . such compositions may comprise one or more of said hueing agents and a laundry care ingredient . in one aspect , said laundry care composition may comprise , based on total laundry care composition weight , less than 15 % builder , less than 10 % builder , or even less than 5 % builder . in one aspect , said laundry care composition may comprise , based on total laundry care composition weight , a total of no more than 20 % water ; a total of no more than 15 % water ; a total of no more than 10 % water ; or even a total of no more than 5 % water . in one aspect , said laundry care composition may comprise , rising , based on total laundry care composition weight , from about 10 % to about 70 % of a water - miscible organic solvent having a molecular weight of greater than 70 daltons . in one aspect , said laundry care composition may comprise , based on total laundry care composition weight , comprising a perfume microcapsule comprising a core and a shell that encapsulates said core , said perfume microcapsule having a d [ 4 , 3 ] average particle of from about 0 . 01 microns to about 200 microns and optionally a formaldehyde scavenger that is supplied via the addition of the microcapsules ( contained in a perfume microcapsule slurry that is added to the laundry care ingredient ) and / or added directly to the laundry care composition . in one aspect , the shell of said perfume microcapsules may be made of any material , including materials selected from the group consisting of polyethylenes , polyamides , polystyrenes , polyisoprenes , polycarbonates , polyesters , polyacrylates , polyureas , polyurethanes , polyolefins , polysaccharides , epoxy resins , vinyl polymers , and mixtures thereof . in one aspect , useful shell materials include materials that are sufficiently impervious to the core material and the materials in the environment in which the perfume microcapsule will be employed , to permit the delivery perfume to be obtained . suitable impervious shell materials include materials selected from the group consisting of reaction products of one or more amines with one or more aldehydes , such as urea cross - linked with formaldehyde or gluteraldehyde , melamine cross - linked with formaldehyde ; gelatin - polyphosphate coacervates optionally cross - linked with gluteraldehyde ; gelatin - gum arabic coacervates ; cross - linked silicone fluids ; polyamine reacted with polyisocyanates and mixtures thereof . in one aspect , the shell material comprises melamine cross - linked with formaldehyde and / or a polyacrylate . suitable perfume microcapsules may be obtained from appleton papers of appleton wis ., usa . in one aspect , suitable formaldehyde scavengers include materials selected from the group consisting of sodium bisulfite , urea , ethylene urea , cysteine , cysteamine , lysine , glycine , serine , carnosine , histidine , glutathione , 3 , 4 - diaminobenzoic acid , allantoin , glycouril , anthranilic acid , methyl anthranilate , methyl 4 - aminobenzoate , ethyl acetoacetate , acetoacetamide , malonamide , ascorbic acid , 1 , 3 - dihydroxyacetone dimer , biuret , oxamide , benzoguanamine , pyroglutamic acid , pyrogallol , methyl gallate , ethyl gallate , propyl gallate , triethanol amine , succinamide , thiabendazole , benzotriazol , triazole , indoline , sulfanilic acid , oxamide , sorbitol , glucose , cellulose , poly ( vinyl alcohol ), partially hydrolyzed poly ( vinylformamide ), poly ( vinyl amine ), poly ( ethylene imine ), poly ( oxyalkyleneamine ), poly ( vinyl alcohol )- co - poly ( vinyl amine ), poly ( 4 - aminostyrene ), poly ( 1 - lysine ), chitosan , hexane diol , ethylenediamine - n , n ′- bisacetoacetamide , n -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) acetoacetamide , 2 - benzoylacetoacetamide , n -( 3 - phenylpropyl ) acetoacetamide , lilial , helional , melonal , triplal , 5 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - cyclohexanedione , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde , 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 4 , 6 - dione , 2 - pentanone , dibutyl amine , triethylenetetramine , ammonium hydroxide , benzylamine , hydroxycitronellol , cyclohexanone , 2 - butanone , pentane dione , dehydroacetic acid , or a mixture thereof . these formaldehyde scavengers may be obtained from sigma / aldrich / fluka of st . louis , mo . u . s . a . or polysciences , inc . of warrington , pa . u . s . a . such formaldehyde scavengers are typically combined with a slurry containing said perfume microcapsules , at a level , based on total slurry weight , of from about 2 wt . % to about 18 wt . %, from about 3 . 5 wt . % to about 14 wt . % or even from about 5 wt . % to about 13 wt . %. in one aspect , such formaldehyde scavengers may be combined with a product containing a perfume microcapsule , said scavengers being combined with said product at a level , based on total product weight , of from about 0 . 005 % to about 0 . 8 %, alternatively from about 0 . 03 % to about 0 . 5 %, alternatively from about 0 . 065 % to about 0 . 25 % of the product formulation . in another aspect , such formaldehyde scavengers may be combined with a slurry containing said perfume microcapsules , at a level , based on total slurry weight , of from about 2 wt . % to about 14 wt . %, from about 3 . 5 wt . % to about 14 wt . % or even from about 5 wt . % to about 14 wt . % and said slurry may be added to a product matrix to which addition an identical or different scavenger may be added at a level , based on total product weight , of from about 0 . 005 % to about 0 . 5 %, alternatively from about 0 . 01 % to about 0 . 25 %, alternatively from about 0 . 05 % to about 0 . 15 % of the product formulation . in one aspect , one or more of the aforementioned formaldehyde scavengers may be combined with a liquid fabric enhancing product containing perfume microcapsules at a level , based on total liquid fabric enhancing product weight , of from 0 . 005 % to about 0 . 8 %, alternatively from about 0 . 03 % to about 0 . 4 %, alternatively from about 0 . 06 % to about 0 . 25 % of the product formulation . in one aspect , such formaldehyde scavengers may be combined with a liquid laundry detergent product containing perfume microcapsules , said scavengers being selected from the group consisting of sodium bisulfite , urea , ethylene urea , cysteine , cysteamine , lysine , glycine , serine , carnosine , histidine , glutathione , 3 , 4 - diaminobenzoic acid , allantoin , glycouril , anthranilic acid , methyl anthranilate , methyl 4 - aminobenzoate , ethyl acetoacetate , acetoacetamide , malonamide , ascorbic acid , 1 , 3 - dihydroxyacetone dimer , biuret , oxamide , benzoguanamine , pyroglutamic acid , pyrogallol , methyl gallate , ethyl gallate , propyl gallate , triethanol amine , succinamide , thiabendazole , benzotriazol , triazole , indoline , sulfanilic acid , oxamide , sorbitol , glucose , cellulose , poly ( vinyl alcohol ), partially hydrolyzed poly ( vinylformamide ), poly ( vinyl amine ), poly ( ethylene imine ), poly ( oxyalkyleneamine ), poly ( vinyl alcohol )- co - poly ( vinyl amine ), poly ( 4 - aminostyrene ), poly ( l - lysine ), chitosan , hexane diol , ethylenediamine - n , n ′- bisacetoacetamide , n -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) acetoacetamide , 2 - benzoylacetoacetamide , n -( 3 - phenylpropyl ) acetoacetamide , lilial , helional , melonal , triplal , 5 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - cyclohexanedione , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde , 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 4 , 6 - dione , 2 - pentanone , dibutyl amine , triethylenetetramine , ammonium hydroxide , benzylamine , hydroxycitronellol , cyclohexanone , 2 - butanone , pentane dione , dehydroacetic acid and mixtures thereof , and combined with said liquid laundry detergent product at a level , based on total liquid laundry detergent product weight , of from about 0 . 003 wt . % to about 0 . 20 wt . %, from about 0 . 03 wt . % to about 0 . 20 wt . % or even from about 0 . 06 wt . % to about 0 . 14 wt . %. the hueing agents may be added to substrates using a variety of application techniques . for instance , for application to cellulose - containing textile substrates , the hueing agent may be included as a component of a laundry detergent . thus , application to a cellulose - containing textile substrate actually occurs when a consumer adds laundry detergent to a washing machine . the hueing agent may be present in the laundry detergent composition in an amount from about 0 . 000001 % to about 10 % by weight of the composition , from about 0 . 00001 % to about 10 % by weight of the composition , from about 0 . 0001 % to about 5 % by weight of the composition , and even from about 0 . 0001 % to about 1 % by weight of the composition . the laundry detergent composition typically comprises a surfactant in an amount sufficient to provide desired cleaning properties . in one aspect , the laundry detergent composition may comprise , based on total laundry detergent composition weight , from about 0 . 5 % to about 99 % of the surfactant ; from about 1 % to about 95 % of the surfactant ; from about 5 % to about 90 % of the surfactant , from about 5 % to about 70 % of the surfactant , or even from about 5 % to about 40 % of the surfactant . the surfactant may comprise anionic , nonionic , cationic , zwitterionic and / or amphoteric surfactants . in one aspect , the detergent composition comprises anionic surfactant , nonionic surfactant , or mixtures thereof . fabric care compositions are typically added in the rinse cycle , which is after the detergent solution has been used and replaced with the rinsing solution in typical laundering processes . the fabric care compositions disclosed herein may be comprise a rinse added fabric softening active and a suitable hueing agent as disclosed in the present specification . the fabric care composition may comprise , based on total fabric care composition weight , from about 1 % to about 90 %, or from about 5 % to about 50 % fabric softening active . the hueing agent may be present in the fabric care composition in an amount from about 0 . 5 ppb to about 50 ppm , or from about 0 . 5 ppm to about 30 ppm . while not essential for the purposes of the present invention , the non - limiting list of laundry care ingredients illustrated hereinafter are suitable for use in the laundry care compositions and may be desirably incorporated in certain aspects of the invention , for example to assist or enhance performance , for treatment of the substrate to be cleaned , or to modify the aesthetics of the composition as is the case with perfumes , colorants , dyes or the like . it is understood that such ingredients are in addition to the components that were previously listed for any particular aspect . the total amount of such adjuncts may range , once the amount of dye is taken into consideration from about 90 % to about 99 . 99999995 % by weight of the laundry care composition . the precise nature of these additional components , and levels of incorporation thereof , will depend on the physical form of the composition and the nature of the operation for which it is to be used . suitable laundry care ingredients include , but are not limited to , fabric softening actives , polymers , for example cationic polymers , surfactants , builders , chelating agents , dye transfer inhibiting agents , dispersants , enzymes , and enzyme stabilizers , catalytic materials , bleach activators , polymeric dispersing agents , clay soil removal / anti - redeposition agents , brighteners , suds suppressors , dyes , perfume ( s ) including quadrant perfumes and additional perfume delivery systems including perfume loaded zeolites , starch encapsuled accords , and schiff base pro - perfumes , structure elasticizing agents , fabric softeners , carriers , hydrotropes , processing aids and / or pigments . in addition to the disclosure below , suitable examples of such other adjuncts and levels of use are found in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 576 , 282 , 6 , 306 , 812 b1 and 6 , 326 , 348 b1 that are incorporated by reference . as stated , the laundry care ingredients are not essential to applicants &# 39 ; laundry care compositions . thus , certain aspects of applicants &# 39 ; compositions do not contain one or more of the following adjuncts materials : fabric softening actives , bleach activators , surfactants , builders , chelating agents , dye transfer inhibiting agents , dispersants , enzymes , and enzyme stabilizers , catalytic metal complexes , polymeric dispersing agents , clay and soil removal / anti - redeposition agents , brighteners , suds suppressors , dyes , additional perfumes and perfume delivery systems , structure elasticizing agents , fabric softeners , carriers , hydrotropes , processing aids and / or pigments . however , when one or more adjuncts are present , such one or more adjuncts may be present as detailed below : suitable anionic surfactants useful herein can comprise any of the conventional anionic surfactant types typically used in liquid detergent products . these include the alkyl benzene sulfonic acids and their salts as well as alkoxylated or non - alkoxylated alkyl sulfate materials . exemplary anionic surfactants are the alkali metal salts of c 10 - c 16 alkyl benzene sulfonic acids , or c 11 - c 14 alkyl benzene sulfonic acids . in one aspect , the alkyl group is linear and such linear alkyl benzene sulfonates are known as “ las ”. alkyl benzene sulfonates , and particularly las , are well known in the art . such surfactants and their preparation are described for example in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 220 , 099 and 2 , 477 , 383 . especially useful are the sodium and potassium linear straight chain alkylbenzene sulfonates in which the average number of carbon atoms in the alkyl group is from about 11 to 14 . sodium c 11 - c 14 , e . g ., o 12 , las is a specific example of such surfactants . another exemplary type of anionic surfactant comprises ethoxylated alkyl sulfate surfactants . such materials , also known as alkyl ether sulfates or alkyl polyethoxylate sulfates , are those which correspond to the formula : r ′— o —( c 2 h 4 o ) n — so 3 m wherein r ′ is a c 8 - c 20 alkyl group , n is from about 1 to 20 , and m is a salt - forming cation . in one aspect , r ′ is c 10 - c 18 alkyl , n is from about 1 to 15 , and m is sodium , potassium , ammonium , alkylammonium , or alkanolammonium . in one aspect , r ′ is a c 12 - c 16 , n is from about 1 to 6 and m is sodium . the alkyl ether sulfates will generally be used in the form of mixtures comprising varying r ′ chain lengths and varying degrees of ethoxylation . frequently such mixtures will inevitably also contain some non - ethoxylated alkyl sulfate materials , i . e ., surfactants of the above ethoxylated alkyl sulfate formula wherein n = 0 . non - ethoxylated alkyl sulfates may also be added separately to the compositions of this invention and used as or in any anionic surfactant component which may be present . specific examples of non - alkoxylated , e . g ., non - ethoxylated , alkyl ether sulfate surfactants are those produced by the sulfation of higher c 8 - c 20 fatty alcohols . conventional primary alkyl sulfate surfactants have the general formula : roso 3 - m + wherein r is typically a linear c 8 - c 20 hydrocarbyl group , which may be straight chain or branched chain , and m is a water - solubilizing cation . in one aspect , r is a c 10 - c 15 alkyl , and m is alkali metal , more specifically r is c 12 - c 14 and m is sodium . specific , non - limiting examples of anionic surfactants useful herein include : a ) c 11 - c 18 alkyl benzene sulfonates ( las ); b ) c 10 - c 20 primary , branched - chain and random alkyl sulfates ( as ); c ) c 10 - c 18 secondary ( 2 , 3 ) alkyl sulfates having formulae ( i ) and ( ii ): wherein m in formulae ( i ) and ( ii ) is hydrogen or a cation which provides charge neutrality , and all m units , whether associated with a surfactant or adjunct ingredient , can either be a hydrogen atom or a cation depending upon the form isolated by the artisan or the relative ph of the system wherein the compound is used , with non - limiting examples of suitable cations including sodium , potassium , ammonium , and mixtures thereof , and x is an integer of at least about 7 , or at least about 9 , and y is an integer of at least 8 , or at least about 9 ; d ) c 10 - c 18 alkyl alkoxy sulfates ( ae x s ) wherein x is from 1 - 30 ; e ) c 10 - c 18 alkyl alkoxy carboxylates in one aspect , comprising 1 - 5 ethoxy units ; f ) mid - chain branched alkyl sulfates as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 020 , 303 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 060 , 443 ; g ) mid - chain branched alkyl alkoxy sulfates as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 008 , 181 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 020 , 303 ; h ) modified alkylbenzene sulfonate ( mlas ) as discussed in wo 99 / 05243 , wo 99 / 05242 , wo 99 / 05244 , wo 99 / 05082 , wo 99 / 05084 , wo 99 / 05241 , wo 99 / 07656 , wo 00 / 23549 , and wo 00 / 23548 ; i ) methyl ester sulfonate ( mes ); and j ) alpha - olefin sulfonate ( aos ). suitable nonionic surfactants useful herein can comprise any of the conventional nonionic surfactant types typically used in liquid detergent products . these include alkoxylated fatty alcohols and amine oxide surfactants . in one aspect , for use in the liquid detergent products herein are those nonionic surfactants which are normally liquid . suitable nonionic surfactants for use herein include the alcohol alkoxylate nonionic surfactants . alcohol alkoxylates are materials which correspond to the general formula : r 1 ( c m h 2m o ) n oh wherein r 1 is a c 8 - c 16 alkyl group , m is from 2 to 4 , and n ranges from about 2 to 12 . in one aspect , r 1 is an alkyl group , which may be primary or secondary , that comprises from about 9 to 15 carbon atoms , or from about 10 to 14 carbon atoms . in one aspect , the alkoxylated fatty alcohols will also be ethoxylated materials that contain from about 2 to 12 ethylene oxide moieties per molecule , or from about 3 to 10 ethylene oxide moieties per molecule . the alkoxylated fatty alcohol materials useful in the liquid detergent compositions herein will frequently have a hydrophilic - lipophilic balance ( hlb ) which ranges from about 3 to 17 from about 6 to 15 , or from about 8 to 15 . alkoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic surfactants have been marketed under the tradenames neodol and dobanol by the shell chemical company . another suitable type of nonionic surfactant useful herein comprises the amine oxide surfactants . amine oxides are materials which are often referred to in the art as “ semi - polar ” nonionics . amine oxides have the formula : r ( eo ) x ( po ) y ( bo ) z n ( o )( ch 2 r ′) 2 . qh 2 o . in this formula , r is a relatively long - chain hydrocarbyl moiety which can be saturated or unsaturated , linear or branched , and can contain from 8 to 20 , 10 to 16 carbon atoms , or is a c 12 - c 16 primary alkyl . r ′ is a short - chain moiety , in one aspect r ′ may be selected from hydrogen , methyl and — ch 2 oh . when x + y + z is different from 0 , eo is ethyleneoxy , po is propyleneneoxy and bo is butyleneoxy . amine oxide surfactants are illustrated by c 12 - 14 alkyldimethyl amine oxide . non - limiting examples of nonionic surfactants include : a ) c 12 - c 18 alkyl ethoxylates , such as , neodol ® nonionic surfactants from shell ; b ) c 6 - c 12 alkyl phenol alkoxylates wherein the alkoxylate units are a mixture of ethyleneoxy and propyleneoxy units ; c ) c 12 - c 18 alcohol and c 6 - c 12 alkyl phenol condensates with ethylene oxide / propylene oxide block polymers such as pluronic ® from basf ; d ) c 14 - c 22 mid - chain branched alcohols , ba , as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 150 , 322 ; e ) c 14 - c 22 mid - chain branched alkyl alkoxylates , bae x , wherein x if from 1 - 30 , as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 153 , 577 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 020 , 303 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 093 , 856 ; f ) alkylpolysaccharides as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 565 , 647 to llenado , issued jan . 26 , 1986 ; specifically alkylpolyglycosides as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 483 , 780 and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 483 , 779 ; g ) polyhydroxy fatty acid amides as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 332 , 528 , wo 92 / 06162 , wo 93 / 19146 , wo 93 / 19038 , and wo 94 / 09099 ; and h ) ether capped poly ( oxyalkylated ) alcohol surfactants as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 482 , 994 and wo 01 / 42408 . in the laundry detergent compositions herein , the detersive surfactant component may comprise combinations of anionic and nonionic surfactant materials . when this is the case , the weight ratio of anionic to nonionic will typically range from 10 : 90 to 90 : 10 , more typically from 30 : 70 to 70 : 30 . cationic surfactants are well known in the art and non - limiting examples of these include quaternary ammonium surfactants , which can have up to 26 carbon atoms . additional examples include a ) alkoxylate quaternary ammonium ( aqa ) surfactants as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 136 , 769 ; b ) dimethyl hydroxyethyl quaternary ammonium as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 004 , 922 ; c ) polyamine cationic surfactants as discussed in wo 98 / 35002 , wo 98 / 35003 , wo 98 / 35004 , wo 98 / 35005 , and wo 98 / 35006 ; d ) cationic ester surfactants as discussed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 228 , 042 , 4 , 239 , 660 4 , 260 , 529 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 022 , 844 ; and e ) amino surfactants as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 221 , 825 and wo 00 / 47708 , specifically amido propyldimethyl amine ( apa ). non - limiting examples of zwitterionic surfactants include derivatives of secondary and tertiary amines , derivatives of heterocyclic secondary and tertiary amines , or derivatives of quaternary ammonium , quaternary phosphonium or tertiary sulfonium compounds . see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 929 , 678 to laughlin et al ., issued dec . 30 , 1975 at column 19 , line 38 through column 22 , line 48 , for examples of zwitterionic surfactants ; betaine , including alkyl dimethyl betaine and cocodimethyl amidopropyl betaine , c 8 to c 18 ( in one aspect c 12 to c 18 ) amine oxides and sulfo and hydroxy betaines , such as n - alkyl - n , n - dimethylammino - 1 - propane sulfonate where the alkyl group can be c 8 to o 18 , or o 10 to c 14 . non - limiting examples of ampholytic surfactants include aliphatic derivatives of secondary or tertiary amines , or aliphatic derivatives of heterocyclic secondary and tertiary amines in which the aliphatic radical can be straight - or branched - chain . one of the aliphatic substituents comprises at least about 8 carbon atoms , typically from about 8 to about 18 carbon atoms , and at least one comprises an anionic water - solubilizing group , e . g . carboxy , sulfonate , sulfate . see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 929 , 678 to laughlin et al ., issued dec . 30 , 1975 at column 19 , lines 18 - 35 , for examples of ampholytic surfactants . as noted , the laundry care compositions may be in the form of a solid , either in tablet or particulate form , including , but not limited to particles , flakes , sheets , or the like , or the compositions may be in the form of a liquid . the liquid detergent compositions may comprise an aqueous , non - surface active liquid carrier . generally , the amount of the aqueous , non - surface active liquid carrier employed in the compositions herein will be effective to solubilize , suspend or disperse the composition components . for example , the liquid detergent compositions may comprise , based on total liquid detergent composition weight , from about 5 % to about 90 %, from about 10 % to about 70 %, or from about 20 % to about 70 % of the aqueous , non - surface active liquid carrier . the most cost effective type of aqueous , non - surface active liquid carrier is typically water . accordingly , the aqueous , non - surface active liquid carrier component will generally be mostly , if not completely , comprised of water . while other types of water - miscible liquids , such alkanols , diols , other polyols , ethers , amines , and the like , have been conventionally been added to liquid detergent compositions as co - solvents or stabilizers , for purposes of the present invention , the utilization of such water - miscible liquids typically is minimized to hold down composition cost . accordingly , the aqueous liquid carrier component of the liquid detergent products herein will generally comprise water present in concentrations ranging from about 5 % to about 90 %, or from about 5 % to about 70 %, by weight of the liquid detergent composition . bleaching agents — the cleaning compositions of the present invention may comprise one or more bleaching agents . suitable bleaching agents other than bleaching catalysts include photobleaches , bleach activators , hydrogen peroxide , sources of hydrogen peroxide , pre - formed peracids and mixtures thereof . in general , when a bleaching agent is used , the compositions of the present invention may comprise from about 0 . 1 % to about 50 % or even from about 0 . 1 % to about 25 % bleaching agent by weight of the subject cleaning composition . examples of suitable bleaching agents include : ( 2 ) preformed peracids : suitable preformed peracids include , but are not limited to , compounds selected from the group consisting of percarboxylic acids and salts , percarbonic acids and salts , perimidic acids and salts , peroxymonosulfuric acids and salts , for example , oxzone ®, and mixtures thereof . suitable percarboxylic acids include hydrophobic and hydrophilic peracids having the formula r —( c ═ o ) o — o - m wherein r is an alkyl group , optionally branched , having , when the peracid is hydrophobic , from 6 to 14 carbon atoms , or from 8 to 12 carbon atoms and , when the peracid is hydrophilic , less than 6 carbon atoms or even less than 4 carbon atoms ; and m is a counterion , for example , sodium , potassium or hydrogen ; ( 3 ) sources of hydrogen peroxide , for example , inorganic perhydrate salts , including alkali metal salts such as sodium salts of perborate ( usually mono - or tetra - hydrate ), percarbonate , persulphate , perphosphate , persilicate salts and mixtures thereof . in one aspect of the invention the inorganic perhydrate salts are selected from the group consisting of sodium salts of perborate , percarbonate and mixtures thereof . when employed , inorganic perhydrate salts are typically present in amounts of from 0 . 05 to 40 wt %, or 1 to 30 wt % of the overall composition and are typically incorporated into such compositions as a crystalline solid that may be coated . suitable coatings include , inorganic salts such as alkali metal silicate , carbonate or borate salts or mixtures thereof , or organic materials such as water - soluble or dispersible polymers , waxes , oils or fatty soaps ; and ( 4 ) bleach activators having r —( c ═ o )- l wherein r is an alkyl group , optionally branched , having , when the bleach activator is hydrophobic , from 6 to 14 carbon atoms , or from 8 to 12 carbon atoms and , when the bleach activator is hydrophilic , less than 6 carbon atoms or even less than 4 carbon atoms ; and l is leaving group . examples of suitable leaving groups are benzoic acid and derivatives thereof — especially benzene sulphonate . suitable bleach activators include dodecanoyl oxybenzene sulphonate , decanoyl oxybenzene sulphonate , decanoyl oxybenzoic acid or salts thereof , 3 , 5 , 5 - trimethyl hexanoyloxybenzene sulphonate , tetraacetyl ethylene diamine ( taed ) and nonanoyloxybenzene sulphonate ( nobs ). suitable bleach activators are also disclosed in wo 98 / 17767 . while any suitable bleach activator may be employed , in one aspect of the invention the subject cleaning composition may comprise nobs , taed or mixtures thereof . when present , the peracid and / or bleach activator is generally present in the composition in an amount of from about 0 . 1 to about 60 wt %, from about 0 . 5 to about 40 wt % or even from about 0 . 6 to about 10 wt % based on the composition . one or more hydrophobic peracids or precursors thereof may be used in combination with one or more hydrophilic peracid or precursor thereof . the amounts of hydrogen peroxide source and peracid or bleach activator may be selected such that the molar ratio of available oxygen ( from the peroxide source ) to peracid is from 1 : 1 to 35 : 1 , or even 2 : 1 to 10 : 1 . bleach boosting compounds — the compositions herein may comprise one or more bleach boosting compounds . bleach boosting compounds provide increased bleaching effectiveness in lower temperature applications . the bleach boosters act in conjunction with conventional peroxygen bleaching sources to provide increased bleaching effectiveness . this is normally accomplished through in situ formation of an active oxygen transfer agent such as a dioxirane , an oxaziridine , or an oxaziridinium . alternatively , preformed dioxiranes , oxaziridines and oxaziridiniums may be used . among suitable bleach boosting compounds for use in accordance with the present invention are cationic imines , zwitterionic imines , anionic imines and / or polyionic imines having a net charge of from about + 3 to about − 3 , and mixtures thereof . these imine bleach boosting compounds of the present invention include those of the general structure : where r 1 - r 4 may be a hydrogen or an unsubstituted or substituted radical selected from the group consisting of phenyl , aryl , heterocyclic ring , alkyl and cycloalkyl radicals . suitable bleach boosting compounds include zwitterionic bleach boosters zwitterionic bleach boosters , which are described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 576 , 282 and 5 , 718 , 614 . other bleach boosting compounds include cationic bleach boosters described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 360 , 569 ; 5 , 442 , 066 ; 5 , 478 , 357 ; 5 , 370 , 826 ; 5 , 482 , 515 ; 5 , 550 , 256 ; and wo 95 / 13351 , wo 95 / 13352 , and wo 95 / 13353 . peroxygen sources are well - known in the art and the peroxygen source employed in the present invention may comprise any of these well known sources , including peroxygen compounds as well as compounds , which under consumer use conditions , provide an effective amount of peroxygen in situ . the peroxygen source may include a hydrogen peroxide source , the in situ formation of a peracid anion through the reaction of a hydrogen peroxide source and a bleach activator , preformed peracid compounds or mixtures of suitable peroxygen sources . of course , one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other sources of peroxygen may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention . the bleach boosting compounds , when present , are typically employed in conjunction with a peroxygen source in the bleaching systems of the present invention . enzyme bleaching — enzymatic systems may be used as bleaching agents . the hydrogen peroxide may also be present by adding an enzymatic system ( i . e . an enzyme and a substrate therefore ) which is capable of generating hydrogen peroxide at the beginning or during the washing and / or rinsing process . such enzymatic systems are disclosed in ep patent application 91202655 . 6 filed oct . 9 , 1991 . the present invention compositions and methods may utilize alternative bleach systems such as ozone , chlorine dioxide and the like . bleaching with ozone may be accomplished by introducing ozone - containing gas having ozone content from about 20 to about 300 g / m 3 into the solution that is to contact the fabrics . the gas : liquid ratio in the solution should be maintained from about 1 : 2 . 5 to about 1 : 6 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 346 , 588 describes a process for the utilization of ozone as an alternative to conventional bleach systems and is herein incorporated by reference . in one aspect , the fabric softening active (“ fsa ”) is a quaternary ammonium compound suitable for softening fabric in a rinse step . in one aspect , the fsa is formed from a reaction product of a fatty acid and an aminoalcohol obtaining mixtures of mono -, di -, and , in one aspect , triester compounds . in another aspect , the fsa comprises one or more softener quaternary ammonium compounds such , but not limited to , as a monoalkyquaternary ammonium compound , a diamido quaternary compound and a diester quaternary ammonium compound , or a combination thereof . in one aspect of the invention , the fsa comprises a diester quaternary ammonium ( hereinafter “ dqa ”) compound composition . in certain aspects of the present invention , the dqa compounds compositions also encompasses a description of diamido fsas and fsas with mixed amido and ester linkages as well as the aforementioned diester linkages , all herein referred to as dqa . a first type of dqa (“ dqa ( 1 )”) suitable as a fsa in the present cfsc includes a compound comprising the formula : { r 4 - m — n + —[( ch 2 ) n — y — r 1 ] m } x − wherein each r substituent is either hydrogen , a short chain c 1 - c 6 , for example c 1 - c 3 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group , e . g ., methyl , ethyl , propyl , hydroxyethyl , and the like , poly ( c 2 - 3 alkoxy ), for example . polyethoxy , group , benzyl , or mixtures thereof ; each m is 2 or 3 ; each n is from 1 to about 4 , or 2 ; each y is — o ( o ) c —, — c ( o )— o —, — nr — c ( o )—, or — c ( o )— nr — and it is acceptable for each y to be the same or different ; the sum of carbons in each r 1 , plus one when y is — o —( o ) c — or — nr — c ( o )—, is c 12 - c 22 , or c 14 - c 20 , with each r 1 being a hydrocarbyl , or substituted hydrocarbyl group ; it is acceptable for r 1 to be unsaturated or saturated and branched or linear and in one aspect it is linear ; it is acceptable for each r 1 to be the same or different and typically these are the same ; and x − can be any softener - compatible anion , suitable anions include , chloride , bromide , methylsulfate , ethylsulfate , sulfate , phosphate , and nitrate , in one aspect the anions are chloride or methyl sulfate . suitable dqa compounds are typically made by reacting alkanolamines such as mdea ( methyldiethanolamine ) and tea ( triethanolamine ) with fatty acids . some materials that typically result from such reactions include n , n - di ( acyl - oxyethyl )- n , n - dimethylammonium chloride or n , n - di ( acyl - oxyethyl )- n , n - methylhydroxyethylammonium methylsulfate wherein the acyl group is derived from animal fats , unsaturated , and polyunsaturated , fatty acids , e . g ., tallow , hardended tallow , oleic acid , and / or partially hydrogenated fatty acids , derived from vegetable oils and / or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils , such as , canola oil , safflower oil , peanut oil , sunflower oil , corn oil , soybean oil , tall oil , rice bran oil , palm oil , etc . non - limiting examples of suitable fatty acids are listed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 759 , 990 at column 4 , lines 45 - 66 . in one aspect , the fsa comprises other actives in addition to dqa ( 1 ) or dqa . in yet another aspect , the fsa comprises only dqa ( 1 ) or dqa and is free or essentially free of any other quaternary ammonium compounds or other actives . in yet another aspect , the fsa comprises the precursor amine that is used to produce the dqa . in another aspect of the invention , the fsa comprises a compound , identified as dttmac comprising the formula : wherein each m is 2 or 3 , each r 1 is a c 6 - c 22 , or c 14 - c 20 , but no more than one being less than about c 12 and then the other is at least about 16 , hydrocarbyl , or substituted hydrocarbyl substituent , for example , c 10 - c 20 alkyl or alkenyl ( unsaturated alkyl , including polyunsaturated alkyl , also referred to sometimes as “ alkylene ”), in one aspect c 12 - c 18 alkyl or alkenyl , and branch or unbranched . in one aspect , the iodine value ( iv ) of the fsa is from about 1 to 70 ; each r is h or a short chain c 1 - c 6 , or c 1 - c 3 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group , e . g ., methyl , ethyl , propyl , hydroxyethyl , and the like , benzyl , or ( r 2 o ) 2 - 4 h where each r 2 is a c 1 - 6 alkylene group ; and a − is a softener compatible anion , suitable anions include chloride , bromide , methylsulfate , ethylsulfate , sulfate , phosphate , or nitrate ; in one aspect the anions are chloride or methyl sulfate . examples of these fsas include dialkydimethylammonium salts and dialkylenedimethylammonium salts such as ditallowedimethylammonium and ditallowedimethylammonium methylsulfate . examples of commercially available dialkylenedimethylammonium salts usable in the present invention are di - hydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride and ditallowedimethyl ammonium chloride available from degussa under the trade names adogen ® 442 and adogen ® 470 respectively . in one aspect , the fsa comprises other actives in addition to dttmac . in yet another aspect , the fsa comprises only compounds of the dttmac and is free or essentially free of any other quaternary ammonium compounds or other actives . in one aspect , the fsa comprises an fsa described in u . s . pat . pub . no . 2004 / 0204337 a1 , published oct . 14 , 2004 to corona et al ., from paragraphs 30 - 79 . in another aspect , the fsa is one described in u . s . pat . pub . no . 2004 / 0229769 a1 , published nov . 18 , 2005 , to smith et al ., on paragraphs 26 - 31 ; or u . s . pat . no . 6 , 494 , 920 , at column 1 , line 51 et seq . detailing an “ esterquat ” or a quaternized fatty acid triethanolamine ester salt . in one aspect , the fsa is chosen from at least one of the following : ditallowoyloxyethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride , dihydrogenated - tallowoyloxyethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride , ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride , ditallowoyloxyethyl dimethyl ammonium methyl sulfate , dihydrogenated - tallowoyloxyethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride , dihydrogenated - tallowoyloxyethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride , or combinations thereof . in one aspect , the fsa may also include amide containing compound compositions . examples of diamide comprising compounds may include but not limited to methyl - bis ( tallowamidoethyl )- 2 - hydroxyethylammonium methyl sulfate ( available from degussa under the trade names varisoft 110 and varisoft 222 ). an example of an amide - ester containing compound is n -[ 3 -( stearoylamino ) propyl ]- n -[ 2 -( stearoyloxy ) ethoxy ) ethyl )]- n - methylamine . another aspect of the invention provides for a rinse added fabric softening composition further comprising a cationic starch . cationic starches are disclosed in us 2004 / 0204337 a1 . in one aspect , the rinse added fabric softening composition comprises from about 0 . 1 % to about 7 % of cationic starch by weight of the fabric softening composition . in one aspect , the cationic starch is hcp401 from national starch . builders — the compositions of the present invention can comprise one or more detergent builders or builder systems . when present , the compositions will typically comprise at least about 1 % builder , or from about 5 % or 10 % to about 80 %, 50 %, or even 30 % by weight , of said builder . builders include , but are not limited to , the alkali metal , ammonium and alkanolammonium salts of polyphosphates , alkali metal silicates , alkaline earth and alkali metal carbonates , aluminosilicate builders polycarboxylate compounds . ether hydroxypolycarboxylates , copolymers of maleic anhydride with ethylene or vinyl methyl ether , 1 , 3 , 5 - trihydroxybenzene - 2 , 4 , 6 - trisulphonic acid , and carboxymethyl - oxysuccinic acid , the various alkali metal , ammonium and substituted ammonium salts of polyacetic acids such as ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and nitrilotriacetic acid , as well as polycarboxylates such as mellitic acid , succinic acid , oxydisuccinic acid , polymaleic acid , benzene 1 , 3 , 5 - tricarboxylic acid , carboxymethyloxysuccinic acid , and soluble salts thereof . chelating agents — the compositions herein may also optionally contain one or more copper , iron and / or manganese chelating agents . if utilized , chelating agents will generally comprise from about 0 . 1 % by weight of the compositions herein to about 15 %, or even from about 3 . 0 % to about 15 % by weight of the compositions herein . dye transfer inhibiting agents — the compositions of the present invention may also include one or more dye transfer inhibiting agents . suitable polymeric dye transfer inhibiting agents include , but are not limited to , polyvinylpyrrolidone polymers , polyamine n - oxide polymers , copolymers of n - vinylpyrrolidone and n - vinylimidazole , polyvinyloxazolidones and polyvinylimidazoles or mixtures thereof . when present in the compositions herein , the dye transfer inhibiting agents are present at levels from about 0 . 0001 %, from about 0 . 01 %, from about 0 . 05 % by weight of the cleaning compositions to about 10 %, about 2 %, or even about 1 % by weight of the cleaning compositions . dispersants — the compositions of the present invention can also contain dispersants . suitable water - soluble organic materials are the homo - or co - polymeric acids or their salts , in which the polycarboxylic acid may comprise at least two carboxyl radicals separated from each other by not more than two carbon atoms . enzymes — the compositions can comprise one or more detergent enzymes which provide cleaning performance and / or fabric care benefits . examples of suitable enzymes include , but are not limited to , hemicellulases , peroxidases , proteases , cellulases , xylanases , lipases , phospholipases , esterases , cutinases , pectinases , keratanases , reductases , oxidases , phenoloxidases , lipoxygenases , ligninases , pullulanases , tannases , pentosanases , malanases , b - glucanases , arabinosidases , hyaluronidase , chondroitinase , laccase , and amylases , or mixtures thereof . a typical combination is a cocktail of conventional applicable enzymes like protease , lipase , cutinase and / or cellulase in conjunction with amylase . enzyme stabilizers — enzymes for use in compositions , for example , detergents can be stabilized by various techniques . the enzymes employed herein can be stabilized by the presence of water - soluble sources of calcium and / or magnesium ions in the finished compositions that provide such ions to the enzymes . the laundry care compositions of the present invention can be formulated into any suitable form and prepared by any process chosen by the formulator , non - limiting examples of which are described in applicants &# 39 ; examples and in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 879 , 584 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 691 , 297 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 574 , 005 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 569 , 645 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 565 , 422 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 516 , 448 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 489 , 392 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 486 , 303 all of which are incorporated herein by reference . the liquid detergent compositions may be in the form of an aqueous solution or uniform dispersion or suspension of surfactant , hueing agent , and certain optional other ingredients , some of which may normally be in solid form , that have been combined with the normally liquid components of the composition , such as the liquid alcohol ethoxylate nonionic , the aqueous liquid carrier , and any other normally liquid optional ingredients . such a solution , dispersion or suspension will be acceptably phase stable and will typically have a viscosity which ranges from about 100 to 600 cps , or from about 150 to 400 cps . for purposes of this invention , viscosity is measured with a brookfield lvdv - ii + viscometer apparatus using a # 21 spindle . the liquid detergent compositions herein can be prepared by combining the components thereof in any convenient order and by mixing , e . g ., agitating , the resulting component combination to form a phase stable liquid detergent composition . in a process for preparing such compositions , a liquid matrix is formed containing at least a major proportion , or even substantially all , of the liquid components , e . g ., nonionic surfactant , the non - surface active liquid carriers and other optional liquid components , with the liquid components being thoroughly admixed by imparting shear agitation to this liquid combination . for example , rapid stirring with a mechanical stirrer may usefully be employed . while shear agitation is maintained , substantially all of any anionic surfactants and the solid form ingredients can be added . agitation of the mixture is continued , and if necessary , can be increased at this point to form a solution or a uniform dispersion of insoluble solid phase particulates within the liquid phase . after some or all of the solid - form materials have been added to this agitated mixture , particles of any enzyme material to be included , e . g ., enzyme prills , are incorporated . as a variation of the composition preparation procedure hereinbefore described , one or more of the solid components may be added to the agitated mixture as a solution or slurry of particles premixed with a minor portion of one or more of the liquid components . after addition of all of the composition components , agitation of the mixture is continued for a period of time sufficient to form compositions having the requisite viscosity and phase stability characteristics . frequently this will involve agitation for a period of from about 30 to 60 minutes . in one aspect of forming the liquid detergent compositions , the hueing agent is first combined with one or more liquid components to form a hueing agent premix , and this hueing agent premix is added to a composition formulation containing a substantial portion , for example more than 50 % by weight , more specifically , more than 70 % by weight , and yet more specifically , more than 90 % by weight , of the balance of components of the laundry detergent composition . for example , in the methodology described above , both the hueing agent premix and the enzyme component are added at a final stage of component additions . in another aspect , the hueing agent is encapsulated prior to addition to the detergent composition , the encapsulated hueing agent is suspended in a structured liquid , and the suspension is added to a composition formulation containing a substantial portion of the balance of components of the laundry detergent composition . as noted previously , the detergent compositions may be in a solid form . suitable solid forms include tablets and particulate forms , for example , granular particles , flakes or sheets . various techniques for forming detergent compositions in such solid forms are well known in the art and may be used herein . in one aspect , for example when the composition is in the form of a granular particle , the hueing agent is provided in particulate form , optionally including additional but not all components of the laundry detergent composition . the hueing agent particulate is combined with one or more additional particulates containing a balance of components of the laundry detergent composition . further , the hueing agent , optionally including additional but not all components of the laundry detergent composition , may be provided in an encapsulated form , and the hueing agent encapsulate is combined with particulates containing a substantial balance of components of the laundry detergent composition . the compositions of this invention , prepared as hereinbefore described , can be used to form aqueous washing solutions for use in the laundering of fabrics . generally , an effective amount of such compositions is added to water , for example in a conventional fabric laundering automatic washing machine , to form such aqueous laundering solutions . the aqueous washing solution so formed is then contacted , typically under agitation , with the fabrics to be laundered therewith . an effective amount of the liquid detergent compositions herein added to water to form aqueous laundering solutions can comprise amounts sufficient to form from about 500 to 7 , 000 ppm of composition in aqueous washing solution , or from about 1 , 000 to 3 , 000 ppm of the detergent compositions herein will be provided in aqueous washing solution . certain of the consumer products disclosed herein can be used to clean or treat a situs inter alia a surface or fabric . typically at least a portion of the situs is contacted with an embodiment of applicants &# 39 ; consumer product , in neat form or diluted in a liquor , for example , a wash liquor and then the situs may be optionally washed and / or rinsed . in one aspect , a situs is optionally washed and / or rinsed , contacted with an aspect of the consumer product and then optionally washed and / or rinsed . for purposes of the present invention , washing includes but is not limited to , scrubbing , and mechanical agitation . the fabric may comprise most any fabric capable of being laundered or treated in normal consumer use conditions . liquors that may comprise the disclosed compositions may have a ph of from about 3 to about 11 . 5 . such compositions are typically employed at concentrations of from about 500 ppm to about 15 , 000 ppm in solution . when the wash solvent is water , the water temperature typically ranges from about 5 ° c . to about 90 ° c . and , when the situs comprises a fabric , the water to fabric ratio is typically from about 1 : 1 to about 30 : 1 . employing one or more of the aforementioned methods results in a treated situs . in one aspect , a method of treating and / or cleaning a surface or fabric comprising the steps of optionally washing and / or rinsing said surface or fabric , contacting said surface or fabric with any laundry care composition disclosed in this specification , then optionally washing and / or rinsing said surface and / or fabric then optionally letting said surface or fabric to dry and / or actively drying said surface or fabric , is disclosed . the following examples are provided to further illustrate the hueing agents of the present invention ; however , they are not to be construed as limiting the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto . in fact , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in this invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . all parts and percents given in these examples are by weight unless otherwise indicated . the following general procedures were used to prepare the thiophene azo dyes of the present invention . 18 parts n - ethyl - m - toluidine , 52 parts isopropyl - glycidyl ether , and 50 parts toluene were charged into a 200 ml round bottom flask at room temperature . the mixture was refluxed overnight . the solvent was removed and the resulting material was used crude for the next step . these materials were then alkoxylated as described herein . 18 parts n - ethyl - m - toluidine , 14 parts acetic acid , and 20 parts water were charged into a 200 ml stainless steel autoclave at room temperature . 11 parts ethylene oxide was added over several hours . after the reaction was kept for 24 hours at room temperature , the vessel was charged with 0 . 2 parts naoh and heated up to 125 ° c . then , ethylene oxide was added over about 1 hour . after continuing the reaction for another 3 hours at 125 ° c ., residual eo was removed by vacuum . then it was cooled to room temperature and the intermediate obtained was an amber - colored viscous liquid . the constant average number of eo could be achieved every time by controlling the amount of ethylene oxide in the synthesis . 18 parts 2 - methoxy - 5 - methylaniline , 14 parts acetic acid , and 20 parts water were charged into a 200 ml stainless steel autoclave at room temperature . 22 parts ethylene oxide was added over several hours . after the reaction was kept for 24 hours at room temperature , the vessel was charged with 0 . 2 parts naoh and heated up to 125 ° c . then , 40 parts ethylene oxide was added over about 1 hour . after continuing the reaction for another 3 hours at 125 ° c ., residual eo was removed by vacuum . then it was cooled to room temperature and the intermediate obtained was an amber - colored viscous liquid . the constant average number of eo could be achieved every time by controlling the amount of ethylene oxide in the synthesis . 18 parts aniline , 60 parts mono - bromo - polyethylene glycol - 200 , 20 parts nahco 3 and 50 parts toluene were charged into a 200 ml round bottom flask at room temperature . the reaction mixture was heated to 80 ° c . for 5 hours . the salt was filtered and the solvent removed from the filtrate via low pressure distillation . the crude product was used with no further purification for the next step . it is also possible to use a mono - bromo - mono - chloro glycol in order to directly make the halogenated product using this same procedure above . to a mixture of 44 parts n - ethyl — n - alkylene oxide - m - toluidine and 41 parts tosyl chloride in 20 parts water was slowly added 20 parts 25 % naoh . the reaction mixture was then allowed to stir for 4 hours at room temperature . the mixture was diluted with 400 parts water and then neutralized by addition of 33 % hydrochloric acid . 400 parts ethyl acetate was added and the mixture was phase separated . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and the solvent evaporated . the crude product was immediately used for the next step . to a mixture of 44 parts 2 - methoxy - 5 - methyl - n - bis - alkyleneoxide - aniline and 82 parts tosyl chloride in 30 parts water was slowly added 30 parts 25 % naoh . the reaction mixture was then allowed to stir for 4 hours at room temperature . the mixture was diluted with 400 parts water and then neutralized by addition of 33 % hydrochloric acid . 400 parts ethyl acetate was added and the mixture was phase separated . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and the solvent evaporated . the crude product was immediately used for the next step . 40 parts of the tosylated intermediate , 20 parts dimethylaminopropyl sulfonate and 100 parts chloroform were mixed and refluxed for 6 hours . the material was then cooled down and 200 parts water was added . the material was phase separated and the aqueous phase was found to contain the desired product . the aqueous phase was dried down via low pressure distillation . the chloride material can be used in the same way to make the chloro salt version . 40 parts of the tosylated intermediate , 30 parts triethylamine and 100 parts chloroform were mixed and refluxed for 6 hours . the material was then cooled down and 200 parts water was added . the material was phase separated and the aqueous phase was found to contain the desired product . the aqueous phase was dried down via low pressure distillation 2 parts amino - thiophene , and 30 parts phosphoric acid , were charged into 200 ml glass flask and cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . 1 part nano 2 was slowly added as a solid , maintaining the temperature below 10 ° c . when addition was completed for diazotization , the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes and excess sodium nitrite was consumed by adding 0 . 3 parts sulfamic acid . enough sulfamic acid was added until starch iodide paper provided a negative result . to a separate flask was added the 6 parts of the quaternized material prepared following intermediate type 1 route , wherein quaternization was done using 1 molar equivalent of triethylamine and 12 parts water . the prepared diazonium salt solution was slowly added into the above solution for coupling reaction . care was taken to not allow the temperature to rise above 10 ° c . after complete addition of diazonium salt solution , the reaction was allowed to slowly reach room temperature over an hour . the mixture was then neutralized with sodium hydroxide and phase separated . the product layer was then dissolved with methanol and filtered to remove any excess salts . the filtrate was evaporated and the product of this reaction can be used at this point or further diluted with water to a lower viscosity . example 1 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures , wherein only 2 moles of ethylene oxide were added to the initial material and the tosylated material was quaternized by using 2 molar equivalents n - methyl imidazole . colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 2 was prepared as example 1 , except the initial alkoxylation was done using m - toluidine . example 7 was prepared via the intermediate type 1 procedures , wherein only 1 mole of ethylene oxide was added to the n - ethyl - aniline and the tosylated material was quaternized by using 1 molar equivalent triethylamine . colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 13 was prepared as example 12 , except quaternization was done with n - methyl imidazole . example 14 was prepared as example 12 , except quaternization was done with n , n - dimethyl - glycine . example 15 was prepared as example 12 , except quaternization was done with n , n - dimethylpropyl sulfonate . example 18 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures and colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 19 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures , wherein the initial alkoxylation was done using 2 , 5 - dimethoxyaniline and colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 21 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures , wherein quaternization was done using dimethylethanolamine and colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 22 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures , wherein quaternization was done using triethanolamine and colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 35 was prepared via the intermediate type 2 procedures , wherein alkoxylation was done using m - toluidine and quaterinzation was done using triethylamine . colorant synthesis was as described in example 12 . example 36 was prepared as example 1 , except that the initial alkoxylation was done using m - toluidine and quaternization was done using triethylamine . color synthesis was as described in example 12 . i . method for determining the aqueous partition value of a dye dissolve in deionized water to a final volume of 10 . 0 ml an amount of dye sufficient to provide a solution absorbance value between 0 . 25 and 1 . 0 , said absorbance being determined at the dye λ max between 400 nm and 750 nm , using a cuvette with 1 . 0 cm path length . measure the absorbance of the sample at the dye λ max in a uv / vis spectrophotometer , then transfer the entire 10 . 0 ml solution to a 50 . 0 ml plastic centrifuge tube . add 10 . 0 ml of 1 - octanol , cap the tube , and mix vigorously for 30 seconds using a vortex ™ mixer . leave the tube standing undisturbed until the layers cleanly phase separate . if the layers do not cleanly separate within several hours , centrifuge to obtain phase separation . using a transfer pipette , withdraw an aliquot of the aqueous ( bottom ) layer and transfer it to a cuvette with 1 . 0 cm path length for spectrophotometric analysis . analyze the solution as before , and quantify the absorbance loss at λ max as “% of dye remaining in aqueous layer ” as detailed below : % of dye remaining in aqueous layer = aqueous partition value ( apv )=( a f / a i )× 100 % wherein a i is the initial solution absorbance at λ max and a f is the final solution absorbance at λ max . a .) two 25 cm × 25 cm fabric swatches of 16 oz white cotton interlock knit fabric ( 270 g / square meter , brightened with uvitex bnb fluorescent whitening agent , from test fabrics . p . o . box 26 , weston , pa ., 18643 ) are obtained . b .) prepare two one liter aliquots of tap water containing 1 . 55 g of aatcc standard heavy duty liquid ( hdl ) test detergent . c .) add a sufficient amount the dye to be tested to one of the aliquots from step b .) above to produce an aqueous solution absorbance of 1 au . d .) wash one swatch from a .) above in one of the aliquots of water containing 1 . 55 g of aatcc standard heavy duty liquid ( hdl ) test detergent and wash the other swatch in the other aliquot . such washing step should be conducted for 30 minutes at room temperature with agitation . after such washing step separately rinse the swatches in tap water and air dry the swatches in the dark . e .) after rinsing and drying each swatch , the hueing efficiency , de * eff , of the dye is assessed by determining the l *, a *, and b * value measurements of each swatch using a hunter labscan xe reflectance spectrophotometer with d65 illumination , 10 ° observer and uv filter excluded . the hueing efficiency of the dye is then calculated using the following equation : de * eff =(( l * c − l s ) 2 +( a * c − a * s ) 2 +( b * c − b * s ) 2 ) 1 / 2 wherein the subscripts c and s respectively refer to the l *, a *, and b * values measured for the control , i . e ., the fabric sample washed in detergent with no dye , and the fabric sample washed in detergent containing the dye to be screened . a .) prepare two separate 150 ml aliquots of hdl detergent solution , according to aatcc test method 61 - 2003 , test 2a and containing 1 . 55 g / liter of the aatcc hdl formula in distilled water . b .) a 15 cm × 5 cm sample of each fabric swatch from the method for determining of hueing efficiency for detergents described above is washed in a launderometer for 45 minutes at 49 ° c . in 150 ml of a the hdl detergent solution prepared according to step 11 . a .) above . c .) the samples are rinsed with separate aliquots of rinse water and air dried in the dark , and then l *, a *, and b * value measurements of each swatch are taken using a hunter labscan xe reflectance spectrophotometer with d65 illumination , 10 ° observer and uv filter excluded . the amount of residual coloration is assessed by measuring the de * res , calculated using the following equation : de * res =(( l * c − l * s ) 2 +( a * c − a * s ) 2 +( b * c − b * s ) 2 ) 1 / 2 wherein the subscripts c and s respectively refer to the l *, a *, and b * values measured for the control , i . e ., the fabric sample initially washed in detergent with no dye , and the fabric sample initially washed in detergent containing the dye to be screened . the wash removal value for the dye is then calculated according to the formula : % removal = 100 ×( 1 − de * res / de * eff ) the aqueous partitioning values of several examples are provided in table 6 . tables 7a and 7b provide examples of liquid detergent formulations which include at least one thiophene azo dye of the present invention as a hueing agent . the formulations are shown in table 7a as formulations 1a through 1f and in table 7b as formulations 1g through 1l . 5 compact formula , packaged as a unitized dose in polyvinyl alcohol film 6 thiophene azo hueing agent from table 5 , examples 1 - 21 , preferably with hueing efficiency & gt ; 10 and wash removability 30 - 85 % 7 thiophene azo hueing agent from table 5 , examples 22 - 42 , preferably with hueing efficiency & gt ; 10 and wash removability 30 - 85 % table 8 provides examples of granular detergent formulations which include at least one thiophene azo dye of the present invention as a hueing agent . the formulations are shown in table 8 as formulations 2a through 2e . table 9 provides examples of liquid fabric care compositions which include at least one thiophene azo dye of the present invention as a hueing agent . the compositions are shown in table 9 as formulations 3a through 3d . b cationic starch based on common maize starch or potato starch , containing 25 % to 95 % amylose and a degree of substitution of from 0 . 02 to 0 . 09 , and having a viscosity measured as water fluidity having a value from 50 to 84 . c copolymer of ethylene oxide and terephthalate having the formula described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 574 , 179 at col . 15 , lines 1 - 5 , wherein each x is methyl , each n is 40 , u is 4 , each r 1 is essentially 1 , 4 - phenylene moieties , each r 2 is essentially ethylene , 1 , 2 - propylene moieties , or mixtures thereof . f silicone antifoam agent available from dow corning corp . under the trade name dc2310 . g thiophene azo hueing agent from table 5 , examples 1 - 21 , preferably with hueing efficiency & gt ; 10 and wash removability 30 - 85 % h thiophene azo hueing agent from table 5 , examples 22 - 42 , preferably with hueing efficiency & gt ; 10 and wash removability 30 - 85 % i thiophene azo hueing agent from table 5 , examples 1 - 42 , preferably with hueing efficiency & gt ; 10 and wash removability 30 - 85 % k cocomethyl ethoxylated [ 15 ] ammonium chloride , available from akzo nobel . the dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited . instead , unless otherwise specified , each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and functionally equivalent range surrounding that value . for example , a dimension disclosed as “ 40 mm ” is intended to mean “ about 40 mm ”. all documents cited in the detailed description of the invention are , in relevant part , incorporated herein by reference ; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention . to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference , the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern . while particular aspects of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention .
2
referring now to fig1 there are shown two central stations , 210 , 220 , each of which has associated therewith a single or plural radio transmitters , 240 , 260 , respectively , and other electronic equipment to be hereinafter described . associated with the central station 210 are a plurality of individual pager apparatus identified as 201 a , 201 b , . . . 201 l . associated with the central station 220 are shown the pager apparatus 205 , 215 , and 201 m . typically , an individual caller will use a telephone apparatus 200 in which he will call in to the nearest central station 210 via conventional telephone connections 250 or other electronic means . in the present system , it is anticipated that pager apparatus will be carried by everyone including the caller . thus , the particular caller having his own pager apparatus will have his pager apparatus associated with a particular central system . in fact , it is contemplated that the particular caller can utilize his own pager apparatus to aid him in making the telephone call by using his own pager apparatus as either a calling card , a telephone card , or at least to utilize it for transmitting his own telephone number or identification number or charge number to which the transmission of the paging call can be charged . the caller will initially dial in the call to the nearest central station 210 . thereafter , he will enter the telephone number of the pager apparatus to be called . if that pager apparatus is part of the central system dialed into , that pager apparatus will be addressed directly from this central station via the transmitter 240 . if the called pager apparatus is part of another central station , such as 220 , the page will be transferred to central station 220 , and then it will be transmitted to the pager apparatus associated with that central station via transmitter 260 . each central station contains profile information of all of the pager apparatus associated with that central station . each pager apparatus responds - to one or more identification numbers through which the pager apparatus can be addressed . thus , the caller by dialing on the telephone 200 , can enter an identification number which can be used to address either a single pager apparatus or multiple pager apparatus within the same central system or within multiple central systems . by way of example , he may want to address all employees of a particular company who may have a single identification number to which all their pager apparatus would respond , and he can do so by placing a single paging call . as part of the profile of each pager apparatus , there is provided the means for transferring a call from one central station to another central station . by way of example , if the user of the pager 201 m is travelling and is temporarily away from the geographical location of central station 210 , he can indicate within his profile that calls be transferred to central station 220 , where he is temporarily to be located . when a caller places a call to the pager 201 m , the central station 210 will check the profile of the pager 201 m and determine that 201 m can now be reached from the central station 220 . it will , therefore , transfer the message to central station 220 which in turn will cause the signal to be transmitted from its transmitter 260 to the pager apparatus 201 m . similarly , each group of pagers such as a company or family has its own unique identifying group profile as well . this group profile is linked to the profiles of the individual profiles . therefore , the group profile includes the addresses of each of the individual pagers and the time intervals and frequencies needed to be transmitted to reach each member of the group . if one group member temporarily changes his paging address , modification in its profile is also transmitted to the group profile to which that individual belongs . if it happens that another member is already being paged at this new location during this time interval and at this frequency , the group profile is updated with the new address of the pager but there is no need for further change . if it is a new address for this group , the group profile is updated and each page is transmitted to the new address , as well . in transmitting the page to the individual pagers in the group , each individual pager profile is checked for the specific parameters of that pager . each pager address , therefore , includes the particular central station at which it can be reached , its time interval for addressing it , the frequency , and the particular code . by an optimizing algorithm and by reprogramming the receiver &# 39 ; s time intervals , the system can dynamically be optimized to reduce paging traffic congestion . although as will hereinafter be explained , the caller will be billed for transmission of the call , it is also possible to bill the called party for special services , such as transferring of his calls from one location to another location . the called party can also instruct to reverse charges for calls to him . referring now to fig2 there will be described a block diagram of the various means located at the central station for implementing the paging system to be described . central stations act as focal points for receiving , processing and transmitting messages from all paging apparatus connected to the system . a plurality of central stations , having their respective radio transmitters interconnected to each other via telephone or other transmitting means , constitute the backbone of the paging network . in a preferred embodiment , the automated . attendant 301 is selected as one of various possible entry points into the central station and is intended to assist a caller in making a page call . its main function is to ensure that the caller properly enters all parameters required to complete a call successfully and to preprocess the incoming information . thus , the automated attendant prompts the caller for the desired information , and provides , when necessary , appropriate default options . at times , a caller may require assistance that cannot be handled by the automated attendant . in such an event , the automated attendant passes the request to a human operator 302 . the operator , in turn , may opt to transfer the control back to the automated teller once the problem is cleared up . by way of example , a caller may wish to send an alpha - numeric page but does not wish to use the telephone key pad . he may request the operator to handle his message , after which the control is transferred back to the automated attendant . another entry point into the paging system is provided by trunk lines 310 incoming into switching network 304 from other central stations . in this mode of operation , no automated attendant or operator is required . its only requirement is that it transmit a message previously processed by some other remote central station . other types of entry into the system include magnetic tape , and the like . the central processor 303 is continuously supervising the various other units , and processes the flow of information . the central processor controls all paging requests from any of the above sources . prior to directing the switching network 304 to transmit a page , the processor must first complete a sequence of tasks . for example , it checks the profile of the party being called by interacting with he profile data base 305 . based on the information contained therein , the processor may reverse the charges to the party being called , if so instructed by the profile of the party called . the processor then updates the billing data base 307 of the caller by adding the appropriate charges for the page call just completed . otherwise , it stores this information and at a later , more convenient time it can forward this information to the appropriate locations . profile data base 305 contains detailed instructions to the processor for every customer associated with the central station . if the caller or the called party are associated with another central station , it needs to establish a connection with that central station via the network interface 311 . instructions may call for the transmission of only messages from a selected group of callers , while others may limit the transmission of only emergency calls from any source . the profile data base will be distributed among the central stations , each one containing the profile of only those pager holders that are associated with that office . in some cases , there is a need for an independent network to access the profile information , in some cases , in real time . for example , the system may need to verify the credit card number of the caller . they may also need to verify that the called party is a subscriber to the network . if verification fails , the automated attendant will notify the caller . the profile information permits the called party to specify three levels of screening of calls . in the first , he identifies in his profile information that a password must be entered by a caller before the central station may transmit the call to the called pager . in this way , the called party might distribute the password only to those selected individuals to whom he would give access to his pager . in the second , the profile information requires that a caller must insert his own identification code after he has called this particular caller &# 39 ; s pager number . furthermore , there is a list of identification codes of specific callers that can get through . when the caller &# 39 ; s identification code is inserted , it is checked in the list of accepted identification code numbers for this particular caller &# 39 ; s pager and , if it is among those listed , the central station will then transmit the page to the called party . the third level is where every call to the particular called party will get through . however , in this level , the caller must submit his own id number . the central station then transmits to the caller &# 39 ; s pager not only the page signal , but also the identification number of the caller . alternately , it can check the identification code of the caller against a list of actual names and can actually transmit the full name of the caller to the caller &# 39 ; s pager . in this way , the called party will receive the page and will also receive either the identification code or the actual name of the caller , and he can then decide whether to return the call in response to the page or not . there is , of course , the possibility of no screening at all . the caller can also be instructed to insert other information as well . for example , he can advise the called party of the urgency of the call , the need to respond quickly , and other information . through the use of the identification code of the caller , as well as the ability to identify the actual name of the caller , an interconnection can be made between a telephone wired system and the pager wireless system . specifically , in a regular telephone networking system , when an individual places a call , he can be asked to insert his own identification code . the telephone network can then switch to the paging network and transfer the identification call of the caller to the paging network . the paging network will then look up the code of the caller and transmit to the pager apparatus of the called party the identification code or actual name of the caller . in this way , when one receives a telephone call on the wire line telephone network , he can look at his pager apparatus and see who is calling even before he answers the telephone call . it should be understood that using the time interval system of the present network there would be a time delay for response . however , if the system were operated in real time , there would be instant response . network related information resides in network data base 306 . the processor requires this information to determine whether the caller or called party subscribe to the system , and to pinpoint the whereabouts of the party being called , i . e ., whether under the jurisdiction of the central station that was prompted or at some other geographic location . all alpha - numeric and voice messages are stored in the message and voice data base for future retrieval by the party being called . the frequency of storage and deletion of messages from the data base is determined either in the profile of the called party or by the processor . once a message has reached its final destination central station , it resides in the message data base and awaits its turn to be transmitted to the radio transmitters . if the message needs to be forwarded , it is sent through the switching network to the appropriate outgoing trunks for transmission to the instructed other central stations . upon transmission , the signal is received by a pager signal receiver 312 at that station which continuously feeds back to the central processor the message just transmitted . the central processor continuously compares the received messages of the wireless transmission to check for proper transmission . notification is then sent to the caller or the account payer , if it was requested by the caller or the payer of the account , of either a successful or unsuccessful transmission . the request for notification is entered by the system at the request of the caller or the account payer during or prior to placement of the call . the verification can be sent to the callers pager or to the third party &# 39 ; s pager , or through the telephone network . if the caller and called party are both associated with the same central station and the network notification method is chosen , then notification is sent directly through the automated attendant 301 to the caller . if the transmitting central station is not local , the notification is sent through the network interface 311 to the originating central station and notification is then sent through that local central station &# 39 ; s automated attendant 301 to the caller . the mass message relaying network 309 provides the necessary means for transmitting multiple messages to one or to plural pager holders . the input to this network may be either an external input , such as magnetic tape , or via the aforementioned automated attendant , or via the operator through the automated attendant . by way of example , the postal service forwards a request to the central station to transmit a tape containing mass messages . the automated attendant activates the mass storage relaying network to read in the postal service tape . the automated attendant prompts the processor to start processing the mass messages . the processor performs the routine checking and transfers the messages to the switching network for delivery . referring now to fig3 which shows a preferred format for the call sequence that can advantageously be used to initiate a paging call . the parameters in the dialing sequence are as follows : this parameter is either a 0 or a 1 , consistent with current or 900 . if a call is initiated at a rotary phone , the paging a simple page , the caller may hand up after this point , in his personal profile . a pager holder may opt for plural a variety of options can be entered in this field , some of voice messages may be left by a caller at the central it is evident that the plural fields previously defined can be expanded , reduced or modified without detracting from the intended spirit and scope of the present invention . it is also evident that any field may be omitted by placing delimiter signs ( i . e ., #) one after another . at the time the caller places the paging call , the caller may be uncertain if the transmitter actually did transmit that paging call to the called party . as mentioned before , through the use of a special code dialed in the option field , the caller can ask for verification . such verification can be achieved if the caller has his own pager apparatus available . as heretofore mentioned , it is contemplated that all members of the population will have a pager apparatus . thus , the caller will have his own pager apparatus . by asking for verification , simultaneous with the transmission from the central station of the message to the address of the called party , it will also transmit the same message back to the caller . since the caller must insert his own telephone number for billing purposes , the central station becomes aware of the identification number of the caller &# 39 ; s pager apparatus and can transmit the message back to the caller around the same time that it transmits the message to the called party . thus , the caller can look at his own pager apparatus and verify that the message was actually transmitted by the central station . alternatively , the transmission by the system of a caller &# 39 ; s id number can be echoed to the pager of third parties as a way to allow those third parties to monitor transactions initiated by the caller . additional information such as the cost of the call , the called party &# 39 ; s id number , etc . may also be made available to the pager of the third party . this feature , for example , would allow parents to monitor their children &# 39 ; s use of the system . the list of id numbers of third party pager receivers which are designated to receive such an echo as well as the conditions under which the calls are echoed are maintained in the subscriber profile of the caller . furthermore , the transmission of a caller &# 39 ; s page to the called party may be made contingent on the authorization of a third party . in this case , the caller &# 39 ; s id number is transmitted to the third party &# 39 ; s receiver along with a request for authorization . when the third party calls the caller &# 39 ; s central station with the authorization code , the call is transmitted to the called party and is echoed to the caller &# 39 ; s pager , verifying authorization and successful transmission . by extension , other types of transactions billed to a subscriber &# 39 ; s account may be made contingent on authorization of a third party whereby the request for authorization is transmitted to the pager of the third party along with the phone number of the station which can process the authorization , and the transaction ;. is completed when the third party calls the authorizing station &# 39 ; s phone number with an authorization code . similarly , notification of the third party of the use of their charge account without the need for authorization may be arranged . this authorization feature applies to transactions on or off the paging system . referring now to fig4 ( 4 a and 4 b ), there is shown a flow diagram of the paging network input processor as seen by the caller . the caller initiates a paging call by dialing the central paging station via the established telephone network ( block 1 ). this sets the paging central station in motion through a sequence of actions designed to locate the desired party or group of parties and transmit the intended message . it prompts the caller for a destination number ( block 2 ) which , preferably , consists of an area code , a telephone number , and a 4 - digit suffix . after the appropriate delimiter has been entered , the central station begins processing the called party &# 39 ; s number to verify its validity , while it continues receiving the remainder of the message . the coded number is normally followed by a message or a plurality of messages , each of which is , preferably , separated from the previous one by a delimiter . if the caller pauses for an extended period of time , a timeout feature , preferably built in the system , prompts the caller to continue entering data . if the inputted data lacks the appropriate delimiters or if he enters incomplete data , the system will branch to block 5 and alert the user of his erroneous entry . the system branches back to block 2 , allowing the caller to correct his mistakes . after a limited number of faulty attempts , the system automatically aborts the call and disconnects the caller . referring now back to decision block 4 . the caller may enter a shortened version of the code number while entering the number of the called party . let the number of digits be considered . any code with a length other than 4 , 7 , 10 , 11 or 14 is invalid . in this case , a branch to block 5 takes effect and the number of invalid attempts is recorded . for each invalid entry , the system branches to block 2 prompting the caller for a new entry . after three faulty attempts , the central station aborts the call and disconnects the caller . there are several default options . for example , if the caller wishes to enter the telephone number of the called party and leaves out the area code . the caller &# 39 ; s area code is automatically assigned to the incomplete entry . the processor concatenates the caller &# 39 ; s area code to the number entered , ensuring the resulting combination is valid and that it corresponds to an active ( e . g ., on - line ) pager . a combination of 10 digits corresponds to an area code and telephone number ; a combination of 14 , to an area code , telephone number , and suffix . this suffix , preferably , a combination of 4 digits , identifies each member of a group with the same area code and telephone number . for instance , suffix 0000 concerns only member 1 ; suffix 0001 , member 2 ; suffix 0002 , member 3 . suffix 1111 , on the other hand , alerts all three members of the group with one call from the caller . the omission of the suffix can be defined to include all parties , the head - of - the - household alone , etc . upon completion of entering a valid and complete code number , a message consisting of a sequence of alpha - numeric characters is entered ( block 9 ). the caller can enter the message and at this point hang up and leave . referring now to block 11 , the paging system has by now ascertained that the caller &# 39 ; s number is correct and valid . the caller can pay for his paging call in a manner similar to present telephone calls , i . e ., by billing his calling number or by charging it to a calling card , or by direct payment at the telephone apparatus . this could be controlled by the caller &# 39 ; s entry of a “ 1 ” or a “ 0 ” at the beginning of his call . if the caller selects to charge his call , block 12 is invoked with a request to enter his charge number . the system verifies the presence of a delimiter , and checks whether the number entered is valid and active in the system . if the answer is no , the system branches to block 15 , and notes how many times an invalid number was entered , branching to block 12 with a new request for a valid number . after three invalid entries , the call is terminated ( block 34 ). by entering the number of his calling card , the caller initiates a financial transaction which the system will handle off - line . if the answer to block 11 is no , the caller is requested to deposit the appropriate amount at the telephone apparatus where is initiated the paging call ( block 10 ). an additional level of security can be invoked by the system whereby the caller is asked to enter a special password that is generated by the system and communicated to the caller on the spot in the following manner . a random number is generated by central processor ( 303 in fig2 ) is transmitted to the caller &# 39 ; s pager block 14 in two modes : mode 1 — immediate transmission for real time response . ( this mode depends on the pager holder &# 39 ; s activating the pager receiver with switch 180 ); mode 2 — transmission at the regular time slot when the caller &# 39 ; s pager receiver typically turns on automatically in synchronization with the transmission system . the caller receives the number and inputs it to the system through the telephone keypad ( block 16 ). on a match ( block 17 ) the charge is authorized and the call is transmitted to the called party . in this way the transactions can be protected through pins which are the secret extensions of the caller &# 39 ; s charge number , as well as through randomly generated passwords which the caller could only know by possessing the caller &# 39 ; s pager receiver at the moment of the call . on a mismatch , another random number is generated and the process is repeated . on a third mismatch , the process is terminated . the pager holder may wish to ascertain that only an authorized party can page him . the invention herein described makes provisions for such an alternative ( block 18 ). the pager holder can specify passwords in his profile stored at the central station . thus , if a caller enters the correct password ( block 19 ), the message will be forwarded to the caller &# 39 ; s pager . otherwise , a recording will notify the caller that a valid password was not inputted and , therefore , the message cannot be forwarded ( block 22 ). the system branches back to block 22 , requesting a new entry . failure to respond with a valid password is recorded and , at the third attempt , the caller is disconnected . with completion of the aforementioned entries , the system is ready to initiate processing of the message ( block 25 ). the caller can , at this point , specify various options in the next field . for example , a caller may wish to leave a voice message only and to exercise the option of bypassing the beep . in another case , the caller may want to transmit an alpha - numeric message accompanied by an emergency beep signal . the presence of a delimiter is audited as well as the completeness of the function that was invoked ( block 29 ). a negative response forces the system back to block 25 , whereby the caller is requested to correct the function of his choice . block 30 records the voice message of the caller if there is any . in block 30 , all the functions selected are set in a digital data stream in accordance with the protocol described hereinafter , in fig6 ( a ) and 6 ( b ). all calls are forwarded to the appropriate radio transmission stations and are placed in a queue for future transmission . the processing of id verification , billing , clearing indicators , etc ., are performed at the local station . the information to be transmitted is also channelled to the appropriate transmission station in the various geographical locations where the paging devices of the parties called are located ( block 31 ). the system interrogates the caller if he wishes to place an additional call ( block 32 ). if he responds negatively , then the calls are transmitted and receiver 312 verifies proper transmission ( block 35 ). the caller is then notified of successful or unsuccessful transmission ( block 36 ) either via a page or through the network as selected . if a transmission was unsuccessful , then the caller is asked to resubmit the call ( block 2 ). if all transmissions are successful , the system terminates the call . referring now to fig5 shows the schematic diagram of a pager apparatus which could advantageously be used by the paging system in accordance to the present invention . electromagnetic signals , transmitted by the central station , contain the paging messages to be received by the pager . these signals are captured by antenna 120 , preferably a stripline antenna , and are forwarded to the receiver 124 , preferably a signetics ne605 , through an impedance matching network 122 which can be a transformer or an active matching network 122 which can be a transformer or an active matching network . the receiver receives , amplifies , demodulates , and forwards the signals to a microprocessor 128 , preferably , an intel sc80c751 . the microprocessor is activated and deactivated by a real - time clock 132 , preferably , an intersil icm7170 , which turns the pager apparatus on and off at predetermined time intervals for energy conservation . alternatively , the microprocessor is turned on by switch 180 . switch 180 activates the pager receiver manually for a pre - designated period of time ( e . g ., sixty seconds ) after which time the receiver automatically de - activates . regardless of manual activation , the receiver maintains undisturbed its time slot synchronization with the transmission system . this feature allows the user to receive transmissions with the pager receiver at times other than the slots predesignated by the system . that is , the pager holder can specially activate the pager when the pager holder is expecting a transmission verification notification or an authorization code . switch 182 designates the caller of the message presently being displayed on the lcd display ( 148 ) as unwelcome . all future messages from the so designated caller will not activate the audio indicator on the pager receiver after switch 182 has been pressed once . the pressing again of switch 182 at the display of said caller &# 39 ; s message designates the caller as even more unwelcome and future messages of said caller will in addition not be displayed on the lcd . the id of the designated caller is stored in an internal memory ( ram or prom ) of the microprocessor 128 . binary flags , associated with the id stored in the memory , can be used to indicate whether the caller is barred from activating the audio indicator 144 only , the display 148 only or both . holding down switch 182 for an extended period of time , for example two seconds , causes the lcd display 148 to start a display of the ids of the unwelcome callers . pressing the switch 182 again steps through the list of unwelcome callers . holding the switch down for a period of time , such as two seconds , while the unwelcome id is displayed reactivates the previously unwelcome caller allowing that caller to activate the audible indicator 144 and have the callers messages displayed on the display 148 . pressing the switch twice returns the pagers to the standard mode of operation . alternatively , the pager automatically returns to the standard mode after a specified time interval . the microprocessor 128 is connected to an audio oscillator circuit 142 , which activates an audio transducer 144 . the audio transducer emits , when prompted by the microprocessor , audio signals that alert the pager holder of incoming paging messages . the audio circuit may be turned on and off with the switch 146 . additionally , the pager apparatus comprises a display 148 , preferably , an lcd display , as a readout device . this display is switched on and off by switch 150 . the display includes indicators 150 indicating a low battery , indicator 152 for indicating receipt of a new message , indicator 154 for indicating receipt of a voice message , indicator 156 for indicating that the audio transducer is off , an out of range indicator 158 and an echo indicator 160 . the echo indicator is for use when the caller receives verification of transmission of his message . indicator 162 is “ receiver active ” indicator and is activated by switch 180 . for example , five seconds before the receiver is due to deactivate , the indicator begins to blink , so that if the pager holder is expecting a verification notification or an authorization code , the holder can reactivate the receiver for another period of time . whereas only one embodiment of the paging apparatus has been described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the other pager designs could be advantageously used by the present invention . the digital synchronization between the transmitter and the receiving pager apparatus will now be explained . to conserve energy in a pager apparatus , each pager is activated only for a short period of time within a specified time interval , e . g ., for three seconds every 5 minutes . each profile at the central transmitting station includes a time interval to be assigned to every pager within the jurisdiction of the central station . thus , the transmitter will only transmit paging messages to a given pager apparatus during the time interval designated to that pager apparatus . the real - time clock built in the page keeps an accurate timing to turn the appropriate circuitry on at the specified time . to avoid long term drifts and the possibility of glitches , the transmitter will send out date and timing information with each frame or , alternatively , within plural frames . this procedure permits synchronizing each pager clock with the central transmitting station clock . this information is global in nature , i . e ., all pagers in the system receive this information and , normally , follows the synchronization and global bytes , preferably , immediately preceding the messages within the data frame . referring now to fig6 a there is shown the uart protocol used to format the stream of data . this protocol is a byte oriented ascii protocol , well known to those familiar with the state of the art . bits within the uart are non - return to zero ( nrz ) which restricts having any space between two adjacent highs ( logic 1 &# 39 ; s ). the beginning of a byte is indicated by a start bit 50 , characterized by its high - to - low transition . the low bit is sampled to determine the phase of the data stream , namely , its position in time . start bit 50 is followed by eight data bits 52 — a byte , by an optional parity bit 54 and by a stop bit 56 . the parity bit is used for error detection , whereas the stop bit indicates the end of a byte . it is known to those skilled in the art of formatting and transmitting data , that additional error detection or error detection and correction features could be added . in instances where sensitive information is to be transmitted , hamming - coded based error correction could be preferable . since it is of utmost importance in the present invention to avoid false alarms , the address portion of the message will be encoded . for example , a data rate of 10 kbits / sec . corresponds to 1 0 . 1 millisecond pulse width , for a total byte length of 1 . 1 milliseconds . the bytes are assembled to form a data stream at the transmission end and are beamed after modulation . a typical data frame is illustrated in fig6 b . the frame begins with , preferably , eight synchronization bytes . these bytes contain bit sequences that cannot be mistaken for data messages , thus allowing the microprocessor ( fig5 block 128 ) to determine the beginning of the frame . the frame format is programmed in the microprocessor to permit the pager apparatus to properly interpret the remaining fields . the first byte following synchronization is the previously mentioned “ global code ”. it determines the format of all remaining bytes within the frame . it also signals all active pagers at that time . in a standard frame format , the first plural bytes correspond to , preferably , the hamming - coded date and time that set the real - time clock ( fig5 block 130 ) in the pager apparatus . the remaining bytes in the standard format are partitioned into words . it is to be recognized that the optimum number of words is determined by a trade - off between minimizing the length of the frame and maintaining the overhead ( i . e ., synchronization bytes , date and time , etc .) a small percentage of the total . likewise , there is a trade - off in that a shorter frame length allows for a short “ on - time ” which , in turn , conserves power of the battery . however , this reduces the number of messages that can be sent during a frame and therefore increases the queuing time , or possible waiting time , until that particular pager gets a message . following the date and the time bytes , a plurality of words 66 appears , each word divided into two fields : an address code 68 and a message 70 . the address 68 corresponds to the address of the pager apparatus . it is compared to the internal addresses contained therein to determine whether the correct pager is being addressed . ( the coded number entered by the caller is not necessarily the same as the address coded in the pager , but rather a translation to be performed by the system relating numbers known to the public with those that identify a pager ). the correct pager apparatus decodes the message transmitted and displays its content on the read out display . additional bits in the message field are reserved for the previously mentioned “ local codes ”. referring to fig7 a 1 , which describes a preferred flow of the signal decoding and processing , as viewed by the paging device . in process 1 , a real - time clock activates the microprocessor to awake from the sleep state which , in turn , enables the receiver ( blocks 50 and 51 ). alternatively , switch 180 activates the microprocessor ( block 84 ) in process 2 which begins by setting the real time clock &# 39 ; s alarm to , for example , sixty seconds ( block 85 ) and then proceeds similarly to process 1 by returning to block 51 . this initiates the data acquisition process . the data received by the receiver is forwarded to the microprocessor ( block 52 ) for assembly of the bytes and decoding of the data ( block 53 ). it locates the synchronization bytes , decodes them ( block 54 ) together with the global code that normally follows the synchronization bytes ( block 55 ). the microprocessor interrogates the global code to determine its content ( block 56 ). if it is normal , it proceeds to block 58 , where the date and time of the message are decoded and are used to reset the real - time clock to be synchronized with the transmitter ( block 59 ). otherwise , it branches to block 57 , where the special nature of the global code is analyzed for further branching to the various subroutines , depending on the code . proceeding with the main data acquisition loop ( fig7 a 2 ), every address of the message following the time and date is decoded ( block 60 ). the system interrogates the various addresses to determine whether any of them matches one of the address codes of the pager device ( block 61 ). if there is no match and if there is an alarm interrupt , then process 1 terminates ( block 62 ). otherwise , process 2 returns to block 60 and continues decoding until there is an alarm interrupt ( block 82 ) at which time the process terminates after taking the appropriate steps . if , alternatively , one of the addresses in the protocol coincides with one of the addresses coded in the paging apparatus , the processor decodes the ensuing message ( block 63 ) and checks the various local options ( block 64 ). a normal option forces a branch to block 67 , where a comparison is made with the previous message stored . otherwise , appropriate action is taken depending on the coded option , and branching to the appropriate subroutine takes place ( block 66 ). continuing with the main program , if the message is a repeat of a previous one , decision block 68 forces a branch to block 69 , and the repeated message is ignored , since retransmission takes place several times to ensure reception . if the message transmitted and decoded is new ( block 78 ) and if the caller is either completely or partially welcome block 79 then block 70 is activated , and the “ new message ” indicator is turned on . if the caller is completely unwelcome then the message is discarded block 69 and the system returns to the previous existing state . if the caller is completely welcome block 80 then the audio control is also enabled ( blocks 71 and 72 — see fig7 a 3 ), but only if the audio features of the pager device are on . otherwise , the audio circuit is bypassed , and only the visual indicator is activated . if the reserved bits in the message field indicate that a voice message was left at the central station , ( blocks 73 and 74 ), the “ voice message ” indicator will alert the pager holder , informing him that a message is waiting at the central station . it is turned off thereafter once the pager holder retrieves his message or , alternatively , by the transmitting station at periodic intervals . in the absence of a voice message , no action is taken , and the system branches to end . the pager is deactivated and returned to an energy conservation standby mode until the next time slot when it is “ woken up ” by the clock ( blocks 75 through 77 ). referring now to fig7 b , showing the decoding of the global codes and their conversion into specific hardware functions . in the data stream , one or more bytes following the synchronization bytes are designated as the global option bytes . all pager apparatus within the system respond to these bytes , since none in particular is addressed . these bytes determine , additionally , the format of the rest of the data frame . accordingly , all pager apparatus within the system are programmed to interpret the incoming data stream in conformance with the changes in frame format introduced by the options . the decoding of the global code by the microprocessor prompts the generation of electrical signals to the various features of the pager apparatus . for example , a code 1 invokes the subroutine “ emergency call ” ( block 80 ). the subroutine initiates a command to activate the audio transducer to emit a beep with a distinctive amplitude and frequency , recognized by the pager holder as an incoming emergency signal ( blocks 8182 ). the subroutine checks whether a message is currently being displayed ( block 83 ). if the answer is yes , a command is issued to temporarily store in memory the previous message ( block 84 ). the visual display is cleared and the emergency message is displayed . the subroutine ends , and returns to the main program . other functions can be activated by the various subroutines . a preferred subset is : enable or disable the receiver , if a password protected lockout command is issued ; enable or reactivate all audio circuits , for normal operation of the pager apparatus ; referring now to fig7 c , which shows an example of a local code option after branching out of block 66 in the main program . unlike global options which concern all paging devices within the system , local options are restricted to a particular paging device . more specifically , local options are exercised only after an address has been decoded and the particular pager device has been addressed . the presence of extra bits in the message field specifies how to interpret the remainder of the message and how to handle any special options , many similar in nature to the global options . examples of local options are : enable or disable the audio circuits of the pager device in a predetermined local area 900 smaller than the pager service region using a local transmitter 902 as illustrated in fig9 . the procedure for a user to change the address of his pager will be explained to illustrate a local code option ( fig7 c ). the subroutine in the central station is invoked by selecting the appropriate option at block 66 of the main program . the pager holder requests a change of address for his pager device ( block 151 ). the system requests that the password in force be entered ( block 152 ). if the password is valid , the system recognizes the pager holder and assigns a new address to the pager device ( block 154 ). the system interrogates the pager holder if suffixes are desired ( block 155 ). if the answer is yes , the pager holder enters the appropriate suffixes ( block 156 ), one for each member of his family or group . if the password was invalid , the system automatically disconnects the pager holder ( block 157 ). fig7 d shows the operation with respect to the designate caller switch 182 . pressing the message display switch 150 , turns on the lcd display 148 , and activates the microprocessor 128 . the lcd display displays the last message received . pressing and releasing the designate caller switch 182 ( block 950 ) designates the caller id currently displayed as unwelcome , and adds this id to the list of unwelcome callers residing in the microprocessor &# 39 ; s internal ram ( block 952 ). pressing the message display switch 150 while the display is on ( block 953 ) shuts off the lcd display ( block 954 ). alternatively , the lcd display shuts off automatically after a specified number of seconds ( block 955 ). in either case , the microprocessor 128 returns to the previous existing state . if after the display is turned on the designate caller switch 182 is pressed and held down for , for example , two seconds ( block 960 ), the lcd display 148 displays the id of the unwelcome callers ( block 961 ). pressing and releasing the switch again ( block 962 ) steps through the list of unwelcome callers ( block 963 ). if the switch is pressed and held down while an unwelcome id is displayed ( block 964 ), it is removed from the unwelcome list ( block 965 ), that is , erased from the ram . this process can be repeated by pressing the designate caller switch 182 repeatedly . otherwise , the switch can be pressed twice ( block 966 ) to return the display and the pager to the standard mode ( block 967 ), or the display will shut off automatically after some predetermined time interval ( block 968 ). once again in either case the microprocessor returns to the previous existing state , such as the standard mode or the active receipt mode . fig8 shows a flow chart of how profile information normally stored at a central station is processed . as previously explained , a caller initiates a paging call to the central station via telephone lines ( block 400 ). the system determines whether the paging message is to be transmitted to one or to a plurality of paging devices ( block 420 ). if the call is to be forwarded to a single party , the profile of the called party is fetched ( block 410 ) and then a branch to entry point a in fig4 takes effect , and all subsequent steps shown therein are sequentially activated . if the caller wishes to initiate a multiple call , e . g ., to transmit a message to all members of a given group ; the appropriate distribution list is fetched from the group &# 39 ; s profile ( block 430 ), and each member of the group of called parties is individually polled by examining his profile to determine whether the caller &# 39 ; s identity is acceptable ( blocks 440 - 480 ). if the member polled accepts the call , his profile is further examined to establish his present location . if he is in the same region as the central station , the message is added to the transmitting queue ( block 500 ). if , on the other hand , the profile of the party called shows that he is temporarily away at a geographical region under the jurisdiction of some other central station b , c , . . . z , the message is added to the queue of messages to be directed to the appropriate central station ( blocks 490 , . . . , 499 ). at predetermined intervals , all messages are simultaneously transmitted to their respective destinations ( block 500 ). while only certain embodiments of the present invention have been described , it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . 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 which 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 .
6
a display apparatus 3 in accordance with a first embodiment of this invention is depicted in fig3 a . the display apparatus 3 , which in this embodiment is a projector , comprises a light source system 31 and an imaging system 33 . the light source system 31 , which is configured to provide a light beam for imaging , comprises a mirror wheel 311 , a first light source module 313 , a second light source module 315 and a controller ( not shown ). as shown in fig5 a , the mirror wheel 311 has a central rotating shaft 310 and a body 312 which in this embodiment is shaped like a disc , for example , a disc of 5 cm in diameter ( the diameter can be adjusted depending on the actual requirements ). the body 312 is disposed at an outer edge of the central rotating shaft 310 , and comprises an inner area and an outer area formed at an outer edge of the inner area . the outer area has a plurality of reflective segments 314 and a plurality of transmitting segments 316 , with the reflective segments 314 and the transmitting segments 316 arranged along the outer edge of the inner area alternately and continuously . the reflective segments 314 are equally spaced apart with one another along the outer edge of the inner area to form a hollow segment that is adapted to define each of the transmitting segments 316 . in this embodiment , there are two reflective segments 314 and two transparent segments 316 as shown in fig5 a . the reflective segments 314 and the transmitting segments 316 are arranged alternately for the purpose of switching between the first light source module 313 and the second light source module 315 . embodiments may also have one reflective segment 314 and transmitting segment 316 or more than one of them . the first light source module 313 and the second light source module 315 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the mirror wheel 311 . a controller ( not shown ) is electrically connected to the two light source modules to control the voltage levels of a first main timing sequence and a second main timing sequence inputted to the two light source modules respectively . the first light source module 313 includes a first led 3131 , a second led 3133 , a third led 3135 , a first light coupling element 3137 and a first light collecting element 3139 . the first led 3131 , the second led 3133 and the third led 3135 are lit up to emit light according to the first main timing sequence . the first light coupling element 3137 is adapted to redirect light beams projected by the leds to the first light collecting element 3139 . the first light collecting element 3139 is adapted to converge the light beam from the first coupling element 3137 to form a first light beam for projecting onto the reflective segments 314 . the first led 3131 , the second led 3133 and the third led 3135 are green , red and blue respectively . as shown in the timing diagram of fig3 b , the first main timing sequence comprises three timing subsequences , i . e ., a first timing sequence g 11 , a second timing sequence r 11 and a third timing sequence b 11 , according to which the first led 3131 , the second led 3133 and the third led 3135 project light beams to the first light collecting element 3139 successively . the main timing sequence and the timing subsequences are configured to provide input voltages in an interleaved pulse format . the second light source module 315 includes a fourth led 3151 , a fifth led 3153 , a sixth led 3155 , a second light coupling element 3157 and a second light collecting element 3159 . the fourth led 3151 , the fifth led 3153 and the sixth led 3155 are lit up to emit light according to the second main timing sequence . the second light coupling element 3157 is adapted to redirect light beams projected by each of these leds to the second light collecting element 3159 . the second light collecting element 3159 is adapted to converge the light beam from the second coupling element 3157 to form a second light beam for projecting onto the transmitting segments 316 . the fourth led 3151 , the fifth led 3153 and the sixth led 3155 are green , red and blue respectively . in this embodiment , the first light coupling element 3137 and / or the second light coupling element 3157 is an x - plate respectively . the first light collecting element 3139 and / or the second light collecting element 3159 comprises a lens respectively . it should be noted that the number of the leds , color and location of the light coupling elements , as well as the number , type and location of the light collecting elements are not just limited to those described above . for example , in other embodiments , the first light coupling element 3137 and / or the second light coupling element 3157 may also be a prism . as shown in the timing diagram of fig3 b , the second main timing sequence comprises three timing subsequences , i . e ., a fourth timing sequence g 12 , a fifth timing sequence r 12 and a sixth timing sequence b 12 , according to which the fourth led 3151 , the fifth led 3153 and the sixth led 3155 project light beams to the second light collecting element 3159 successively . these timing sequences are configured to provide input voltages in an interleaved pulse format . it can be seen from the timing diagram of fig3 b that the first led 3131 , the second led 3133 and the third led 3135 of the first light source module 313 , and the fourth led 3151 , the fifth led 3153 and the sixth led 3155 of the second light source module 315 are configured to emit light at different times . in other words , the controller is configured to light up the first light beam and the second light beam according to a preset integrated timing sequence depicted in the timing diagram . specifically , in the first main timing sequence , there are three pulses for each of the three subsequences thereof . the total duration of the nine pulses included in a main timing sequence constitutes a so - called duty cycle . driven by the nine pulses , the leds of the first light source module 313 are lit up successively for projecting a light beam onto the reflective segments 314 of the mirror wheel 311 . similarly , in the second main timing sequence , there are three pulses for each of the three subsequences thereof , and the leds are driven by the nine pulses . the leds of the second light source module 315 are lit up successively for projecting a light beam onto the transmitting segments 316 of the mirror wheel 311 . here , the leds of these light source modules have an extremely high switching speed , which depends on the number of transmitting segments 316 and reflective segments 314 as well as the rotation speed of the mirror wheel 313 . the first light source module 313 and the second light source module 315 operate alternately in respective duty cycles to produce the first and the second light beams which , as a whole , appear as a continuous light beam to the human eye . then , the first and the second light beams propagate into the imaging system 33 through the reflective segments 314 and the transmitting segments 316 of the mirror wheel 311 respectively . in this embodiment , the imaging system 33 comprises a lens array assembly 331 , a digital micromirror device ( dmd ) 333 and a prism 335 . hence , after the light beams projected via the first light collecting element 3139 and the second light collecting element 3159 to the mirror wheel 311 are reflected from / transmitted through the mirror wheel 311 , the resulting continuous light beams are processed by the lens array assembly 331 into light beams of uniform luminance and then reflected from the prism 335 to the dmd 333 for imaging . finally , an image is projected via the prism 335 onto a screen ( not shown ). in this embodiment , the two light source modules operate alternately to emit light beams so a duty cycle of either the light source modules is equal to a time period in which the mirror wheel 311 accomplish a quarter of the rotation . this time period in turn corresponds to the time periods when the first and the second light beams impinge on the reflective segments 314 and the transmitting segments 316 respectively . as individual leds are lighted up discretely according to a specific timing sequence in each duty cycle , the leds are able to withstand a higher current , thus giving rise to an increased overall luminance of the display apparatus 3 . a second embodiment of this invention , which is also a display apparatus 4 , is depicted in fig4 a . similarly , the display apparatus 4 comprises a light source system and an imaging system 43 . in this embodiment , the display apparatus 4 is a projector . however , unlike the first embodiment , the light source system of this embodiment comprises three light source modules , i . e ., a first light source module 413 , a second light source module 415 and a third light source module 417 respectively . additionally , in consideration of the additional third light source module 417 , although a mirror wheel 411 in this embodiment still comprises two reflective segments 414 and two transmitting segments 416 , both the reflective segments 414 thereof are further divided into a first reflective segment 414 a and a second reflective segment 414 b respectively , as shown in fig5 b . here , the first reflective segment 414 a , the second reflective segment 414 b and the transmitting segment 416 are arranged alternately for switching between the first light source module 413 , the third light source module 417 and the second light source module 415 . it should be noted herein that to adapt to different incident directions of the first light beam from the first light source module 413 and the third light beam from the third light source module 417 , the mirror wheel 411 should have different reflection angles ( not shown ) in the cross - sections of the first reflective segment 414 a and the second reflective segment 414 b so that these light beams are reflected in the same direction . in the light source system of this embodiment , the first light source module 413 and the second light source 415 are just the same as the first light source module 313 and the second light source module 315 of the first embodiment , and hence will not be described in detail again . the three light source modules are disposed with respect to the mirror wheel 411 in such a way that light beams projected by these light source modules will impinge exactly on the first reflective segment 414 a , the transmitting segment 416 and the second reflective segment 414 b respectively . the third light source module 417 includes a seventh led 4171 , an eighth led 4173 , a ninth led 4175 , a third light coupling element 4177 and a third light collecting element 4179 . the seventh led 4171 , the eighth led 4173 and the ninth led 4175 are lit up to emit a plurality of light beams according to a third main timing sequence . the third light coupling element 4177 is adapted to redirect light beams projected by each of these leds to the third light collecting element 4179 . the third light collecting element 4179 is adapted to converge the light beam from the third coupling element 4177 to form a third light beam for projecting onto the second reflective segments 414 b . the seventh led 4171 , the eighth led 4173 and the ninth led 4175 are green , red and blue respectively . in this embodiment , the third light coupling element 4177 is an x - plate , while the third light collecting element 4179 comprises a lens . it should be noted that the number of leds , color and location of the light coupling elements , as well as the number , type and location of the light collecting elements are not just limited to what described above . for example , in other embodiments , the third light coupling element 4177 may also be a prism . as shown in the timing diagram of fig4 b , the third main timing sequence comprises three timing subsequences , i . e ., a seventh timing sequence g 23 , an eighth timing sequence r 23 and a ninth timing sequence b 23 , according to which the seventh led 4171 , the eighth led 4173 and the ninth led 4175 project light beams to the third light collecting element 4179 successively . these timing sequences are configured to provide input voltages in an interleaved pulse format . the first light source module 413 and the second light source module 415 of this embodiment are the same in structure as those of the previous embodiment . however , the first timing sequence g 21 , the second timing sequence r 21 and the third timing sequence b 21 followed respectively by the first led 4131 , the second led 4133 and the third led 4135 of the first light source module 413 , as well as the fourth timing sequence g 22 , the fifth timing sequence r 22 and the sixth timing sequence b 22 followed respectively by the fourth led 4151 , the fifth led 4153 and the sixth led 4155 of the second light source module 415 are different from the first timing sequences g 11 , the second timing sequence r 11 , the third timing sequence b 11 , the fourth timing sequence g 12 , the fifth timing sequence r 12 and the sixth timing sequence b 12 of the previous embodiment . furthermore , it can be seen from the timing diagram of fig4 b that the first led 4131 , the second led 4133 and the third led 4135 of the first light source module 413 , the fourth led 4151 , the fifth led 4153 and the sixth led 4155 of the second light source module 415 , and the seventh led 4171 , the eighth led 4173 and the ninth led 4175 of the third light source module 417 are configured to emit light at different times . in other words , a controller is configured to light up the first , the second and the third light beams according to the preset integrated timing sequence depicted in the timing diagram . specifically , in the first main timing sequence , there are three pulses for each of the three subsequences thereof . the total duration of the nine pulses included in a main timing sequence constitutes a so - called duty cycle . driven by the nine pulses , the leds of the first light source module 413 are lit up successively for projecting a first continuous light beam onto the first reflective segments 414 a of the mirror wheel 411 . in the second main timing sequence , there are three pulses for each of the three subsequences thereof , thus constituting another duty cycle . driven by the nine pulses , the leds of the second light source module 415 are lit up successively for projecting a second continuous light beam onto the transmitting segments 416 of the mirror wheel 411 . similarly , driven by the third main timing sequence , the leds of the third light source module 417 are lit up successively for projecting a third continuous light beam onto the second reflective segments 414 b of the mirror wheel 411 . here , the leds described above have an extremely high switching speed , which depends on the number of transmitting segments 416 and reflective segments 414 as well as the rotation speed of the mirror wheel 411 . briefly speaking , the first light source module 413 , the second light source module 415 and the third light source module 417 are configured to operate one - by - one repeatedly . the first , the second and the third light beams emitted by these light source modules are projected onto the first reflective segment 414 a , the transmitting segment 416 and the second reflective segment 414 b respectively in such a way that the light paths they follow when propagating to the imaging system 43 overlap with each other . in this embodiment , the imaging system 43 comprises a lens array assembly 431 , a digital micromirror device ( dmd ) 433 and a prism 435 . hence , after the light beams projected via the first light collecting element 4139 , the second light collecting element 4159 and the third light collecting element 4179 to the mirror wheel 411 are reflected from / transmitted through the mirror wheel 411 , the resulting continuous light beams are processed by the lens array assembly 431 into light beams of uniform luminance and then reflected from the prism 435 to the dmd 433 for imaging . finally , an image is projected via the prism 435 onto a screen ( not shown ). in this embodiment , there are three light source modules operating alternately to produce light beams , so each individual light source module operates with a shorter duty cycle compared to those of the first embodiment . as a result , it is possible to drive each individual led of the light source modules with a higher current , thus giving rise to an increased overall luminance of the display apparatus 4 . in conclusion , according to this invention , the leds are lit up discretely and alternately according to a specific timing sequence , so each individual led is able to withstand a higher current , thereby giving rise to improved luminance . furthermore , each additional light source module may contribute to further improved light emission efficiency and luminance . moreover , with the configuration of the reflective segments and transmitting segments in combination with two or more interleaved timing sequences used for light source modules , light will not be lost during the switching of the light sources . in addition , of the instantaneous output light flux will also not be degraded . therefore , the display apparatus of this invention is capable of displaying an image with optimal light emission efficiency , higher luminance and more uniform light flux . the above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof . people skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof . nevertheless , although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions , they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended .
7
a system and method for managing cluster membership and locks using a fabric in a fibre channel communications network is described . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention . reference in the specification to “ one embodiment ” or to “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment of the invention . the appearances of the phrase “ in one embodiment ” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . some portions of the detailed description that follows are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory . these algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . an algorithm is here , and generally , conceived to be a self - consistent sequence of steps ( instructions ) leading to a desired result . the steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities . usually , though not necessarily , these quantities take the form of electrical , magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored , transferred , combined , compared and otherwise manipulated . it has proven convenient at times , principally for reasons of common usage , to refer to these signals as bits , values , elements , symbols , characters , terms , numbers , or the like . it should be borne in mind , however , that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities . unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion , it is appreciated that throughout the description , discussions utilizing terms such as “ processing ” or “ computing ” or “ calculating ” or determining ” or “ displaying ” or the like , refer to the action and processes of a computer system , or similar electronic computing device , that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical ( electronic ) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage , transmission or display devices . the present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein . this apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes , or it may comprise a general - purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer . such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium , such as , but is not limited to , any type of disk including floppy disks , optical disks , cd - roms , an magnetic - optical disks , read - only memories ( roms ), random access memories ( rams ), eproms , eeproms , magnetic or optical cards , application specific integrated circuits ( asics ), or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions , and each coupled to a computer system bus . furthermore , the computers referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability . the algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus . various general - purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein , or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps . the required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below . in addition , the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language . it will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein , and any references below to specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode of the present invention . reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever practicable , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . [ 0030 ] fig1 illustrates a fibre channel network 100 with a zone 178 of hosts or nodes specified in an embodiment of the present invention . generally , the network 100 is connected using fibre channel connections , though other network interconnects such as infiniband or myrinet could be used . in the embodiment shown and for illustrative purposes , the network 100 includes a fabric 102 comprised of four different cluster control switches 110 , 112 , 114 , and 116 . it will be understood by one of skill in the art that a fibre channel fabric may be comprised of one or more switches . a variety of devices can be connected to the fabric 102 . a fibre channel fabric supports both point - to - point and loop device connections . a point - to - point connection is a direct connection between a device and the fabric . a loop connection is a single fabric connection that supports one or more devices in an “ arbitrated loop ” configuration , wherein signals travel around the loop through each of the loop devices . hubs , bridges , and other configurations may be added to enhance the connections within an arbitrated loop . on the fabric side , devices are coupled to the fabric via fabric ports . a fabric port ( f_port ) supports a point - to - point fabric attachment . typically , ports connecting one switch to another switch are referred to as expansion ports ( e_ports ). on the device side , each device coupled to a fabric constitutes a node . each device includes a node port by which it is coupled to the fabric . a port on a device coupled in a point - to - point topology is a node port ( n_port ). the label n_port may be used to identify a device , such as a computer or a peripheral , which is coupled to the fabric . in the embodiment shown in fig1 fabric 102 includes switches 110 , 112 , 114 and 116 that are interconnected . switch 110 is attached to hosts or nodes 156 and 158 . switch 112 is attached to nodes 150 and 152 . switch 114 is attached to storage device 170 . typically , storage device 170 is a storage device such as a raid device . alternatively the storage device 170 could be a jbod or just a bunch of disks device . switch 116 is attached to storage devices 132 and 134 , and is also attached to node 160 . a user interface 142 also connects to the fabric 102 . zoning is a fabric management service that can be used to create logical subsets of devices within a storage area network , and enables the partitioning of resources for the management and access control of frame traffic . more details on zoning and how to implement zoning are disclosed in commonly assigned u . s . pat . application ser . nos . 09 / 426 , 567 entitled “ method and system for creating and formatting zones within a fibre channel system ,” by david banks , kumar malavalli , david ramsay , and teow kah sin , filed oct . 22 , 1999 , and ser . no . 10 / 123 , 996 , entitled “ fibre channel zoning by device name in hardware ,” by ding - long wu , david c . banks and jieming zhu , filed apr . 17 , 2002 , which are hereby incorporated by reference . still referring to fig1 a zone 178 nodes 150 , 152 , 154 , 156 and 160 and storage device 170 . a zone indicates a group of source and destination devices allowed to communicate with each other . in this case zone 178 exemplary cluster . an exemplary use of this cluster would be execution of a large database . [ 0038 ] fig2 is a block diagram of a system 228 indicating an example of the connections used within a fibre channel fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention . in the example shown , system 2 includes two cluster control switches 240 and 230 , a device 260 and a device 250 . switch 240 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 246 for managing its switching and cluster functions , and switch 230 includes a cpu 236 for managing its switching and cluster functions . switch 240 includes two ports 242 and 244 ; switch 230 includes two ports 232 and 234 . the number of ports shown on each switch is purely representative ; and it will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art that a switch may contain more or fewer ports . device 260 is communicatively coupled via its node port 262 to port 242 on switch 240 . device 250 is communicatively coupled via its node port 252 to port 234 on switch 230 . switch 240 and switch 230 are interconnected via ports 244 and 232 . [ 0039 ] fig3 illustrates a basic block diagram of a cluster control switch 200 , such as switches 110 , 112 , 114 , 16 , 230 or 240 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . a processor and i / o interface complex 202 provides the processing capabilities of the switch 200 . the processor may be any of various suitable processors , including the intel i 960 and the motorola or ibm powerpc . the i / o interfaces may include low speed serial interfaces , such as rs - 232 , which use a driver / receiver circuit 204 , or high - speed serial network interfaces , such as ethernet , which use a phy circuit 206 to connect to a local area network ( lan ). main memory or dram 208 and flash or permanent memory 210 , are connected to the processor complex 202 to provide memory to control and be used by the processor . the processor complex 202 also includes an i / o bus interface 212 , such as a pci bus , to connect to fibre channel circuits 214 and 216 . the fibre channel circuits 214 , 216 in the preferred embodiment each contain eight fibre channel ports . each port is connected to an external serdes circuit 218 , which in turn is connected to a media interface 220 , which receives the particular fibre channel medium used to interconnect switches used to form a fabric or to connect to various devices . [ 0041 ] fig3 a is a general block diagram of an exemplary node 270 . it is understood that this diagram is for illustration purposes and many other variations are suitable for the node . a processor 272 is connected to a memory controller / bridge chip 274 . dram or main memory 276 is connected to the chip 274 to provide the main program memory used by the node 270 . a pci bus is connected to the chip 274 , with various devices connected to the pci bus . a flash memory 278 provides permanent boot memory . a hard drive interface 282 is connected to a hard drive for local storage of the operating systems and programs . an ethernet interface 280 provides a local area network connection . a host bus adaptor or hba 286 provides the connection to the fabric . the hba 286 includes a fibre channel circuit 288 , a serdes 290 and a media interface 292 . proceeding then to fig4 a general block diagram of the cluster control switch 110 , 1112 , 114 , 16 , 200 , 230 or 240 hardware and software is shown . block 300 indicates the hardware as previously described . block 302 a is the basic software architecture of a principal cluster control switch . generally think of this as the principal switch operating system and all of the particular modules or drivers that are operating within that embodiment . one particular block is the cluster services 304 . the cluster services 304 has various blocks including a membership algorithm block 306 a , a lock manager block 308 a , a lock area 310 a , and an api block 316 to interface the cluster services to the operating system 302 and driver modules 318 to operate with the devices in the hardware 300 . other modules operating on the operating system 302 are fibre channel , switch and diagnostic drivers 320 ; port modules 322 , if appropriate ; a driver 324 to work with the fibre channel circuits ; and a system module 326 . in addition , because this is a fully operational switch as well as a cluster control switch , the normal switch modules for switch management and switch operations are generally shown in the dotted line 320 . this module will not be explained in more detail . a local cluster control switch 302 b is shown in fig4 b . the local switch 302 b is very similar to the principal switch 302 a , except that the local switch 302 b includes a local membership module 306 b , a local lock manager 308 b and a local lock area 310 b . as will be described in more detail below , the local versions of the modules only act as interfaces between the nodes and the principal switch 302 a , storing only local information , such as caching local copies of lock status for nodes connected to the local switch . the membership algorithm module 306 a performs the primary membership functions , while the lock manager module 308 a performs the primary or fabric - wide lock function , keeping the lock information in the lock area 310 a . a given switch can preferably include both the local and principal modules , with the principal modules being active if the switches collectively select that switch to act as the principal switch . operation of a node according to the present invention is shown in fig5 . in a first step 500 the node registers with the cluster services in step 500 . this is done by sending an appropriate call using a cluster membership message addressed to the local switch to which it is connected . the cluster membership message is formed using the proper api to the local switch to which it is connected . control then proceeds to step 502 where particular resources which need to be locked are also registered with the principal switch , preferably using common transport ( ct ) logic commands developed for lock management . this can be done using a lock message addressed to a well known address .. control then proceeds to step 504 where the node sends a heartbeat message , a different cluster membership message , to indicate that it is properly operational and so needs to be considered operational as part of the cluster . control proceeds to step 506 to determine if the node has received any messages from the switch . if so , control proceeds to step 508 where these messages are processed . these messages will generally relate to membership information , such as the status of other nodes connected to the cluster . if no messages are received in step 506 , or after execution of step 508 , control proceeds to step 510 to determine if the node needs a locked resource . if so , control proceeds to step 512 where a lock message is sent to the switch using the api to request control of the particular locked resource . if the resource is not needed in step 510 or control is requested in step 512 , control proceeds to step 514 to determine if the node desires to leave the cluster . if not , control loops back up to step 504 where another heartbeat message is sent to the switch . if it does desire to leave the cluster in step 514 , control proceeds to step 516 where the node unregisters with switch cluster services . it is noted that while this is shown in fig5 as a sequential or polled manner , in most cases these would be different threads which are operating inside the node so that they would actually be occurring simultaneously . for example , heartbeat messages would be sent periodically based on a timer routine , while received messages would be activated based on interrupt receipt of a particular message . further , the need for locked resources would be occurring for a particular module which needed the particular resources . thus this drawing of fig5 is shown in a simplistic form to show the general operation of the node . it is also noted that fig5 does not show the various data messages , which are transferred between the nodes to transfer data between the nodes . these data messages are addressed to the appropriate node and are transferred through the switches forming the fabric as appropriate . [ 0047 ] fig6 illustrates principal switch operation for the cluster services according to the present invention . in step 600 the switch receives the various registration requests , a type of cluster membership message , forwarded from the local switches and provides a status message back to the local switch . control then proceeds to step 602 , where the principal switch sets up the proper zoning to isolate and configure the proper cluster zones . this zoning information is provided to each of the local switches so the zoning hardware can be appropriately configured . this can be done as shown in above - referenced applications . control then proceeds to step 604 to receive any resource lock allocations forwarded from the local switches . in this step the principal switch sets up the various lock areas requested by the nodes using a lock message and provides a status response back to the local switch . control then proceeds to step 606 to determine if a heartbeat message has been forwarded from a local switch . this would indicate that a particular node is still alive and should properly remain in the membership of the cluster . control proceeds to step 608 message has been received to determine if a particular timeout for that particular node has passed . if not , control proceeds to step 610 , which is also where control would proceed after step 606 if a message had been received . in step 610 the switch determines if a disconnect request has been forwarded from a node because the node desires to unregister from the cluster . if not , control proceeds to step 612 to see if the node has been physically disconnected from the fabric , based on a message from a local switch . if the timeout has passed in step 608 , a disconnect request has been received in step 610 or the node has been physically disconnected in step 612 , control proceeds to step 614 where the principal switch removes the particular node from cluster membership according to the desired cluster membership algorithms . numerous different membership algorithms could be utilized as desired . during this process the principal switch also alerts the local switches and the nodes using cluster membership messages so that each switch in the fabric and node in the cluster is aware of the particular cluster membership at any given time . further , the principal switch also changes the zoning to indicate that the node has been removed , which zoning changes are sent to the local switches . preferably this is done by changing the zoning so that the affected node only has read - only privileges and cannot write to any devices in the cluster , including the hosts and storage devices . control proceeds from step 614 or if the node has not been disconnected in step 612 , to step 616 to determine if a lock request has been forwarded by a local switch . if so , control proceeds to step 618 where the particular lock request is processed by the lock management module to determine if the particular process or resource is locked . a reply is provided to the local switch of an acknowledgement or any rejection .. it is also noted that as in fig5 the operations are shown in a polled or sequential manner for ease of explanation but in most cases the various requests or messages would be handled as received . it is noted that transferring of the data messages between the nodes is not shown in fig6 . this is because those transfers would occur as basic hardware switching functions of the switches , and thus are not part of the cluster services illustrated in fig6 . [ 0049 ] fig7 illustrates local switch operation for the cluster services according to the present invention . in step 700 the local switch receives the various registration requests from the nodes . control then proceeds to step 702 , where the registration request is forwarded to the principal switch , with the principal switch returning a status message and any changes in zoning . the status message is forwarded to the node . in step 704 the local switch sets up the proper zoning to isolate and configure the proper cluster zones . control then proceeds to step 706 to receive any resource lock allocations from the nodes . in step 708 , the local switch forwards the lock allocations to the principal switch and sets up a local , cached copy in the local lock area 310 b . also in step 708 the local switch receives a status message from the principal switch and forwards it to the node . control then proceeds to step 710 to receive any zoning changes received from the principal switch . as described above , the principal switch preferably handles the membership algorithm . should the principal switch determine that a node needs to be removed , it will forward the appropriate zoning changes to all the local switches . for example , if a node has become non - responsive , the principal switch could tell each local switch to zone that node for read - only operation so that the node cannot corrupt the database . at a later time the node could receive full rights , but only after it satisfies membership requirements for the cluster . the received zoning changes are applied in step 712 . control then proceeds to step 714 to determine if a heartbeat message has been received . this would indicate that a particular node is still alive and should properly remain in the membership of the cluster . control proceeds to step 718 if no message has been received to determine if a disconnect request has been received from a node because the node desires to unregister from the cluster . if not , control proceeds to step 720 to see if the node has been physically disconnected from the fabric . if a heartbeat message was received in step 714 , a disconnect request has been received in step 718 or the node has been physically disconnected in step 720 , control proceeds to step 716 where the local switch forwards the message or status change to the principal switch . control proceeds from step 716 , or if the node has not been disconnected in step 720 , to step 722 to determine if a lock request has been received . if so , control proceeds to step 724 where the particular lock request is forwarded by the local lock management module 308 b in the local switch to the principal switch and a response is received from the principal switch . the response is forwarded to the node on step 726 , with the state cached in the local lock area 310 b . control then proceeds from steps 722 or 726 to step 700 . it is also noted that as in fig6 the operations are shown in a polled or sequential manner for ease of explanation but in most cases the various requests or messages would be handled as received . it is noted that transferring of the data messages between the nodes is not shown in fig7 . this is because those transfers would occur as basic hardware switching functions of the switches , and thus are not part of the cluster services illustrated in fig7 . the above example of cluster membership and lock management has been done using a single fabric for ease of explanation . in many cases fibre channel fabrics are often duplicated between devices to provide redundancy . this is shown in illustrative form in fig8 . network servers 800 and 804 and mainframe 804 are each connected to fabric ( 1 ) 808 and fabric ( 2 ) 806 . disk arrays 810 and 812 are also each connected to fabric ( 1 ) 808 and fabric ( 2 ) 806 . thus there are two paths between any device , providing the desired redundancy . however , this arrangement complicates cluster membership and lock operations . while it would be possible to run those operations independently in each fabric , it is desirable to insure that the two fabrics are synchronized . therefore , an inter - fabric cluster controller 814 is preferably provided . the controller 814 is connected to fabric ( 1 ) 808 fabric ( 2 ) 806 by links 818 and 820 , respectively . the actual control unit 816 is connected to these links . the block diagram of the control unit 816 is similar to the block diagram of switch 200 . preferably the controller 814 does not pass messages , either cluster membership , lock or data between the fabrics 808 and 806 , though it may perform normal data message switching functions for each fabric independently if desired . in the preferred embodiment the controller 814 acts as the principal switch for each fabric . the controller 814 has additional software modules to check for consistency between the cluster membership and lock status of each fabric . should an inconsistency develop , the controller 814 will send appropriate messages to each fabric 808 and 806 to maintain the consistency . [ 0056 ] fig8 illustrates an additional problem which may occur . as can be seen , each device has two fibre channel ports . but locks and cluster membership are based on the node , or software instance executing on the node , not on each fibre channel port . thus the registration and allocation requests , and cluster membership and lock ownership , are preferably based on the node or process , not the fibre channel port . for this description , it is assumed that the various messages are provided appropriately and the various switches and controllers base operations at the appropriate level for the particular action . an additional point which should be addressed is the failure of the local or principal switches . if a local switch fails , new locks associated with nodes connected to that local switch would not registered but previously existing locks would operate normally . if a principal switch fails , no new locks will be registered and a new principal switch will be elected from the local switches . each local switch will provide its cached local lock information to the new principal switch to recreate the principal lock area . the principal switch will verify the lock ownership and normal operation will resume . the cluster membership operation described above is the preferred embodiment . however , a more simplified version can be implemented according to the invention . in the simplified version the principal switch does not perform the membership algorithm but instead broadcasts messages to all of the cluster nodes if an event affecting cluster membership occurs , such as a missing heartbeat message or a link failure , with the nodes thus communicating among themselves directly to determine the proper response . while this simple approach does not relieve the hosts from as much processing and message handling as the preferred embodiment , it is believed that there will still be a marked reduction because the membership affecting events will be very infrequent in normal operation . in addition , while the preferred embodiment performs the distributed operation by use of local switches and a principal switch , fully equal switches could be utilized , with each switch providing messages to update all other switches or by having switches responsible only for their local nodes and query the other switches for other operations , as in distributed name server operation . this equal switch organization would work satisfactorily in small fabrics , but operation would degrade for larger fabrics and for that reason the local and principal organization is preferred . therefore it can be seen in the particular disclosed cluster control switch both the cluster management and the cluster lock activities . the operations and communications of the particular hosts or nodes in the cluster are offloaded , as is the complicated processing . therefore performance of the nodes is increased , increasing overall cluster performance . although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments , other embodiments are possible . as will be understood by those of skill in the art , the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof . for example , different numbers of ports ( other than the four ports illustrated herein ) may be supported by the zone group based filtering logic . additionally , the hardware structures within the switch may be modified to allow additional frame payload bytes to be read and used for frame filtering . accordingly , the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims and equivalents .
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next , a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in details with reference to fig6 to 10 . fig6 illustrates a motion recognizing system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention . the motion recognizing system 10 has a sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 , a recognition processing unit 2 , an event motion detecting unit 3 and a recognition result output unit 4 . the recognition processing unit 2 has a time window start / end time setting unit 21 , a time window data extracting unit 22 , a feature amount calculating unit 23 and a motion recognizing unit 24 . the event motion detecting unit 3 has a peak detecting unit 31 , a peak interval calculating unit 32 , a peak predicting unit 33 and a peak matching determining unit 34 . the recognition processing unit 2 and the event operation detecting unit 3 may configure a motion recognizing apparatus 8 . the event motion detecting unit 3 is also referred to as a cyclicity loss detecting means . the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 acquires sensor data which represents a motion of a user from various sensors , and temporarily stores the sensor data . the peak detecting unit 31 detects a time ( referred to as a peak time below ) of at least a top of a peak shape of the sensor data obtained by the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 . the peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates an interval between the peak times detected by the peak detecting unit 31 . the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak time which appears next from a value of the peak interval calculated by the peak interval calculating unit 32 and an obtained time of the latest peak . the peak matching determining unit 34 compares the peak time detected by the peak detecting unit 31 and the peak time predicted by the peak predicting unit 33 , and determines whether or not a gap between the times is in a predetermined certain time duration . the time window start / end time setting unit 21 sets a time window start time and end time to settle in the time window the time at which an “ event motion ” occurs only when the event motion detecting unit 3 detects an occurrence of the “ event motion ”. the time window data extracting unit 22 clips sensor data of a time window having a predetermined duration from the time window start time and end time set by the time window start / end time setting unit 21 . the feature amount calculating unit 23 calculates a feature amount which represents a feature of a recognition target motion using the time window data clipped by the time window data extracting unit 22 . the feature amount calculating unit 23 determines whether an estimation target motion is performed using the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculating unit 23 . when there is a plurality of types of recognition target motions , the recognition processing unit 2 may be configured to be separately prepared per target motion . when , for example , two types of motions of a “ walk ” motion and a “ sit down ” motion are recognized , a configuration including two recognition processing units of a “ walk ” recognition processing unit and a “ sit ” recognition processing unit may also be employed . when motion recognition is performed targeting at a plurality of motions in this way , each motion is recognized in advance as a motion which belongs to an “ event motion ” or as a motion which does not belong to the “ event motion ” and is stored in the recognition processing unit of each motion . when , for example , four types of motions of “ walk ”, “ run ”, “ stand up ” and “ sit down ” are recognized , “ walk ” is not recognized as an “ event motion ”, “ run ” is not recognized as the “ event motion ”, “ stand up ” is recognized as the “ event motion ” and “ sit down ” is recognized as the “ event motion ” and these motions are stored in the recognition processing unit 2 . further , only when the event motion detecting unit 3 detects an occurrence of the “ event motion ”, the recognition processing unit of the “ event motion ” executes recognition processing . meanwhile , recognition processing used in a relevant technique as illustrated in fig2 may be performed as processing of recognizing a motion which is not an “ event motion ” without using the event motion detecting unit 3 . the motion recognizing system 10 is , for example , a mobile telephone of the user although the motion recognizing system 10 is not limited thereto as a physical configuration . in this case , when , for example , the user possesses a mobile telephone on which an acceleration sensor is mounted , the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 of the motion recognizing unit 10 inside the mobile telephone acquires sensor data generated by the acceleration sensor . each processing is executed in the event motion detecting unit 3 and the recognition processing unit 2 using the obtained acceleration sensor data , and a recognition result obtained by the motion recognizing unit 24 of the recognition processing unit 2 is displayed on the recognition result output unit 4 which is a display device of a mobile telephone . the “ walk ” motion which is not the “ event motion ” and the “ sit ” motion which is the “ event motion ” will be described as a specific example according to the first embodiment of the present invention per component based on a processing flow . a case will be described where the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 acquires acceleration data which is an example of sensor data in real time , and sequentially processes the acquired acceleration data . first , the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 acquires sensor data outputted from a sensor when a user is making a motion . further , sensor data of a short time corresponding to predetermined time duration such as about several seconds to several tens of seconds is temporarily stored . the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 inputs the obtained sensor data to the peak detecting unit 31 of the event motion detecting unit 3 . when , for example , the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 is provided in a mobile telephone terminal on which the acceleration sensor is mounted , it is possible to obtain acceleration sensor data when the user is making a motion since the user carries the mobile telephone . the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak in the sensor data obtained from the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 . the peak refers to at least a data point which is a local maximum or a data point which is a local minimum when a value of sensor data is read in a chronological order . the peak detecting unit 31 supplies “ peak information ” which includes a peak time of the detected peak , to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 . the “ peak information ” includes at least time information of a data point of a peak . other pieces of peak information include , for example , a value of data of a data point which is a peak and a value of an inclination between the data point which is the peak and data points prior to and subsequent to this data point . the peak detection processing is repeatedly executed by the peak detecting unit 31 every time sensor data of a predetermined time is obtained , and new peak information is supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 every time the new peak information is obtained . further , when there is no peak in the obtained sensor data , the peak detecting unit 31 does not supply peak information to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 . a reference to fig7 a will be made to continue explanation . fig7 a schematically illustrates sensor data of a “ walk ” motion obtained from the acceleration sensor attached to the user . as illustrated in fig7 a , a case will be described where sensor data of a given time to time 0 second is obtained . the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak p 0 at time − 0 . 5 second , and supplies information of the obtained peak information as peak information to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 . further , before sensor data of the given time to time 0 second is obtained , a peak p — 1 has already been detected at time − 1 . 5 second and peak information of the peak p — 1 has already been supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 . further , although an example of a peak is a data point which is a local maximum or a data point which is a local minimum as described above , a peak to be detected is not limited to this . a peak is , for example , a point which is a local maximum and a maximum value in a certain data section or a point which is a local minimum and a value in a specific range . further , when multiple peaks which satisfy a condition are detected in a certain data section , only a peak which represents cyclicity of a motion may be detected by using a rule that only a peak having the highest value among detected peaks is regarded as a peak . the peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates a time interval between the temporally latest peak and the second latest peak compared to the latest peak , and supplies a value of the calculated peak interval and peak information of the latest peak to the peak predicting unit 33 . an example of fig7 a will be described , and the peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates a time interval pi 0 between the latest peak p 0 ( time − 0 . 5 second ) and the second latest peak p − 1 ( time − 1 . 5 second ) compared to the latest peak , and obtains a result of (− 0 . 5 second )−(− 1 . 5 second )= 1 second . the peak interval calculating unit 32 supplies a value of 1 second of the calculated peak interval and time information of − 0 . 5 second which is peak information of the peak p 0 to the peak predicting unit 33 . the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears the next using the peak interval and the temporally latest peak information obtained from the peak interval calculating unit 32 . next , an example of a method of predicting a peak will be described using fig7 and 8 . fig7 a and 8 schematically illustrate sensor data of the “ walk ” motion obtained from the acceleration sensor attached to the user as described above . in case of the “ walk ” motion , a section between a given peak and a next peak corresponds to one step of “ walk ”, that is , one cycle of a motion . when the “ walk ” motion cyclically continues at a certain pace , a peak interval is thought to be fixed . hence , as illustrated in fig7 a , a predicted peak p e1 is predicted to appear after the immediate peak interval pi 0 passes after the latest peak p 0 appears . as illustrated in fig8 a , this peak interval pi 0 is a difference between a time t 0 of a peak p 0 and a time t − 1 of a peak p − 1 , and is 1 second in this case described above . hence , as illustrated in fig8 b , a next peak is thought to appear at a time t e1 ( 0 . 5 second ) obtained by adding a value ( 1 second ) of the immediate peak interval pi 0 to time t 0 (− 0 . 5 second ) of the latest peak p 0 . the peak predicting unit 33 supplies predicted peak information to the peak matching determining unit 34 . the “ predicted peak information ” includes at least a value ( 0 . 5 second ) of time t e1 of a peak to be predicted . the peak matching determining unit 34 compares the predicted peak information obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 and peak information obtained from the sensor data by the peak detecting unit 31 , and checks whether or not the two pieces of peak information match . whether or not the predicted peak and a peak of a new time ( referred to as a new peak ) instead of the peak obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 by the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak predicting unit 33 is checked . meanwhile , a method of determining whether or not peaks match will be described using fig9 . fig9 a illustrates that the peak p e1 ( time t e1 ) which is about to appear next to the latest peak p 0 ( time t 0 ). fig9 b illustrates that the predicted peak p e1 and the new peak p 1 match . fig9 c illustrates that the predicted peak and the new peak do not match . given that , for example , only an occurrence time of a peak is used as peak information , when a difference between the occurrence time t e1 of the predicted peak p e1 obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 and the occurrence time t 1 of the new peak p 1 obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 is smaller than a predetermined value ( fig9 b ), it is recognized that the predicted peak and the new peak match . when the peaks match , the peak matching determining unit 34 supplies a recognition result that the peaks match , that is , a recognition result that a cyclic motion continues , predicted peak information and new peak information to the time window start / end time setting unit 21 . further , when a peak does not actually appear at time t e1 of the predicted peak ( fig9 c ) and , more specifically , the difference between the occurrence time t e1 of the predicted peak obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 and the occurrence time t 1 of the new peak obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 is larger than a predetermined value , it is recognized that the predicted peak and the new peak do not match . when the peaks do not match , the peak matching determining unit 34 supplies a recognition result that the peaks do not match , that is , the recognition result that a cyclic motion stops halfway and an “ event motion ” occurs , predicted peak information and new peak information to the time window start / end time setting unit 21 . further , even when the peak detecting unit 31 detects the peak used by the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak predicting unit 33 and then does not detect a new peak for predetermined time duration or more , a recognition result that the peaks do not match and predicted peak information may be supplied to the time window start / end time setting unit 21 likewise . a case when peaks do not match will be described with reference to fig7 b . fig7 b illustrates that the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 obtains acceleration data of time 0 second to time 1 second , and the peak detecting unit 31 processes the acceleration data of time 0 second to time 1 second and does not detect a peak as a result . there is not actually a peak at time 0 . 5 second of the predicted peak p e1 , and therefore it is recognized that the predicted peak and the new peak do not match . hence , a recognition result that the “ event motion ” occurs and time information of 0 . 5 second which is predicted peak information are supplied to the time window start / end time setting unit 21 . the time window start / end time setting unit 21 sets a time window start time and a time window end time according to the recognition result supplied from the peak matching determining unit 34 . more specifically , when the peak matching determining unit 34 determines that the “ event motion ” does not occur , the time window start / end time setting unit 21 does not set a time window related to “ event motion ” recognition and then the recognition processing unit 2 does not execute subsequent “ event motion ” recognition processing , either . further , when the peak matching determining unit 34 determines that the “ event motion ” occurs , the time window start time and end time of the “ event motion ” are set and subsequent recognition processing in the recognition processing unit 2 is executed . when a plurality of motions is a recognition target , a configuration to prepare separate recognition processing units 2 and make recognition may be employed . in this regard , each recognition processing unit 2 stores in advance whether or not a recognition target motion is an “ event motion ”. when , for example , a “ walk ” recognition processing unit 2 a and a “ stand up ” recognition processing unit 2 b are used as the recognition processing units 2 , the “ walk ” recognition processing unit 2 a stores in advance that a motion is not an “ event motion ” and the “ stand up ” recognition processing unit 2 b stores in advance that a motion is an “ event motion ” to determine whether or not to execute processing of setting time window start / end times according to the recognition result of the peak matching determining unit 34 . meanwhile , a specific time window setting method will be described . first , time window duration is set in advance per recognition target motion . generally , data of the time window duration which is one cycle of a motion or a start to an end of a motion needs to be included in each time window . for example , a case will be described where time window duration used to recognize “ walk ” is determined . in this case , for example , a motion of moving one step forward can be regarded as one cycle of the “ walk ” motion . a time required to make a motion of one step is estimated as about one second at maximum from a result of a conducted experiment and , consequently , the time window duration can be determined as 1 second . similarly , when a time window duration used to recognize a “ sit ” motion as an example of an “ event motion ” is taken into account , the time required to make a “ sit ” motion is estimated as about 2 seconds at maximum from a result of a conducted experiment and , consequently , the time window duration can be determined as 2 seconds . next , a specific setting method of time window start / end times of an “ event motion ” will be described . the method of setting the time window start time and end time of the “ event motion ” includes , for example , a method of setting a start time and an end time to set the peak time predicted by the peak predicting unit 33 as the time window start time , or a method of setting a start time and an end time to set the peak time predicted by the peak predicting unit 33 as a time window center time . another method is a method of setting a detected new peak time as a time window end time when the new peak is detected at a time different from the peak time predicted by the peak predicting unit 33 . when the new peak time is set as the time window end time , a time found by tracking predetermined time window duration from the set time window end time per motion of interest is set as a time window start time . similarly , for example , a method of setting the time of the new peak detected by the peak detecting unit 31 as the time window start time of the “ event motion ” is applicable . a method of setting a plurality of time windows is also applicable . that is , a method of setting the time window according to the above method , setting a plurality of time windows set by shifting start and end times by a short time as illustrated in fig5 only in certain sections prior to or subsequent to the set time window and executing recognition processing per time window is also applicable . in this regard , a method of using predetermined time duration by setting the preceding and subsequent sections to shift a time window , as sections of 6 seconds in total which are the preceding and subsequent sections of 3 seconds based on the set time window center time is applicable . another method of setting sections to shift a time window may be a method of separately setting sections to shift a time window per motion by , for example , setting sections as sections of 2 w seconds in total which are preceding and subsequent sections of w seconds based on the set time window center time when , for example , the time window duration is w seconds since the time window duration differs per motion to be recognized . the time window start / end time setting unit 21 supplies information of the time window start time and end time per motion to the time window data extracting unit 22 . next , recognizing a “ sit ” motion will be specifically described with reference to fig7 c . as described above , using a method of setting a start time and an end time to set “ sit ” time window duration as 2 seconds and setting the peak time predicted by the peak predicting unit 22 as the start time of the time window will be described . the time window start / end time setting unit 21 obtains information of time 0 . 5 second of the predicted peak p e1 as predicted peak information from the peak matching determining unit 34 , and then sets the time window tw of 2 seconds of duration whose time window start point is 0 . 5 second of a predicted peak time . the time window data extracting unit 22 clips sensor data from the sensor data temporarily stored in the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 according to the time window start time and end time of each motion obtained from the time window start / end time setting unit 21 . the time window extracting unit 22 supplies the clipped sensor data to the feature amount calculating unit 23 . the feature amount calculating unit 23 calculates a feature amount which characterizes a motion per recognition target motion using the sensor data obtained by the time window data extracting unit 22 . the feature amount is thought to be , for example , various statistics amounts such as an average value or a variance value of sensor data of a time window , a maximum value or a minimum value . the feature amount calculating unit 23 supplies the obtained feature amount to the motion recognizing unit 24 . the motion recognizing unit 24 recognizes a motion at a time at which the time window is set using the feature amount obtained from the feature amount calculating unit 23 . when , for example , a variance value in a time window is used as the feature amount to recognize a “ walk ” motion , motion recognition is performed using a rule to determine that the motion is “ not walk ” when the variance value is less than 4000 [ mg 2 ] and the motion is “ walk ” when the variance value is 4000 [ mg 2 ] or more . a motion recognition result obtained by the above processing is displayed on , for example , the display device of the mobile telephone which is the recognition result output unit 4 . the above processing of the time window data extracting unit 22 , the feature amount calculating unit 23 and the motion recognizing unit 4 can use the method of the relevant technique , and can be used commonly for an “ event motion ” and a motion “ other than the event motion ”. further , although a case has been described above where the peak predicting unit 33 predicts only a time of a peak which appears next using only time information of the peak , processing of predicting a more correct peak using a degree of a value of a data point which is a peak as peak information or a value of an inclination of the data point which is the peak and preceding and subsequent data points may also be performed . when , for example , a degree of a value is used as peak information in addition to the time , a method of predicting the time of the peak which appears next and supplying a value of the peak obtained from the peak interval calculating unit 32 as a predicted value of the value of the peak which appears next to the peak matching unit 34 is applicable . further , another method of predicting a peak may also be a method of predicting a time which has certain time duration without uniformly determining a time at which a peak appears . more specifically , when , for example , the peak interval calculated by the peak interval calculating unit 32 is pi 0 ( second ), an occurrence time of a predicted peak is a center time , a section which has duration of pi 0 / 2 ( second ) prior to and subsequent to this time is set as a predicted peak occurrence time . the peak matching determining unit 34 determines whether or not the peaks match depending on whether or not there is a new peak obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 in this predicted peak occurrence section . thus , the method which the peak matching determining unit 34 uses to determine whether or not peaks match in a predicted peak occurrence section having certain time duration is not limited to the above methods . additionally , for example , a method of assuming a gaussian distribution in a predicted peak occurrence section , and determining whether or not peaks match depending on whether or not the new peak obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 is distributed in a predetermined range such as 30 % or less of the entire distribution based on the center of the gaussian distribution is applicable . further , a method of predicting a peak with certain duration in this way is applicable not only to time duration but also to prediction of another peak information such as a degree of a value of a data point which is a peak . in addition to the above , although a case has been described above where whether or not to execute “ event motion ” recognition processing depending on whether or not occurrence of an “ event motion ” is detected is determined , the same method is also applicable to motions other than the “ event motion ”. that is , a rule that , when the event motion detecting unit 3 determines that the “ event motion ” does not occur , processing of recognizing a motion which is not the “ event motion ” is executed and , when the event motion detecting unit 3 determines that the “ event motion ” occurs , processing of recognizing a motion which is not the “ event motion ” is not executed is also applicable to a motion recognition processing unit which does not recognize an “ event motion ”. hereinafter , a physical configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described . although a configuration of the mobile telephone of the user on which the acceleration sensor is mounted has the entire motion recognizing system 10 has been described with the above example , the physical configuration is not limited to this . another possible configuration may also be a configuration where , for example , only the sensor acquiring / storage unit 1 of the configurations illustrated in fig6 is provided in the mobile telephone , and the event motion detecting unit 3 and the recognition processing unit 2 are an external server apparatus or a user &# 39 ; s personal computer which performs motion recognition by communicating with the mobile telephone . in this regard , the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 has a communication function of transmitting sensor data to the external server apparatus . in this regard , sensor data may be transmitted in real time to execute motion recognition processing , or a memory device may be provided in the server apparatus and recognition processing may be collectively executed when a certain amount of sensor data is acquired . further , a method of providing a memory device in a mobile telephone , collectively transmitting sensor data to a server apparatus after measurement of data is finished , moving data to a personal computer apparatus through wired connection and using the data is also applicable . furthermore , the sensor is not limited to the acceleration sensor mounted on the mobile telephone , and may be a dedicated acceleration sensor device which is attached to a user &# 39 ; s body using a band in some cases . the above physical configuration applies to the other embodiments of the present invention described below likewise . next , an operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig6 to 10 . ( step s 1 ) the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 acquires sensor data of a user &# 39 ; s motion , and temporarily stores the sensor data . ( step s 2 ) the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak in sensor data obtained from the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 . when there is a peak in the sensor data (“ y ” in step s 3 ), peak information is supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 . detection processing is repeatedly executed every time sensor data of a certain time is obtained , and new peak information is supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 every time the new peak information is obtained . further , when there is no peak in the obtained sensor data (“ n ” in step s 3 ), the peak detecting unit 31 does not supply peak information to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 and the operation returns to step s 1 . ( step s 4 ) the peak interval calculating unit 32 receives peak information from the peak detecting unit 31 every time the peak detecting unit 31 obtains new peak information . the peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates a time interval between the temporally latest peak and the temporally second latest peak compared to the latest peak using the supplied peak information , and supplies a value of the calculated peak interval and “ peak information ” of the latest peak to the peak predicting unit 33 . ( step s 5 ) the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next , and supplies “ predicted peak information ” to the peak matching determining unit 34 . ( step s 6 ) the peak matching determining unit 34 compares the predicted peak information obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 and peak information of the new peak obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 , and checks whether or not the two pieces of peak information match . further , when a state where , after the “ predicted peak information ” is obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 , and the peak detecting unit 31 detects a new peak or when the peak detecting unit 31 does not detect a new peak for predetermined time duration or more continues , the peak matching determining unit 34 performs processing of determining whether or not the pieces of peak information match . the peak matching determining unit 34 supplies the recognition result as to whether or not the peaks match , the predicted peak information and the latest peak information obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 to the time window start / end time setting unit 21 of the recognition processing unit 2 . ( step s 8 ) the time window start / end setting unit 21 sets a time window start time and a time window end time per recognition target motion according to the recognition result supplied from the peak matching determining unit 34 ( step s 7 ), and supplies the set time information to the time window data extracting unit 22 . ( step s 9 ) the time window data extracting unit 22 clips sensor data from the sensor data temporarily stored in the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 according to the time window start time and end time per recognition motion . the time window data extracting unit 22 supplies the extracted sensor data to the feature amount calculating unit 23 . ( step s 10 ) the feature amount calculating unit 23 calculates a feature amount which characterizes a motion per recognition motion using the sensor data obtained from the time window data extracting unit 22 . the feature amount calculating unit 23 supplies the obtained feature amount to the motion recognizing unit 24 . ( step s 11 ) the motion recognizing unit 24 recognizes a motion in the set time window using the feature amount obtained from the feature amount calculating unit 23 . ( step s 12 ) the recognition result output unit 4 outputs a recognition result to , for example , a display device . next , an effect according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described . the first embodiment of the present invention provides an effect of reducing a calculation amount of processing of recognizing an event motion . the reason is as follows . focusing on that cyclicity of sensor data is lost when an “ event motion ” occurs , processing of recognizing the “ event motion ” is performed assuming that the “ event motion ” occurs only when cyclicity is lost . more specifically , when there is a gap between a predicted peak appearance time and a peak time which actually appears , it is recognized that cyclicity of the motion is lost , that is , the “ event motion ” occurs . further , recognition processing of setting a time window only at around a time at which the “ event motion ” is highly likely to occur and calculating a feature amount is performed . hence , it is not necessary to execute a cycle of setting a time window and performing recognition processing , and then setting a new time window by shifting a time window start time by a short time and performing the recognition processing again with respect to all items of obtained sensor data . consequently , it is possible to reduce the number of times of execution of the recognition processing , and reduce the entire calculation amount of processing of recognizing the “ event motion ”. next , a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in details with reference to fig1 to 13 . in view of fig6 illustrating the configuration according to the first embodiment and fig1 , the second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in including a peak interval history storage unit 35 . according to the first embodiment , a peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates a peak interval using peak information of the latest time and peak information of the second latest time obtained from a peak detecting unit 31 , and the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next using a value of the latest peak interval obtained in this way . according to the second embodiment , the value of the peak interval calculated by the peak interval calculating unit 32 and peak information of the latest peak are supplied to the peak interval history storage unit 35 . the peak interval history storage unit 35 stores a predetermined number of past 300 peaks of values of peak intervals and detected past peak information of a predetermined time such as past 5 minutes obtained from the peak interval calculating unit 32 . the stored values of the peak intervals and peak information are supplied to the peak predicting unit 33 . history information to be supplied to the peak predicting unit 33 is determined as history information of past 5 seconds or five pieces of past history information . fig1 illustrates an example of peak information stored in the peak interval history storage unit 35 . fig1 illustrates that the peak interval history storage unit 35 stores 300 pieces of past peak information and 300 values of past peak intervals . the peak interval history storage unit 35 supplies 5 values of the latest peak intervals of pi 0 to pi − 4 and five pieces of the latest peak information of p 0 to p − 4 to the peak predicting unit 33 . the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next from values of peak intervals and peak information of certain time duration obtained from the peak interval history storage unit 35 . a method of predicting a peak is , for example , a method of setting as an appearance time of a predicted peak a value obtained by adding a value of pi ave which is an average value of past peak intervals stored in the peak interval history storage unit 35 to a time t 0 of the latest peak p 0 instead of adding a value of pi 0 which is an immediate peak interval to time t 0 of the latest peak p 0 as illustrated in fig8 b . a case will be described as a specific example where five values of the latest peak intervals and five pieces of the latest peak information of peak history information illustrated in fig1 will be described . in this regard , an average value of the five values of the past peak intervals is 1 . 06 second , and time 1 . 06 second obtained by adding the latest peak p 0 to time 0 . 0 second is a predicted peak time . another method is , for example , a method of calculating a maximum value and a minimum value of the values of the peak intervals stored in the peak interval history storage unit 35 , and adopting as a peak interval a section in which the number of peak intervals which belongs to each section is the highest as a result of allocating the stored values of the peak intervals to sections obtained by dividing a section between the maximum value and the minimum value by 10 . more specifically , the peak intervals stored in the peak interval history storage unit 35 are pl − n , pl −( n - 1 ) , . . . , pl − 1 , and pi 0 in order of older time , and a peak interval of a minimum value is 0 . 7 seconds and a peak interval of a maximum value is 1 . 7 seconds . meanwhile , ten sections include a section of 0 . 7 second or more and 0 . 8 second or less and a section of 1 . 6 second or more and 1 . 7 second or less , and each peak interval of pl − n , pi −( n - 1 ) , . . . , pl − 1 , and pi 0 is allocated to each section to which each peak interval belongs . as a result , when , for example , the number of peak intervals which belong to the section of 1 . 1 second or more and 1 . 2 second or less is the greatest , a method of setting as a predicted peak occurrence section a section of time 1 . 1 second to time 1 . 2 second obtained by adding this section to time 0 second of the peak p 0 is applicable . subsequent operations of the event motion detecting unit 3 and the recognition processing unit 2 are the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention , and therefore will not be described . further , as described in the first embodiment of the present invention , a method of predicting at the peak predicting unit 33 a more correct peak using not only time information of a peak but also a degree of a value of a data point which is a peak as peak information and a value of an inclination between the data point which is the peak and preceding and subsequent data points may also be applicable . furthermore , a method of predicting a time having certain time duration without uniformly determining a time at which the peak appears is also applicable . still further , a statistical predicting method such as a least - square method or curve interpolation is also applicable to a history of peak information and a history of peak intervals . next , an operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in details with reference to fig1 to 13 . ( step s 1 ) a sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 acquires sensor data of a user &# 39 ; s motion , and temporarily stores the sensor data . ( step s 2 ) the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak in the sensor data obtained from the sensor acquiring / storage unit 1 . when there is a peak (“ y ” in step s 3 ), peak information is supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 . detection processing is repeatedly executed every time sensor data of a certain time is obtained , and new peak information is supplied to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 every time the new peak information is obtained . further , when there is no peak in the obtained sensor data (“ n ” in step s 3 ), the peak detecting unit 31 does not supply the peak information to the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak matching determining unit 34 and the operation returns to step s 1 . ( step s 4 ) the peak interval calculating unit 32 receives the peak information from the peak detecting unit 31 every time the peak detecting unit 31 obtains the new peak information . the peak interval calculating unit 32 calculates a time interval between the temporally latest new peak and the temporally second latest peak compared to the latest peak using the supplied peak information , and supplies the calculated value of the peak interval and “ peak information ” of the latest peak to the peak interval history storage unit 35 . ( step s 13 ) the peak interval history storage unit 35 stores the value of the peak interval and peak information of the temporally latest peak obtained from the peak interval calculating unit 32 . ( step s 5 ) the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next using a history of values of past peak intervals and past peak information obtained from the peak interval history storage unit 35 , and supplies “ predicted peak information ” to the peak matching determining unit 34 . ( step s 6 ) the peak matching determining unit 34 obtains predicted peak information from the peak predicting unit 33 . when the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak of a new time instead of peak information used by the peak interval calculating unit 32 and the peak predicting unit 33 , the detected peak information is obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 . the predicted peak information obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 in this way and the new peak information obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 are compared to check whether or not two pieces of peak information match . when a state where , after the predicted peak information is obtained from the peak predicting unit 33 , the peak detecting unit 31 detects a peak of a new time or the peak detecting unit 31 does not detect a new peak for predetermined time duration or more continues , the peak matching determining unit 34 performs processing of determining whether or not pieces of peak information match . the peak matching determining unit 34 supplies a recognition result as to whether or not the peaks match , the predicted peak information and the new peak information obtained from the peak detecting unit 31 , to a time window start / end time setting unit 21 . ( step s 8 ) the time window start / end setting unit 21 sets a time window start time and a time window end time per recognition target motion according to the recognition result supplied from the peak matching determining unit 34 ( step s 7 ), and supplies the set time information to a time window data extracting unit 22 . ( step s 9 ) the time window data extracting unit 22 clips sensor data from the sensor data temporarily stored in the sensor data acquiring / storage unit 1 according to the time window start time and end time per recognition motion . the time window data extracting unit 22 supplies the extracted sensor data to a feature amount calculating unit 23 . ( step s 10 ) the feature amount calculating unit 23 calculates a feature amount which characterizes a motion per recognition motion using the sensor data obtained from the time window data extracting unit 22 . the feature amount calculating unit 23 supplies the obtained feature amount to a motion recognizing unit 24 . ( step s 11 ) the motion recognizing unit 24 recognizes a motion in the set time window using the feature amount obtained from the feature amount calculating unit 23 . ( step s 12 ) a recognition result output unit 4 outputs a recognition result to , for example , a display device . next , an effect according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next using a value of a peak interval calculated using peak information of an occurrence time of the latest peak and peak information of the second latest time . meanwhile , according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next using values of past peak intervals and past peak information of a certain time stored in the peak interval history storage unit 35 . thus , it is possible to more precisely predict a peak which appears next by using a history of a past certain time . consequently , compared to the first embodiment of the present invention , it is possible to more adequately set a time window start / end time of “ event motion ” recognition processing and precisely perform “ event motion ” recognition processing . next , a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 to 16 . fig1 illustrates a configuration according to the third embodiment of the present invention . compared to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in fig6 , a difference is that a peak interval history storage unit 5 , a peak learning unit 6 and a correct motion input unit 7 are added . the peak interval history storage unit 5 stores values of peak intervals and detected past peak information of a predetermined time such as past 24 hours or past one week obtained from a peak interval calculating unit 32 . the correct motion input unit 7 inputs a type of a motion which is actually performed by a user , to the peak learning unit 6 . the information to be inputted to the peak learning unit 6 includes at least information of a time at which a motion is performed and information of the type of the motion . information including at least the information of a time at which a motion is performed and information of the type of the motion is referred to as “ correct motion information ” in this description . an input method is , for example , a method of inputting a combination of a given time in the past and a type of a motion performed at this time by the user through a computer apparatus or a mobile telephone . the peak learning unit 6 learns peak information or a peak interval using values of peak intervals and peak information of a certain time stored in the peak interval history storage unit 5 and “ correct motion information ” obtained from the correct motion input unit 7 . as a result of learning , the peak learning unit 6 supplies a parameter used for peak prediction to a peak predicting unit 33 . a parameter to be supplied is , for example , a value of a predicted peak occurrence section set by the peak predicting unit 33 . changing a peak predicting method by way of learning will be described using fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 a , a case will be described where correct motion information that a “ sit ” motion which is an “ event motion ” occurs at a given time in the past . meanwhile , when the time at which the “ sit ” motion occurs is 0 second , the peak learning unit 6 obtains a value of a peak interval in a predetermined section of past 5 minutes including time 0 second , and peak information from the peak interval history storage unit 5 . thus , the peak learning unit 6 determines whether or not the “ event motion ” occurs in a section around time 0 second at which the peak interval and peak information are obtained . a method of determining that the “ event motion ” occurs adopts the same processing as those of the peak predicting unit 33 and a peak matching determining unit 34 , and obtains peak information from the peak interval history storage unit 5 . a case will be described as an example where whether or not peaks match is determined using a predicted peak occurrence section having duration as described in the first embodiment of the present invention . when , for example , a time t 0 second of a latest peak p 0 is not included , a peak interval pii immediately before time 0 second is pii = 1 second and an occurrence time t e of a predicted peak is time t e = 0 second , a section including durations of pii / 2 = 0 . 5 seconds prior to and subsequent to time t e = 0 second based on time t e = 0 second is a predicted peak occurrence time . further , whether or not peaks match is determined depending on whether or not a new peak obtained from the peak interval history storage unit 5 is in this predicted peak occurrence section . as a result , when it is determined that an “ event motion ” occurs at time t e = 0 second as in correction information , the peak learning unit 6 does not perform learning and processing is finished . meanwhile , unlike the correct motion information , when it is determined that the “ event motion ” does not occur at time t e = 0 second , that is , when a peak is actually detected in a predicted peak occurrence section , a predicted peak occurrence section is set more than necessary . in this case , as illustrated in fig1 c , for example , pii / 3 = 0 . 3 seconds prior to and subsequent to a section as a conventional predicted peak occurrence section which is shorter than preceding and subsequent pii / 2 = 0 . 5 second is a predicted peak occurrence section . the peak learning unit 6 supplies a value of an occurrence section duration used to predict a new peak obtained in this way , to the peak predicting unit 33 . further , even when information of a motion which is not an “ event motion ” such as “ walk ” as correct motion information , the same learning method is applicable . when , for example , correction motion information that a “ walk ” motion is performed at time t = 0 second is obtained , occurrence of an “ event motion ” is determined in a section around time t = 0 second similar to the above - described method . as a result , when it is determined that the “ event motion ” does not occur at around time t = 0 second as indicated by correct motion information , the peak learning unit 6 does not perform learning and processing is finished . meanwhile , unlike the correct motion information , when it is determined that the “ event motion ” occurs , a predicted peak occurrence section is set short more than necessary , preceding and subsequent pii ×( 2 / 3 ) ( second ) which is a section as a conventional section which is longer than preceding and subsequent pii / 2 ( second ) is a predicted peak occurrence section . further , the above - described method and , in addition , a newly set peak predicting method may also be a method of verifying whether or not it is possible to correctly determine occurrence of an “ event motion ”. that is , the correct motion information at time t is learned according to the same method as that described above , and learning is performed using a new peak predicting method obtained from the correct motion information again at same time t after a value of a parameter of new peak prediction is obtained . thus , by repeating learning processing until it is possible to determine an occurrence of an “ event motion ” as indicated by correct motion information , it is possible to more precisely set a predicted peak occurrence section . further , even when the learning processing is repeated , an occurrence of an “ event motion ” could not be determined as indicated by the correct motion information in some cases , and therefore a rule that an upper limit is set to the number of times of repetition of the learning processing and the learning processing is finished when the number of times of the learning processing reaches the upper limit may be additionally provided . furthermore , when a predicted peak occurrence section is changed by way of learning and , in addition , when , for example , a value of a peak and information of an inclination prior to and subsequent to the peak are used for peak prediction as described in the first embodiment of the present invention , learning can be performed according to the same method . in addition , although a case has been described above where the user specifies time t as correct motion information , an occurrence time of an “ event motion ” is actually short , and an occurrence time of a correct motion specified by the user relying on user &# 39 ; s memory and a time at which the “ event motion ” actually occurs do not necessarily match in some cases . hence , the peak interval history storage unit 5 may supply a peak interval of a section having predetermined time duration such as 5 minutes prior to and subsequent to specified time t , and peak information to the peak learning unit 6 to perform learning processing depending on whether or not occurrence of the “ event motion ” can be determined as indicated by correct motion information in this section . the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak using a parameter which is obtained from the peak learning unit 6 and which is used to predict a new peak . hereinafter , a physical configuration according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described . a possible configuration is a configuration where , for example , the correct motion input unit 7 is a mobile telephone of a user , and the peak interval history storage unit 5 and the peak learning unit 6 are external server apparatuses . further , the physical configuration is not limited to this and may also be a configuration where , for example , the correct motion input unit 7 , the peak interval history storage unit 5 and the peak learning unit 6 are external computer apparatuses , learning processing is performed inside a computer apparatus using correct motion information inputted by the user through the computer apparatus , and a newly obtained peak predicting method is transmitted to the mobile telephone through the computer apparatus to update the predicting method of the peak predicting unit 33 of an event motion detecting unit 3 mounted on the mobile telephone . next , an operation according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described in details with reference to fig1 and 16 . the steps represented by s 1 to s 12 in fig1 are the same operations as s 1 to s 12 described as to the operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention and therefore will not be described . ( step s 13 ) the peak interval history storage unit 5 stores values of peak intervals and peak information of the temporally latest peak obtained from the peak interval calculating unit 32 . ( step s 14 ) a correct motion input unit 7 inputs correct motion information including the type of a motion which is actually performed by the user and time information of this motion , to the peak learning unit 6 . ( step s 15 ) the peak learning unit 6 learns an inclination of a peak interval using values of peak intervals and peak information of a certain time stored in the peak interval history storage unit 5 and the correct motion information obtained from the correct motion input unit 7 . a new peak predicting method obtained by learning is supplied to the peak predicting unit 33 . learning processing described in step s 15 is triggered by an input of correct motion information described in step s 14 . in this regard , step s 14 and step s 15 do not need to be executed at the same time , and , after the correct motion information is inputted as described in step s 14 , a method of performing learning processing at a predetermined time once a day as described in step s 15 and supplying an obtained peak predicting method to the peak predicting unit 33 is applicable . next , an effect according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described . while the peak predicting unit 33 predicts a peak which appears next based on a predetermined rule in the first embodiment of the present invention , the peak learning unit 6 performs learning using correct motion information and changes peak predicting and peak matching methods in the third embodiment of the present invention . thus , a method is changed to a method of more precisely detecting an “ event motion ” using correct motion information , so that it is possible to perform processing of precisely recognizing the “ event motion ” compared to the first embodiment of the present invention . further , the third embodiment of the present invention can be used in combination with the second embodiment of the present invention to provide both of the effects . furthermore , a motion recognizing program according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention can be configured as a program which causes a computer to execute part or all of steps illustrated in fig1 , 13 and 16 . by installing this program in a computer to execute , it is possible to realize the motion recognizing apparatus and the motion recognizing method according to the first to third embodiments . the computer includes , for example , a server apparatus , a personal computer and a mobile telephone as described above . part or entirety of the above embodiments are also described as in the following supplementary notes , and are by no means limited to the below . a motion recognizing apparatus which recognizes a motion of a user using sensor data has : a cyclicity loss detecting means which detects loss of cyclicity of the sensor data when the user is making the motion ; and a recognition processing means which sets a data section used for motion recognition according to the detected loss of the cyclicity of the sensor data , and recognizes the motion of the user based on the sensor data of the data section . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in supplementary note 1 , the cyclicity of the sensor data is cyclicity of a peak which is a data point which takes at least a local maximum or a local minimum in the sensor data . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in supplementary note 1 or 2 , the data section is set to have predetermined time duration per type of a recognition target operation . the motion recognition apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3 has the recognition processing means intended for each type of a recognition target operation . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 1 to 4 , the sensor data is output data of an acceleration sensor which operates accompanying the motion of the user . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 1 to 5 , the cyclicity loss detecting means has : a peak detecting unit which detects from the sensor data a peak which is a data point which takes at least a local maximum or a local minimum ; a peak interval calculating unit which calculates a time interval between peaks from an occurrence time of a plurality of detected peaks ; a peak predicting unit which predicts peak information including at least an occurrence time of a next peak using a value of the peak interval calculated by the peak interval calculating unit and an occurrence time of the peak detected by the peak detecting unit ; and a peak matching determining unit which determines whether the peak predicted by the peak predicting unit and the peak detected by the peak detecting unit from the sensor data match or not . the motion recognizing apparatus described in supplementary note 6 further has a peak interval history storage unit which stores time information of the peak of a certain past period detected by the peak detecting unit and the peak interval of the certain past period calculated by the peak interval calculating unit , and the peak predicting unit predicts the peak information including at least the occurrence time of the next peak using a history of the peak information and the peak interval stored in the peak interval history storage unit . the motion recognizing apparatus described in supplementary note 6 further has : a peak interval history storage unit which stores time information of the peak of a certain past period detected by the peak detecting unit and the peak interval of the certain past period calculated by the peak interval calculating unit ; a correct motion input unit which inputs correct motion information including at least a type of a motion which is actually made and a time at which the motion is made ; and a peak learning unit which acquires a history of time information of a peak around the time inputted by the correct motion input unit and the peak interval from the peak interval history storage unit , learns a tendency of the peak interval and changes a cyclicity detecting method based on a learning result . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 6 to 8 , the peak matching determining unit determines whether or not the peak predicted by the peak predicting unit and the peak detected by the peak detecting unit from the sensor data match based on a difference between occurrence times . in the motion recognizing apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 6 to 8 , the peak matching determining unit determines whether the peak predicted by the peak predicting unit and the peak detected by the peak detecting unit from the sensor data match or not based on a difference between occurrence times and a difference between peak values . a motion recognizing system has : a motion recognizing apparatus described in any one of supplementary notes 1 to 10 ; a sensor data acquiring / storage unit which acquires sensor data outputted from a sensor and temporarily stores the sensor data ; and a recognition result output unit which outputs a result of motion recognition performed by the recognition processing unit . a motion recognizing method of recognizing a motion of a user using sensor data includes : a step of detecting loss of cyclicity of the sensor data when the user is making the motion ; and a step of setting a data section used for motion recognition according to the detected loss of the cyclicity of the sensor data , and recognizing the motion of the user based on the sensor data of the data section . in the motion recognizing method described in supplementary note 12 , the step of detecting the loss of the cyclicity includes : a step of detecting from the sensor data a peak which is a data point which takes at least a local maximum or a local minimum ; a step of calculating a time interval between peaks from an occurrence time of a plurality of detected peaks ; a step of predicting peak information including at least an occurrence time of a next peak using a value of the calculated peak interval and an occurrence time of the detected peak ; and a step of determining whether or not the predicted peak and the detected peak match . the motion recognizing method described in supplementary note 13 further includes a step of storing time information of the detected peak and the calculated peak interval of a certain past period , and the predicting step includes predicting the peak information including at least the occurrence time of the next peak using a history of the stored peak information and peak interval . the motion recognizing method described in supplementary note 13 , further includes : a step of storing time information of the detected peak and the calculated peak interval of a certain past period ; a step of inputting correct motion information including at least a type of a motion which is actually made and a time at which the motion is made ; and a step of acquiring a history of time information of a peak around the inputted time and the peak interval from information in which the time information and the peak interval of the certain past period are stored , learning a tendency of the peak interval and changing a cyclicity detecting method based on a learning result . in the motion recognizing method described in any one of supplementary notes 13 to 15 , the determining step includes determining whether or not the predicted peak and the peak detected from the sensor data match based on a difference between occurrence times . in the motion recognizing method described in any one of supplementary notes 13 to 15 , the determining step includes determining whether or not the predicted peak and the peak detected from the sensor data match based on a difference between occurrence times and a difference between peak values . a motion recognizing program of recognizing a motion of a user using sensor data causes a computer to execute : a function of detecting loss of cyclicity of the sensor data when the user is making the motion ; and a function of setting a data section used for motion recognition according to the detected loss of the cyclicity of the sensor data , and recognizing the motion of the user based on the sensor data of the data section . in the motion recognizing program described in any one of supplementary note 18 , the function of detecting the loss of the cyclicity includes : a function of detecting from the sensor data a peak which is a data point which takes at least a local maximum or a local minimum ; a function of calculating a time interval between peaks from an occurrence time of a plurality of detected peaks ; a function of predicting peak information including at least an occurrence time of a next peak using a value of the calculated peak interval and an occurrence time of the detected peak ; and a function of determining whether or not the predicted peak and the detected peak match . the motion recognizing program described in supplementary note 18 further causes the computer to execute a function of storing time information of the detected peak and the calculated peak interval of a certain past period , and the predicting function includes predicting the peak information including at least the occurrence time of the next peak using a history of the stored peak information and peak interval . the motion recognizing program described in supplementary note 19 further causes the computer to execute : a function of storing time information of the detected peak and the calculated peak interval of a certain past period ; a function of inputting correct motion information including at least a type of a motion which is actually made and a time at which the motion is made ; and a function of acquiring a history of time information of a peak around the inputted time and the peak interval from information in which the time information and the peak interval of the certain past period are stored , learning a tendency of the peak interval and changing a cyclicity detecting method based on a learning result . this application claims priority to japanese patent application no . 2012 - 046610 filed on mar . 2 , 2012 , the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein . although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments , the present invention is by no means limited to the above embodiments . the configurations and the details of the present invention can be variously changed within a scope of the present invention which one of ordinary skill in art can understand . according to the present invention , by precisely calculating calorie consumption and recording a motion recognition result of one day using , for example , a result obtained by recognizing a motion of a person , a user can use a record as an automatically generated diary when the user browses the record and , in addition , apply the present invention to observe infants or the elderly from a distant place by monitoring an occurrence of a dangerous motion such as “ falling ” in real time .
0
a first embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a schematic cross - sectional view of a head suspension mechanism according to the present invention , and fig2 is a plan view of the head suspension mechanism of fig1 seen from the side of the medium disk , namely in a direction indicated by an arrow x shown in fig1 . the head suspension mechanism of the first embodiment is described with reference to these drawings . the head suspension mechanism has a substantially symmetric form along a symmetry axis a shown by a chain line in fig2 . the head suspension mechanism comprises , a head slider 13 , and a substantially resilient load beam 11 . the load beam 11 suspends a head slider 13 at its free end , and is secured to a rigid supporting arm 15 of a head actuator assembly ( not shown ) through a spacer 20 using screws 16 at the other end . the head slider 13 contains an electromagnetic transducer , and is suspended at the apex of the load beam 11 through a gimbal 12 which holds the head slider 13 so that it is flexibly movable . the initial static load is applied to the head slider 13 through a protuberance 29 to direct the load to the center of gravity of the head slider 13 or a point near the center of gravity . the structure of the gimbal 12 and the head slider 13 are conventional , hence further description of the structure is omitted . the load beam 11 comprises a rigid section 11a having a substantially triangular shape and is reinforced by turned - up side flanges 19 formed along both sides thereof , a resilient section 11b , and a holding section 11c . the rigid section 11a , resilient section 11b , and holding section 11c are continuous to each other and are formed in a single body piece by punching and pressing a resilient metal plate such as a resilient stainless steel plate . the load beam 11 as one of parts of the head suspension mechanism is illustrated in a side view of fig3 ( a ) and a plan view of fig3 ( b ). the resilient section 11b of the load beam 11 , as shown in fig3 ( a ), is flat and not subject to any mechanism stress which produces plastic deformation to provide the resilient section 11b with a curved form through the fabrication or manufacturing thereof . this means that the problem regarding the accuracy of the dimensions of the load beam in the prior art head suspension mechanism , is completely avoided . as a result , the resilient section 11b alone does not provide any resilient force to the head slider 13 , until the resilient section 11b is flexibly deformed by the pressing member 17 . thus , the head slider 13 is loaded toward the associated disk 10 with an initial static load . that is , the initial static load is generated by a pressing member 17 which is described below . the load beam 11 is secured to the rigid supporting arm 15 at the holding section 11c with screws 16 , and consequently the holding section 11c is kept rigid and is not subject to deformation . in the center portion of the resilient section 11b , as shown in fig1 and fig2 a tongue section 14 is formed by cutting a u - shaped slit extending along the symmetrical axis a of the head suspension mechanism . the root of turning - up of the tongue section 14 ( bend line ) is shown by a chain line p . the root line p is perpendicular to the symmetrical axis a . the head suspension mechanism of the first embodiment is energized by a pressing member 17 . one end of the pressing member 17 is secured to a portion of the supporting member 15 together with the holding section 11c of the load beam 11 with the screws 16 . an adjusting screw 18 is set in the rigid supporting member 15 in the area of the screws 16 , penetrating through the pressing member 17 . the adjusting screw 18 may include a locking resilient member 110 for setting the screw . the head of the adjusting screw 18 engages the surface of the pressing member 17 in order to selectively press and deform the pressing member 17 which is made from thin stainless plates . the pressing member 17 is also formed in a multi - folded form folded in a direction perpendicular to the symmetrical axis a , having a hair pin like longitudinal cross - section . as shown in fig1 the pressing member 17 has two bent portions , creases 17a and 17b . the first crease 17a is in contact with the back surface of the holding section 11c of the beam load 11 . when the adjusting screw is fed forward , then the pressing member 17 is deformed by being pressed by the screw head of the screw 18 towards the supporting member 15 , and the front portion of the pressing member including the second crease 17b is slightly rotated around the first crease 17a . thereby , the free end of the pressing member 17 is lowered as the adjusting screw 18 is fed forward , to bring the free end of the pressing member 17 in line contact with the tongue section 14 at a line q indicated by a chain line and press the top end portion of the tongue section 14 toward the disk 10 . the load applied to the tongue section 14 is adjusted by adjusting the deformation of the pressing member 17 . thus , the initial static load of the head slider 13 is achieved by an appropriate feed distance of the screw 18 . with the above - described configuration , by feeding forward the screw 18 , the tongue section 14 of the load beam 11 is pressed toward the medium disk 10 by the free end of the pressing member 17 which is in contact with the tongue section 14 at the top end portion thereof . consequently , the tongue section 14 is deflected toward the disk 10 , and simultaneously the resilient section 11b is forced to be elastically deformed in a curve to the disk 10 . thereby , the load of the load beam 11 is loaded on the head slider 13 to press the head slider 13 to the disk 10 at rest , presenting an initial static load . the initial static load is easily adjusted by adjusting the feed distance of the adjusting screw 18 . in addition , the adjustment can be performed even when the disk 10 is rotating . thus , by adjusting the initial static load applied to the disk 10 , an appropriate flying height of the head slider 13 over the disk 10 is easily and steadily maintained . there is another aspect of the advantage of the tongue section 14 . generally , in a head suspension mechanism , the head slider 13 moves up and down following the repeated upward and downward movements of the rotating disk 10 with which the head slider 13 is engaging . in addition , access movements of the relevant head actuator generate a considerable vibration adversely affecting the head slider 13 . these cause minute mechanical vibration of the load beam 11 . by introducing the structure of resilient tongue section 14 , the effect of such a vibration is reduced . furthermore , the rigidity against a torsion effect and bending effect caused by quick accessing movement , mostly repeated stop and start movements , is enhanced by the structure of the head suspension mechanism of the first embodiment , because the tongue section 14 is pressed toward the disk 10 with a line contact extending along the line q which is perpendicular to the symmetrical axis a . fig4 ( a ) to 4 ( d ) are extremely schematic side views of the load beam , illustrating the deflection of the load beam 11 at various fabricating stages of the head - disk assembly of the recording apparatus . fig4 ( a ) is the side view of the load beam just after the parts fabrication stage . the resilient section 11b is flat , being subjected to no plastic deformation . fig4 ( b ) shows the load beam at a stage after the assembly of the head suspension mechanism . the pressing member 17 presses the tongue section 14 of the load beam 11 on the line q , and the resilient section 11b is flexibly deflected downward . the head slider 13 is free . fig4 ( c ) shows a stage where the head suspension mechanism is engaging with the disk 10 which is at rest . the head slider 13 is in contact with the disk 10 . the head slider 13 is positioned higher than the preceding stage of fig4 ( b ), and the tongue section 14 is further deflected downward and makes the load beam 11 present the initial static load at its apex toward the disk 10 through the head slider 13 . fig4 ( d ) represents the load beam 11 at a stage where the disk 10 is rotating . aerodynamic lift given by air flow caused by the rotation of the disk 10 lifts the head slider 13 over the disk 10 spaced from each other by a gap , namely , the predetermined flying height . a second embodiment of the present invention is now described . the second embodiment is provided following the same technical principle as that of the first embodiment except for the pressing member . fig5 is a schematic cross - sectional view of a head suspension mechanism of a second embodiment of the present invention in the associated head - disk assembly , and fig6 is a plan view of the head suspension mechanism of fig5 seen from the side of the medium , namely in a direction indicated by an arrow y shown in fig5 . the structures of a load beam 11 including a rigid section 11a , a resilient section 11b , and a holding section 11c , a gimbal 12 , a head slider 13 , a tongue section 14 , a supporting arm 15 of the head actuator ( not shown ), fixing screws 16 , and a spacer 20 are the same of those of the first embodiment . in the second embodiment , as shown in fig5 a fulcrum supporting member 21 is formed integrally with the spacer 20 at one end thereof , having a cross - section of a hook - like shape which is provided by a projected portion 22 directed towards the disk 10 . on the top end of the projected portion , a fulcrum edge having the form of a knife edge , pivotally supports the load beam 11 at a line s ( shown by a chain line ) on the surface of the load beam 11 from the side opposite to the disk 10 . the line s is perpendicular to the symmetrical axis a and located in the vicinity of a boundary line at which the resilient section 11a and the resilient section 11b are adjacent to each other . of course , the spacer 20 and the fulcrum member 21 may be formed separately . a pressing member 27 is made from resilient metal plate , such as resilient stainless steel plate , and has a hook - like shaped side cross - section comprising a major part 27a and projecting part 27b turned - up from the major part 27a . the pressing member 27 is secured to the rigid arm 15 of the head actuator together with the holding section 11c of the load beam 11 with screws 16 at the rear portion of the major part 27a . the edge of the projecting part 27b which is disposed at the front portion of the pressing member 27 , is directed away from the disk 10 , contacting at the free end of the tongue section 14 at a line t , as indicated by a chain line in fig6 . the pressing member 27 provides the tongue section 14 with a load in a direction opposite to the disk 10 by feeding an adjusting screw 28 forward . the screw 28 corresponds to the screw 18 of the first embodiment and is set in the supporting member 15 in a similar manner . as the result , in the head - disk assembly , the front portion of the major part 27a of the pressing member 27 is flexibly deflected such that the projecting part 27b extends in a direction away from the disk 10 , applying a loading force fa on a portion of the tongue section 14 near the free end of the section 14 along the line t . since the load beam 11 is pivotally supported at the fulcrum edge , the loading force fa is minimized to a loading force fb which is applied to the head slider 13 by a lever action of the load beam 11 . the loading force fb is applied to the head slider 13 through a protuberance 29 , and finally applied onto the disk 10 as the initial static load . the distances from the line s to the protuberance 29 or the line t are d 2 and d 1 respectively , where : in a ordinary structure of the head suspension mechanism of the second embodiment , d 1 / d 2 is much larger than 1 , hence , a change of fa causes a minute change of fb . this means , minor change of the initial static load presented to the head slider 13 can be adjusted by changing the loading force of the pressing member 27 in a magnified relation , namely by d 1 / d 2 times , leading to an easier and more accurate adjustment of the initial static load of the head slider 13 than the adjustment in the head suspension mechanism of prior art described above , such as that of yamada . the edge of the fulcrum supporting member 21 may be further modified as shown in a partial perspective view of fig7 . the edge of the straight line can be replaced by an edge comprising two protruding portions 22a disposed at both side ends as shown in a perspective view of fig7 . the two end protuberance edge structures apparently enhances the contact stability between the fulcrum supporting member 21 and the surface of the load beam 11 . enhancement of the rigidity of the head suspension mechanism of the second embodiment is basically similar to that of the first embodiment , however , against a torsional force subjected to the head suspension mechanism , the second embodiment is more rigid than the first embodiment . as can be clearly understood by the above description , in a head suspension mechanism of a head slider according to the present invention , the initial static load presented by a load beam can be changed easily by adjusting feed of a screw which adjustably presses a pressing member . as a result , the flying height of the head slider over the associated disk can be maintained at a predetermined height . in the above - described embodiments , the present invention is applied to a magnetic recording apparatus , but the present invention is also applicable to a head suspension mechanism for a flying head slider of an optical recording apparatus . the many features and advantages of the present 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 mechanism which 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 shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .
6
the electrohydraulic control system of the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with an exemplary application thereof for individually controlling motion of the boom 20 , arm 22 and bucket 24 of an earth excavator 26 ( fig1 ) of generally conventional mechanical construction . the position of boom 20 with respect to the body 28 of excavator 26 is controlled by a linear hydraulic actuator 30 . likewise , the position of arm 22 with respect to boom 20 is controlled by the linear actuator 32 , and the pivotal position of bucket 24 on the end of arm 22 is controlled by the linear actuator 34 . each of the actuators 30 , 32 , 34 has associated therewith an electrohydraulic servo assembly 30a , 32a , 34a . a variable displacement hydraulic pump 36 has an input shaft 38 coupled to the engine ( not shown ) of excavator 26 . pump 36 has an input connected to a fluid sump 40 and an output for supplying fluid under pressure to servo assemblies 30a , 32a and 34a . a master controller 42 is connected by a serial data bus 44 to a servo assembly 36a associated with pump 36 , and to servo assemblies 30a , 32a and 34a associated with actuators 30 ,. 32 and 34 . in practice , a typical excavator 26 would additionally embody hydraulically controlled swing of body 28 and propulsion of the left and right tracks . these motion variables may also be controlled in accordance with the present invention . referring to fig2 and 3 , master controller 42 includes a microprocessor 50 which receives operator inputs from a joystick or the like 52 through an a / d converter or other suitable signal conditioning circuitry 54 . microprocessor 50 also communicates with a display / switch module 56 which includes switches 58 for selective input or modification of system parameters by the operator , and a display 60 for indicating system status and operation to the operator . microprocessor 50 is also interconnected with a nonvolatile data memory 62 for storing parameters required by the controlled devices , and to a memory 64 for storing system operating programs . microprocessor 50 has an input port rxd and an output port txd respectively connected through a serial interface 66 to a pair of conductors sr and st of data bus 44 . a power supply 68 , which may comprise a battery supply or a generator supply powered by the engine of excavator 26 , applies electrical power to a pair of bus conductors power and ground . master controller 42 receives electrical power from such bus conductors . each of the boom , arm and bucket servo assemblies 30a , 32a and 34a includes an associated electronic controller 30b , 32b and 34b ( fig2 ) coupled through a servo valve 30c , 32c and 34c to the associated linear actuator 30 , 32 and 34 . boom controller 30b ( fig2 and 4 ) includes a microprocessor 70 having an input port rxd and an output port txd respectively coupled through a serial interface 72 to the st and sr conductors of bus 44 . boom controller 30b also receives electrical power from the power and ground conductors of bus 44 through serial . microprocessor 70 is coupled to a memory module 74 having stored therein one or more programs for controlling operation of actuator 30 . exemplary control programs will be discussed in connection with fig8 and 9 , and are selectable by the master controller . microprocessor 70 is connected through a power amplifier 76 to provide pulse width modulated signals to servo valve 30c for controlling operation of actuator 30 . a position transducer 78 is responsive to motion at actuator 30 for providing a position signal y to microprocessor 70 through signal conditioning circuitry 80 . address selection switches 82 or the like are connected to microprocessor 70 for operator preselection of a communication address to be associated with boom controller 30b . a suitable servo valve assembly , which would include boom controller 30b and servo valve 30c in a single unit , is disclosed in copending application ( v - 3985 ) filed concurrently herewith and assigned to the assignee hereof . arm controller 32b and bucket controller 34b are structurally identical to boom controller 30b hereinabove described in detail . pump controller 36a ( fig2 ) is illustrated in fig5 as comprising a microprocessor 84 having an input port rxd and an output port txd respectively connected to the st and sr conductors of bus 44 through a serial interface 86 . thus , the input ports rxd of the boom , arm , bucket and pump controller microprocessors are connected in common ( through serial interfaces ) by the st conductor of bus 44 to output port txd of master controller microprocessor 50 ( fig3 ). likewise , the output ports txd of the boom , arm , bucket and pump controller microprocessors are connected in common ( through serial interfaces ) by the sr conductor of bus 44 to input port rxd of master controller microprocessor 50 . pump controller microprocessor 84 receives a communication address input from associated address switches 88 , and is connected to a memory 90 having stored thereon the various pump control programs . one such program , selectable by the master controller , will be discussed by way of example in connection with fig1 . a power amplifier 92 feeds pulse width modulated control signals from microprocessor 84 to the control solenoid 94 of pump 36 for controlling yoke position , and thereby controlling the output of pump 36 . a transducer 96 is connected through an a / d converter 98 for providing a signal d to microprocessor 84 indicative of yoke position . likewise , a sensor 100 is operatively coupled to pump input shaft 38 to provide a signal n through conditioning circuitry 102 indicative of pump shaft speed . fig6 and 7 illustrate sequence of operations and communications between the master controller and the device controllers . referring to fig6 programming within master controller microprocessor 50 and associated program memory 64 ( fig3 ) establishes a repetitive time - sequence of communication windows -- i . e ., a signal input window , a boom communications window , an arm communications window , a bucket communications window and a pump communications window -- with the same sequence being repeated indefinitely . during the signal input window ( fig6 and 7 ) master controller microprocessor 50 first reads operator switches 58 ( fig2 ) for incrementing or decrementing control parameters at the various device controllers , and then reads the operated boom - joystick position . the operator display is continuously updated in programming background . at commencement of the boom communications window , the master controller first transmits the boom controller address to establish communications with boom controller microprocessor 70 ( fig4 ), and then sequentially outputs or downloads boom joystick position and one set of parameter constants . boom joystick position and updated constant are stored in memory at boom controller 30b for later use for control purposes . meanwhile , the master controller microprocessor reads and stores operator joystick position for the excavator arm , and is then prepared to receive data uploaded from the boom controller indicative of controller status and to store such data in nonvolatile data memory 62 ( fig3 ). as shown in fig7 a similar communication sequence takes place during each of the arm , bucket and pump communication windows . during the pump communications window , the master controller downloads a control signal indicative of pump output . fig7 also illustrates timing at each of the boom , arm , bucket and pump controllers relative to the sequence of master controller communication windows . each of the device controllers is dedicated to communication with the master controller during the time of the corresponding communications window . following such communications , each controller has an opportunity to implement motion control at its associated device while the master controller is communicating in turn with the other device controllers . however , device motion control must be completed before onset of the next communications window associated with a given controller . toward this end , it is preferable that each of the sequential communication windows be of fixed , although not necessarily identical , time duration , so that the total time available for motion control at each device controller is pre - established and constant . table 1 at the end of the specification illustrates communications protocol between the master controller and one device controller during the associated communications window . at the onset of the communications window , a first communication frame consisting of a series of three bytes is transmitted from the master controller to the device controller . the first bit of the first byte consists of a &# 34 ; wakeup &# 34 ; bit set to 1 , followed by parity bits for each of the three frame bytes , two unused bits and the three - bit address of the device with which communication is to be established . such address must , of course , correspond to the device controller address established by switches 82 ( fig4 ) or 88 ( fig5 ). bytes two and three of the first frame include data bits (&# 34 ; wakeup &# 34 ; bit set to zero ) indicative of operator joystick position for the device controller . a second frame likewise includes a sequence of three bytes transmitted from the master to the device controller . the first byte includes parity bits for each byte ( no wakeup bit ), and the storage address into which subsequent data is to be loaded at the device controller . the second and third bytes of the second communication frame include data bits associated with control constants or parameters to be employed at the device controller . additional frames can be transmitted similarly if required . first and second communication frames & amp ; table ii each include a sequence of three bytes transmitted from the device controller to the master controller indicative of device operation and status . the first byte of the third frame includes a wakeup bit , three parity bits and the address into which subsequent data is to be stored at the master controller . the second and third bytes of the third frame include such data . the first byte of the fourth frame again includes parity bits and data address bits , with the second and third bytes including associated data . exemplary software in intel assembly code for use in conjunction with intel 8031 or 8051 microprocessor packages to implement the foregoing communication scheme accompanies this specification as appendix a ( communications window timing at the master controller ), appendix b ( serial communications at the master controller ) and appendix c ( serial communications at the device controller ). fig8 is a flow diagram which illustrates operation of boom controller 30b ( fig2 or arm controller 32b or bucket controller 34b ) in an open - loop mode , and fig9 illustrates operation in a closed loop mode , mode of operation being selectable by the operator and controlled by transmission of data during the second communications frame ( table i ), for example . in the open - loop mode ( fig8 ), joystick position previously transmitted and stored in the device controller microprocessor , and indication of desired velocity at the load , is first multiplied by a constant kjp ( which can be varied by the operator via master controller ). the control signal is then subjected to compensation for differential area on opposing sides of the actuator piston , and for any deadband in valve operation . a pulse width modulated signal is then transmitted by a power amplifier ( 76 in fig4 ) to the servo valve and actuator ( 30c and 30 in fig4 ) for obtaining desired motion at the load -- i . e . at boom 20 ( fig1 ). during the closed - loop mode of operation ( fig9 ), the joystick position signal indicative of desired velocity at the boom is first multiplied by constant kjp and integrated to obtain a corresponding position command signal yc . the position command signal is compared with the signal y indicative of actual position at the actuator and load , and the resulting error signal is multiplied by a second constant ky . at the same time , the position signal y is differentiated to obtain a signal y indicative of velocity at the actuator and load , and compared with a velocity command signal yc derived from input joystick position . the resulting velocity error signal is multiplied by a constant kv . the two error signals are summed , subjected to compensation as previously described , and thereafter control duty cycle of the pulse width modulated signal transmitted to the servo valve . it will be appreciated , of course , that the control schemes of fig8 and 9 are strictly exemplary . other suitable control schemes are illustrated in the following copended applications , all of which are assigned to the assignee hereof : s / n 684 , 265 filed dec . 20 , 1984 , s / n 709 , 134 filed mar . 7 , 1985 , s / n 740 , 481 filed june 3 , 1985 and s / n 765 , 796 filed aug . 15 , 1985 . hardware suitable for use at any of the device controllers 30b , 32b , 34b and 36a , together with further exemplary programming is illustrated in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 502 , 109 and in copending application serial no . 699 , 039 filed feb . 7 , 1985 , both of which are assigned to the assignee hereof . as previously noted , mode of operation and all constants may be varied and downloaded by the operator and / or master controller . fig1 is a flow chart which illustrates an exemplary scheme for control of pump 36 at pump controller 36a ( fig1 and 5 ). a flow command signal qc computed by master based on operator inputs transmitted to the pump controller during the corresponding communications window is divided by actual pump speed n to obtain the displacement dcf necessary to obtain desired flow qc . meanwhile , a speed limit command n1 , which is set by the master controller or the operator and downloaded to the pump controller , is compared with actual pump speed n . a lower limit speed command n1 established , for example , to prevent stalling of the pump - drive engine . the resulting difference n1 - n is examined to establish a displacement command dcn based upon pump speed . the two displacement command signals dcn and dcf are examined , and the lesser of the two is selected as a displacement command signal dc . the latter is compared with actual pump displacement d . the difference or error is multiplied by a constant k , subjected to compensation for bias or offset , and then controls duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal to pump displacement control solenoid 94 ( fig5 ). it will be appreciated , of course , that the pump control scheme illustrated in fig1 is strictly exemplary . table i______________________________________master controller / device controllerserial communication protocol______________________________________frame 1 - master to devicebyte 1 1 p1 p2 p3 u u a a abyte 2 0 d d d d d d d dbyte 3 0 d d d d d d d dframe 2 - master to devicebyte 1 0 p1 p2 p3 f f f f fbyte 2 0 d d d d d d d dbyte 3 0 d d d d d d d dframe 3 - device to masterbyte 1 1 p1 p2 p3 p p p p pbyte 2 0 d d d d d d d dbyte 3 0 d d d d d d d dframe 4 - device to masterbyte 1 0 p1 p2 p3 p p p p pbyte 2 0 d d d d d d d dbyte 3 0 d d d d d d d d______________________________________ where p1 = parity bit of byte 1 p2 = parity bit of byte 2 p3 = parity bit of byte 3 u = unused a = device address bit d = data bit f = used to define data storage address at device p = used to define data storage address at master fig1 illustrates a modification to the system of fig2 in which a pair of pseudo - devices 150 , 152 are connected to bus 44 for individual communication with master controller 42 . pseudo - device 152 is for performing automation - related calculations based upon operating data fed thereto from master controller 42 , and for transmitting corresponding automation control information to the master controller . in the case of excavator 26 ( fig1 ), for example , automation may involve many complex trigonometric calculations which would otherwise be performed by master controller 42 . pseudo - device 152 is for performing diagnostic analysis of system operation based upon operating data fed thereto by master controller 42 , and for reporting diagnostic information to the master controller for display at 60 ( fig2 ) or 110 ( fig1 ). again , such diagnostic analysis would otherwise be performed by the master controller . thus , pseudo - devices 150 , 152 , in effect , relieve the master controller from time - consuming data analysis , and thus effectively free the master controller for enhanced performance of its primary function -- i . e ., communication with and coordination among device controllers 30b , 32b , 34b , 36a ( fig2 ). fig1 is a functional block diagram of the electronic controller in pseudo - device 152 , device 150 being identical thereto . bus 44 is connected through a serial interface 154 to a microprocessor 156 . device address is set at switches 158 , and operation is indicated at display 160 . non - volatile data memory 162 and program memory 164 are coupled to microprocessor 156 . in pseudo - device 150 , program memory contains algorithms for performing automatic calculations on data downloaded from master controller 42 and stored in memory 162 . in pseudo - device 152 , program memory 164 contains suitable algorithms for diagnostically analyzing device and system performance data downloaded from master controller 42 and stored in memory 162 . the automation and diagnostic programming per se can be of any suitable types conventionally performed in the master or host controller . fig1 illustrates modification to the sequence of fig6 and 7 for communication with pseudo - device controllers 150 , 152 . in this connection , it is important to note that pseudo - devices 150 , 152 are treated by master controller 42 in the same manner as are device controllers 30b , 32b , etc . in terms of data and command communications . fig1 and 15 illustrate a modification for use in an auger . rotation of the auger is controlled by an hydraulic motor 170 . the auger ( and motor ) is mounted on a boom arm whose position is controlled by a hydraulic actuator 172 . motor 170 and actuator 172 have associated servo valves 170a , 172a and valve controllers 170b , 172b connected by data bus 44 to master controller 42 . a pseudo - device 174 comprises a series of flow control valves 176 controlled by a flow controller 176a which communicates with master controller 42 over bus 44 . fig1 is a hydraulic schematic diagram of the system of fig1 . a hydromechanical pump 178 supplies hydraulic fluid under pressure to actuator 172 through valve 172a , and load pressure ( phantom lines ) at the downstream side of valve 172a is fed back to the pump control input . pump 178 automatically adjusts pump displacement ( i . e ., flow ) such that the pressure drop between the pump discharge and the load sensing input is maintained at a constant load sensing pressure differential . valve 172a that supplies flow to the load sees the same pressure differential ; therefore , flow to the load varies in proportion to valve opening . a pump 180 likewise supplies fluid to motor servo valve 170a and receives a load sensing pressure from valve 170a , both through pseudo - device 174 . device 174 includes a cartridge valve 182 responsive to controller 176a ( fig1 ) for selectively combining the output flows of pump 178 , 180 . a directional valve 184 is likewise responsive to controller 176a for selectively combining the load sensing pressures . an electronically adjustable pressure relief valve 186 is responsive to controller 176a to selectively adjustably limit load sensing pressure at pump 180 . a shuttle valve 188 transmits to pump 180 the higher load sensing pressure from valve 172a , 170a . in an initial lowering mode of operation , master controller 42 ( fig1 ) commands valve 172a ( through controller 172b ) to deliver a specified flow to the rod - end of actuator 172 . master controller 42 also commands motor 170 to turn at a low speed . lastly , it commands pseudo - device 174 to de - energize cartridge valve 182 and directional valve 184 , and to set pressure relief valve 186 at 3000 psi , for example . de - energizing the cartridge valve isolates the outputs of the two pumps . the two load sensing pressures are isolated by de - energizing directional valve 184 . in a subsequent augering mode , master controller 42 commands valve controller 172b to change to a pressure control mode , and maintain a specified pressure in actuator 172 . master controller 42 also commands a certain auger speed at motor 170 through motor controller 172b and valve 172a . lastly , it directs pseudo - device controller 176a to de - energize cartridge valve 182 , de - energize directional valve 184 and set pressure relief valve 186 at 5000 psi , for example , as needed for augering . in a hoisting mode of operation , master controller 42 commands valve controller 172b to deliver a specified flow to the head - end of actuator 172 . it commands motor 170 to turn at a specified speed , and it commands pseudo - device 174 to energize cartridge valve 182 and directional valve 184 , and to set pressure relief valve 186 at 3000 psi as needed by the hoisting cylinder . energizing cartridge valve 182 functions to combine the outputs of the two pumps , and energizing directional valve 184 combines the two load sensing pressures , such that pump 180 sees the higher of the two load sensing pressures . however , the load sensing pressure seen by pump 180 is limited to the relief valve setting of 3000 psi .
6
a grout joint clean out and tile adhesive leveling tool has a tip and a handle . the tip has an alignment surface for slidably resting upon the faces of adjacent tiles , and a projecting member having a width substantially equal to the width of the grout joint , and a height for extending into the grout joint a predetermined distance from the alignment surface . when the tool is moved along the grout joint , the projecting member redistributes and / or removes excess tile adhesive from the grout joint so as to leave a uniform layer of adhesive of a particular desired thickness in the bottom of the grout joint . preferably the tip is designed for repeated use and is made of a slick , non - porous , rigid and durable material so as to slide easily over tile without absorbing the excess tile adhesive , to withstand the stresses to which it is subject during normal use on multiple occasions , and to withstand water and other solvents with which it might come into contact during normal use and cleaning on multiple occasions . alternatively , the tip may be made of any desired material or combination of materials to achieve any of a variety of different performance objectives ; illustratively , the tip may be semi - porous and impregnated with water or other solvent for aiding in the redistribution and / or removal of adhesive , and may be made for limited use . the handle may have any configuration and size suitable for the user , and may connect to the tip via a shaft of any length or configuration as may be desired for convenience and ease of use . the tip and handle may be a unitary structure such as , for example , a single molded plastic piece , or may be an integrated structure of the same or different materials . in an integrated structure , the tip may be permanently secured to the handle with an adhesive , weld , or in any other desired manner , or the tip may be removably attached to the handle with a mechanical or any other type of temporary connector so that it can be removed and replaced . preferably the connector is operable by the user so that the tip may be changed by the user as needed . for a particular tiling scheme , in which the spacing between tiles is known , the user selects a tip of a size that corresponds to the spacing , attaches it to the handle ( for a tool having changeable tips ), and uses the handle and tip to remove the excess adhesive in the channel between adjacent tiles . after a pass along the channel , the excess adhesive captured by the tip is easily removed from the handle and tip , and the handle and tip are easily cleaned for use in application of the next tile . the combined size of the handle and tip is preferably large enough so that the handle and tip may be easily washed off together in a container of water , which is difficult to do with a common spacer . an example of a tile adhesive removal tool 10 is shown in fig1 . a tip 2 is attached to a handle 1 . the tip has a ridge that is sized to fit in the channel between adjacent tiles . during use , a user grips the handle , inserts the ridge of the tip into one end of the channel , and guides the tool along the channel to remove any excess adhesive in the channel . as drawn in fig1 , the tip 2 is removable from the handle 1 , but it may alternatively be integrated into the handle 1 . the handle 1 of fig1 is shown in more detail in fig2 - 4 . fig2 shows a top view , fig3 shows a left side view , and fig4 shows a proximal end view . the handle 1 has a body 14 that is gripped by the user in a grip region 15 , which may optionally have grooves , bumps or ridges for enhancing the grip of the user on the handle 1 . alternatively , the grip region 15 may be flat . adjacent to the grip region 15 at the proximal end of the handle 1 is a storage compartment cover 16 . the cover 16 may unscrew from the handle 1 to allow the user to store parts or extra tips inside the handle 1 . alternatively , the cover 16 may be secured by any applicable method , such as by being hinged or having a friction fit . opposite the storage end of the handle 1 is the attachment end 17 , to which a removable tip may be attached . the removable tip fits securely onto the attachment end 17 of the handle 1 , and is held in place by a friction fit , a mechanical device , or in any other desired manner . preferably , a friction fit is used in conjunction with a pair of notches 18 on the attachment end 17 , which engage a pair of detents on the removable tip . the user presses the removable tip on the attachment end 17 of the tool until the detents engage the notches 18 . the tip may be removed by gripping and pulling it off the attachment end 17 of the handle 1 . the attachment end 17 of the handle 1 may optionally have an orientation ridge 19 on one side , so that the removable tip may be attached with only one particular orientation . as drawn in fig2 - 4 , the orientation ridge 19 protrudes along the attachment end 17 in a relatively narrow channel , and engages a slot in the removable tip , so that the tip is prevented from being attached upside down . alternatively , the orientation ridge 19 may be located off - center with respect to the attachment end 17 . as a further alternative , the orientation ridge 19 may be one or more bumps on the attachment end 17 , rather than a true ridge . fig5 - 8 show an exemplary embodiment of a removable tip 2 in various views . fig5 shows a side view , fig6 shows a top view , fig7 shows a distal end view , and fig8 shows a plan view of the underside of the removable tip 2 . the removable tip 2 has a main body 25 , which attaches the removable tip 2 to the attachment end 17 of the handle 1 . protruding from the main body 25 is an insertable ridge 27 , which during use extends into the groove or channel between tiles and redistributes or removes any excess adhesive . as shown in fig5 - 8 , the insertable ridge 27 may optionally be tapered in one or more dimensions , preferably decreasing in size away from the main body 25 . the end 28 of the insertable ridge 27 may be flat , as drawn in fig5 - 8 , or may be rounded in one or more dimensions . the main body 25 attaches to the handle 1 , and in the exemplary embodiment of fig5 - 8 , has a pair of resilient arms 24 located on opposite sides of the main body 25 . at one end of each arm 24 is a bump 26 , which engages a notch 18 on the handle 1 when the removable tip 2 is attached . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any suitable method of attachment may be used to attach the removable tip to the tool ; the bumps and detents shown in fig2 - 8 are merely exemplary . if the tip is designed asymmetrically , it may be desirable to have element that prevents the tip from being installed upside - down . the tool of fig2 - 8 uses an orientation ridge 19 on the handle 1 , which fits into an alignment groove 30 on the removable tip 2 . if the user attempts to attach the tip with the incorrect orientation , the orientation ridge 19 prevents the placement of the removable tip 2 onto the attachment end 17 of the handle 1 . although the alignment groove 30 is shown as being centered on one face of the removable tip 2 , it may also be off - center . alternatively , more than one groove and ridge may be used . as a further alternative , one or more bumps on the tool may be used , rather than a ridge . as yet another alternative , the ridge may be on the tip , rather than the tool , and the channel may be on the tool , rather than the tip . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiment may use any other suitable method of preventing the insertion of the removable tip with an incorrect orientation . because a variety of tiles with different thickness are available and because a variety of grout joint thickness are desired by installers , tips may be made available in a variety of different dimensions . fig9 shows an installation in which relatively thin tiles 82 and 84 are installed on backing 88 with a relatively wide grout joint between them . the use of a tool with a relatively wide but shallowly projecting tip 80 is appropriate . element 86 is the adhesive in the grout joint . on the other hand , fig1 shows an installation in which relatively thick tiles 92 and 94 are installed on backing 98 with a relatively narrow grout joint between them . the use of a tool with a relatively narrow but deeply projecting tip 90 is appropriate . element 96 is the adhesive in the grout joint . the removable tip may optionally have a label 29 that indicates the width of the insertable ridge 27 , which is the top - to - bottom dimension of the insertable ridge 27 in fig6 . by reading the label 29 , the user knows the size of the insertable ridge 27 , and therefore knows which removable tip to use for a given spacing between tiles . the exemplary label 29 in fig6 reads “ ⅛space ”, which indicates that the width of the insertable ridge is ⅛ inch . the tool 10 may be sold with a set of removable tips , each with a different dimension , so that a variety of tiling schemes may be accommodated . typical dimensions include , but are not limited to 1 / 16 inch , ⅛ inch , 3 / 16 inch and ¼ inch . the removable tip 2 may be tapered or rounded in any of the dimensions , in addition to the optional taper of the insertable ridge 27 . the tapered regions 31 reduce the overall size of the removable tip , and therefore use less material , resulting in a less expensive product . furthermore , the tapered region 31 may make easier the cleaning of the tip , which occurs after use for a particular tile . in the tool of fig1 - 8 , the alignment surface of the tool 10 is preferably either the beveled surface 31 or the beveled surface 33 , depending on the orientation of the tool 10 relative to the direction of travel . the tool 10 preferably is angled away from normal in the direction of travel , and the beveled surface 31 or 33 provides some tactile feedback when the tip 2 is properly angled . however , many different techniques may be used to facilitate the proper angling of the tip . fig1 shows a simplified and less flexible implementation in which the proper angle between tool axis 110 and tile surface 116 is maintained by flat surface 114 of main body 112 , thereby establishing the proper penetration distance of projecting member 118 . fig1 shows a dual - tip embodiment in which the proper angle between primary tool axis 120 and a parallel secondary tool axis 121 and tile surface 126 is maintained by the cooperative effect of spaced - apart surfaces 124 and 125 of main body 122 , thereby establishing the proper penetration distance of projecting members 127 and 128 . fig1 shows yet another technique in which the main body of tip 130 is not slab - like as in fig7 , but rather has bent back portions 132 and 134 with respective edges 133 and 135 . the edges 133 and 135 are angled so that when the tool to which the tip 130 is connected is properly angled , the edges 133 and 135 are in full contact with the surfaces of adjacent tiles defining the grout joint , thereby establishing the proper penetration distance of projecting member 136 . preferably measures are taken to prevent twisting of the tip in the grout joint . when a single tip is used , the length of the projecting member is preferably greater than the width thereof . in fig1 , for example , the projecting member 118 is shown from the side or along its length . the width ( not shown ) of the projecting member preferably is equal to or less than the length . on the other hand , the length of the projecting members 127 and 128 of the tip shown in fig1 may be less than the width thereof , since twisting is prevented by using two projecting members 127 and 128 in a spaced - apart relationship . the tip of fig1 has a further advantage . in the implement shown in fig1 , the height of the leading projecting member 127 is less than the height of the trailing projecting member 128 . when the tool is in use , the projecting member 127 may remove and / or redistribute great excesses of adhesive from the grout joint without causing too much drag on the tool , while the projecting member 128 is at the proper height to level the adhesive at the right depth even while removing and / or redistributing lesser excesses of adhesive . however , the height may be established for other purposes . illustratively , the height of the projecting members of the tip may be the same for redundancy . fig1 and 15 show an alternate embodiment of a handle 140 . the handle 140 has various features that may enhance a user &# 39 ; s grip on the tool , including depressions 141 and 142 and holes 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 and 147 . the holes preferably do not extend all the way through the handle 140 , although alternatively they may extend fully through the handle 140 . in addition to enhancing the grip , the features may reduce the overall volume of the handle 140 , thereby using less material for its production and reducing the overall cost of the tool . the description of the invention and its applications as set forth herein is illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention . variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein are possible , and practical alternatives to and equivalents of the various elements of the embodiments would be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art upon study of this patent document . these and other variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .
4
fig1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 in which an embodiment of the disclosure may be advantageously employed . for purposes of illustration , fig1 shows three remote units 120 , 130 , and 150 and two base stations 140 . it will be recognized that typical wireless communication systems may have many more remote units and base stations . remote units 120 , 130 , and 150 include improved semiconductor chips 125 a , 125 b , and 125 c , respectively , which are embodiments as discussed further below . fig1 shows forward link signals 180 from the base stations 140 and the remote units 120 , 130 , and 150 and reverse link signals 190 from the remote units 120 , 130 , and 150 to base stations 140 . in fig1 , remote unit 120 is shown as a mobile telephone , remote unit 130 is shown as a portable computer , and remote unit 150 is shown as a fixed location remote unit in a wireless local loop system . for example , the remote units may be cell phones , hand - held personal communication systems ( pcs ) units , portable data units such as personal data assistants , or fixed location data units such as meter reading equipment . although fig1 illustrates remote units according to the teachings of the disclosure , the disclosure is not limited to these exemplary illustrated units . the disclosure may be suitably employed in any device which includes a semiconductor chip . a previous method of creating air gaps , using self - assembling nanowires ( such as a protein ), is depicted in fig2 a - 2g . as shown in fig2 a , an etch stop layer 202 is deposited over a metal layer 204 embedded in an interlayer dielectric 206 . self - assembling nanowires 208 are then deposited over the etch stop layer 202 , as depicted in fig2 b . the self - assembling nanowires 208 form a nanowire layer 210 having small , nanoscale - sized holes 212 arranged in a regular pattern . next , as depicted in fig2 c , a mask 214 is prepared over the nanowire layer 210 to act as a barrier , leaving exposed areas of the nanowire layer 210 . the pattern of nanoscale - sized holes 212 in the exposed nanowire layer 210 is then translated into the etch stop layer 202 , resulting in a pattern of holes 216 in the etch stop layer 202 , as depicted in fig2 d . the nanowire layer 210 is removed and the holes 216 in the etch stop layer 202 are extended into the interlayer dielectric 206 ( fig2 e ) and air gaps 218 between metal wires 220 of the metal layer 204 are formed ( fig2 f ). a chemical vapor deposition (“ cvd ”) process deposits a dielectric layer 222 to cap the holes 216 in the etch stop layer 202 , as shown in fig2 g . the self - assembling nanowires arrange themselves in a honeycomb - like structure to form a pattern of holes . because the holes are derived from a self - assembly process , the pattern of holes is not designed to vary in accordance with variations in the underlying metal layer . as described herein , a method of creating air gaps is provided in which the pattern of holes designed . an overview of the method is provided in fig3 a - 3i . a cross - sectional view of a metal layer 302 is depicted in fig3 a . the metal layer 302 contains metal wires 304 embedded in an interlayer dielectric 306 . for ease of view , only the metal layer 302 is shown , but it should be understood that the metal layer 302 is fabricated over a built - up integrated circuit which includes a substrate and semiconductor devices , and can include one or more layers such as an antireflective coating layer , liner oxide layer , barrier layer , metal layer , or any combination or number of layers thereof . referring to fig3 b - 3f , a thin layer 308 of interlayer dielectric is deposited over the metal layer 302 . next , a patterned photoresist 310 is prepared over the thin interlayer dielectric layer 308 . the patterned photoresist 310 is trimmed to sub - resolution dimensions to produce a trimmed photoresist pattern 311 , then the thin interlayer dielectric layer 308 is etched to produce nanoscale islands 312 , or “ nano - islands ,” of dielectric material . the nano - islands 312 form a nano - island pattern 314 above the metal layer 302 . next , an etch stop layer 316 is deposited above the metal layer 302 and the nano - island pattern 314 . as shown in fig3 g , the etch stop layer 316 is polished to expose the nano - island pattern 314 . the nano - islands 312 and portions of the underlying interlayer dielectric 306 between the metal wires 304 are then etched to create nano - sized holes 318 and air gaps 320 in the metal layer 302 , as depicted in fig3 h . a layer 322 of interlayer dielectric can be deposited on top of the etch stop layer 316 to cap the nano - sized holes 318 ( fig3 i ). the pattern of nano - sized holes 318 is designed to create air gaps 320 near the metal wires 304 in the metal layer 302 . in turn , the nano - island pattern 314 is designed based on the pattern of nano - sized holes 318 to be formed . the deposition , photolithography , trimming and etching procedures can be based on conventional cmos fabrication techniques . deposition of the thin interlayer dielectric layer 308 can be carried out by a chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) process . for example , if the interlayer dielectric is silicon dioxide , the thin layer 308 can be deposited by reacting tetraethylorthosilicate (“ teos ”) and ozone , or by pyrolysing teos with or without oxygen . any other interlayer dielectric material known in the art can be used so long as the dielectric can be etched to create a pattern of nano - islands . in addition , the thin dielectric layer 308 can be deposited in other ways known in the art , such as by plasma - assisted cvd or by wafer spin . photolithography is used to produce the patterned photoresist 310 , which is then trimmed to produce a pattern of sub - resolution photoresist structures 311 ( fig3 d ). the trimmed photoresist pattern is transferred to the underlying wafer surface . the patterned photoresist is designed based on the desired nano - island pattern . the patterned photoresist structures can be of any shape , including shapes having straight and / or curved surfaces . any photolithography process used in microchip fabrication can be employed as long as a patterned photoresist that can be trimmed is produced . the term “ sub - resolution ” refers to structures having critical dimensions less than the resolving power of the particular photolithography system used for patterning the photoresist . for example , if the resolution of the photolithography system is 0 . 1 μm ( the system cannot fabricate features with sizes less than 0 . 1 μm ), then sub - resolution photoresist structures have critical dimensions less than 0 . 1 μm . in some embodiments , the critical dimension of the trimmed photoresist pattern is less than 100 nm , less than 75 nm , less than 50 nm , less than 25 nm , less than 10 nm , less than 5 nm , or less than 2 nm . in certain embodiments , the critical dimension of the trimmed photoresist pattern is about 100 nm , about 75 nm , about 50 nm , about 25 nm , about 10 nm , about 5 nm , or about 2 nm . trimming of the patterned photoresist involves treating the patterned photoresist under conditions suitable to remove sufficient photoresist material to reduce the critical dimension of the patterned photoresist . in particular , trimming involves the removal of material from the lateral and / or top sides of photoresist structures to produce sub - resolution photoresist structures . the particular trimming process employed depends in part on the composition of the photoresist material , the amount of material to be removed , and the location of the material removed ( lateral and / or top side ). for example , oxygen plasma etching can be used to trim a photoresist material based on carbon and hydrogen . the trimmed photoresist pattern is transferred to the underlying layer of interlayer dielectric by etching . the particular etching chemistry and method depends in part on the photoresist material , the dielectric material , and the geometry and critical dimensions of the etched dielectric . although wet etching can be performed , plasma - based dry etching is employed in certain embodiments for transferring submicron geometries . dry plasma etching can be carried out as a chemical etching process , a physical etching process , or a combined chemical and physical etching process . either an isotropic or anisotropic etching process can be utilized . depending on the size and geometry of the desired etched structures , a high - density plasma source may be required . for example , silicon dioxide interlayer dielectric can be etched by applying fluorocarbons such as cf 4 to the wafer surface using a high density plasma etch system . as a result of etching , the nano - island pattern is produced . as used herein , the term “ nano - island ” refers to a wafer - supported structure having submicron sizes in at least two of the three spatial dimensions . the nano - islands can be of any shape , including shapes having straight and / or curved surfaces . in some embodiments , the critical dimension of the nano - island pattern is less than 100 nm , less than 75 nm , less than 50 nm , less than 25 nm , less than 10 nm , less than 5 nm or less than 2 nm . in certain embodiments , the critical dimension of the nano - island pattern 314 is about 100 nm , about 75 nm , about 50 nm , about 25 nm , about 10 nm , or about 5 nm . the particular etch stop layer deposited above the nano - island pattern will depend on the interlayer dielectric used to form the nano - islands , and the etching method to be used to produce the nano - sized holes and air gaps . for example , when the interlayer dielectric is silicon dioxide , an etch stop layer can be silicon carbide or silicon nitride . the etch stop layer can be polished , and the nano - islands exposed , by chemical mechanical planarization (“ cmp ”). a cmp process which is not selective to the interlayer dielectric and the etch stop layer is preferred . the polished wafer surface can be wet etched or vapor etched to form the nano - sized holes and the air gaps in the metal layer . the particular etching process will depend on the materials used in forming the nano - islands and the etch stop layer . for example , when the interlayer dielectric is silicon dioxide and the etch stop layer is silicon carbide or silicon nitride , fluorine - based etchants in vapor form can be used for etching . the nano - sized holes can have shapes and dimensions similar to the shapes and dimensions of the nano - islands . in some embodiments , the nano - sized holes 318 have critical dimensions of less than 100 nm , less than 75 nm , less than 50 nm , less than 25 nm , less than 10 nm , less than 5 nm , or less than 2 nm . in certain embodiments , the nano - sized holes 318 have critical dimensions of about 100 nm , about 75 nm , about 50 nm , about 25 nm , about 10 nm , or about 5 nm . the shapes and dimensions of the air gaps will depend on the particular etching process employed . the etching process can be an isotropic or anisotropic process . any etching process can be employed that is compatible with the etch stop layer , the dielectric used to form the nano - islands and the metal layer , and the desired shape of the air gaps . for example , when the interlayer dielectric of the metal layer is silicon dioxide , etching can be carried out by f based chemistry such as hf , buffered oxide etchant , etc . following air gap formation , the additional layer of dielectric material can be deposited over the polished etch stop layer to cap the nano - sized holes . the dielectric material of the additional layer can be the same as or different from the dielectric material of the interlayer dielectric thin layer . in accordance with this disclosure , a designed pattern of nano - islands is prepared , which is then used as a guide to create a pattern of nano - sized holes by etching . the nano - sized holes provide access to the interlayer dielectric of a metal layer for etching air gaps near wire interconnects . this can lead to reduced parasitic capacitance in an integrated circuit . the pattern of nano - islands is designed based on the desired pattern of the nano - sized holes , and the pattern of nano - sized holes is designed based on the circuitry of the wire interconnects . thus , the pattern of nano - islands and the pattern of nano - sized holes can be designed to vary with the circuitry of the underlying metal layer . to prepare the designed nano - island pattern , a photoresist pattern is designed and created based on the desired nano - island pattern . although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the technology of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims . for example , although the term “ above ” is used , in this description , as well as the following claims , the orientation can be switched so “ below ” applies instead . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process , machine , manufacture , composition of matter , means , methods and steps described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure , processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps , presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps .
7
fig1 depicts a conventional tv raster . the picture is developed by scanning the image one line at a time . each scan line ( 21 ) is followed by a horizontal retrace 22 and the last line of the frame is followed by a vertical retrace 23 which includes a vertical sync pulse embedded in the retract interval . conventional tv includes an &# 34 ; interlace &# 34 ; concept , but for the purposes of this description it is of no significance . it may be noted , however , that the aspect ratio of hdtv , which is expected to be 16 to 9 , is different from that of conventional tv . this face also has very little significance to this description . fig2 depicts a general block diagram of a video transmitter . block 110 is responsive to an incoming frame and to a frame within buffer 160 . it develops low frequency coefficients ( ll coefficients ) and motion vectors which are applied to formatter 170 and translation circuit 150 , and motion - compensated prediction error signals which are applied to transformer block 120 . block 120 performs a transformation on the applied signals ( basically a time domain to frequency domain transformation and applies the results to encoder block 130 . encoder 130 develops a greatly reduced set of signals , in the form of discrete amplitude error signals and vector index signals , which , in combination , represent the signals created in block 120 , and forwards the signals streams to formatter 170 and combiner 159 . the signals developed in encoder 130 are selected and arranged to fill the available transmission capacity with the information that is most important for an authentic recreation of the original image . in the feedback portion of the transmitter , combiner 159 is responsive to the error signals and the vector index signals of encoder 130 . its function is to recover the frequency coefficients that were selected and encoded in block 130 . its output is applied to transform circuit 161 , and its function is to reconstitute , as best it can , the input signals of transformation block 120 . the output of block 161 is added in element 180 to a motion compensated estimate of the frame and the sum is placed in buffer 160 . the motion compensated estimate is developed in translation circuit 150 which is responsive to buffer 160 and to the motion vectors . formatter 170 combines the information supplied by blocks 130 and 110 with audio information associated with the frame , and creates a signal in a format that is suitable for whatever transmission medium is employed by the user . in accordance with one aspect of this invention , the error signals developed by encoder 130 are organized to fit within , and a formatted to be in , the line scan interval of the frame . all of the other signals applied to formatter 170 are encoded into the retract interval of the frame . the receiver that corresponds to the transmitter of fig2 is shown in fig3 . it includes a separation block 190 which recovers the audio signals , the ll and motion vectors signals of block 110 and the output signals of encoder 130 . the signals corresponding to the output signals of encoder 130 are applied to combiner block 163 . like combiner block 159 , block 163 recovers the frequency coefficients selected and encoded in block 130 . the output is applied to transform circuit 155 which reconstitutes , as best it can , the input signal of transformation of block 120 . concurrently , the motion vectorsw developed in block 110 are applied to translation circuit 164 which modifies the output of buffer 165 in accordance with those vectors . the result is applied to adder 185 which sums the output signals of blocks 155 and 164 and applies the results to buffer 165 . buffer 165 contains the ll video frame information of the receiver ( which is the image , minus the portion represented by the ll coefficients ). concurrently with the processing in element 155 and 185 , the ll coefficients of block 290 are applied to transform block 188 which develops the ll image of the receiver . the ll image is added the ll image in element 186 , to form the final receiver frame . the frame is processed and displayed , and the associated audio is processed and converted to sound . the details of motion compensation block 110 are shown in fig4 . therein , the incoming frame is connected to buffer 102 and to two - dimensional low pass filter 103 coupled to sub - sampler 115 . filter 103 contains a conventional low pass filter 104 , a buffer 105 for rearranging the data , a conventional low pass filter 106 responsive to buffer 105 , and a buffer 107 for a second rearranging of the data . filter 103 thus develops two - dimensional low frequency coefficients ( ll coefficients ) which are subsampled in 115 and applied to formatter 170 . the subsampled output of filter 103 is also applied to transform block 108 which develops an ll image corresponding to the ll coefficients . while the ll coefficients the ll image are developed , the applied image frame is delayed in buffer 102 . the delayed image and the ll image are applied to subtracter 109 , which subtracts the ll image from the applied image to yield an image where the low spatial frequencies are missing ( i . e ., the ll image ). the ll frame output of subtractor 109 is applied to frame buffer 111 , to motion vectors generator block 112 and to adder 114 . as the ll frame is stored in buffer 111 , the previously stored ll frame is extracted from buffer 111 and applied to motion vectors generator block 112 . motion vectors generator 112 operates on non - overlapping blocks of the image . these blocks can be of any size , but the size that we employ in connection with the hdtv embodiment described therein is 36 by 32 pixels ( 36 pixels in a row , 32 rows ). for each selected block , a selected neighborhood of the block is searched in the previous frame ( found in buffer 111 ) for a block of pixels that most approximates the block in question . in this manner , a motion vector is obtained that points to an area of the image in buffer 111 that best approximates the block in question . the search process , to a single pixel accuracy , is perfectly conventional . to improve performance , our motion vectors are computed to 1 / 2 pixel accuracy . this is accomplished by first developing a motion vector to 1 pixel accuracy and then interpolating in the neighborhood pointed to by the motion vector between rows and between pixels in the rows of the previous block to determine whether a subpixel motion vector specification is called for . to illustrate , a fig5 depicts a region 31 in frame k and a block of pixels 30 in frame k + 1 . as can be seen from a review of the two , block 30 of frame k + 1 may be described quite accurately by stating that it corresponds to the region in frame k that is shifted with respect to the position of block k by two pixels upwards and three pixels to the right . the motion vectors of generator block 112 are applied in fig4 to translator 113 . the other input of translator 113 is the output signal of buffer 160 . as mentioned above , the output of buffer 160 represents the previous ll frame as it is known to the receiver . the motion vectors are compared in translator 113 with the image of buffer 160 to form a predicted motion - compensated ll frame . typically , this predicted frame does not faithfully represent ll frame . almost always there are errors in the predicted frame . to ascertain the position and intensity of those errors , the motion - compensated ll frame of translator 113 is applied to subtracter 114 , wherein it is compared to the ll frame signal itself . the output of subtracter 114 is a frame of motion - compensated prediction error signals . those signals are applied to transformer block 120 . transformer block 120 maps the information to the frequency domain . although there are many approaches for such a mapping , the approach chosen here involves 16 fir filters , as depicted in fig6 . specifically , the input of block 120 is applied 8 &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ; filters 121 . each filter spans 64 pixels and develops a coefficient that represents the intensity of signals in a chosen frequency band . the filters are termed &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ; because the input pixels to a filter are taken from successive pixels on the same line scan of the frame , and because successive coefficients are obtained by sliding the filter horizontally . the horizontal shift is by 8 pixels . each developed coefficient is associated with the pixel that is at the center of the neighborhood defined by the 64 pixels , and thus , each line scan of m pixels produces m / 8 coefficients in each of the 8 fir filters ( assuming that something is done at the edges of the scan lines -- such as creating pixels to satisfy for the filter needs ). the frequency bands that are evaluated by the 8 filters are chosen , or controlled , by the coefficients that are incorporated within the fir filters . the outputs of the &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ; filters are appropriately rearranged with the aid of buffer 122 and applied to 8 &# 34 ; vertical &# 34 ; filters 123 , which may be identical to the &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ; filters and which process the signals in the identical fashion . the overall effect that is created is that of two - dimensional filtering . description of block oriented two - dimensional filtering can be found , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 829 , 465 issued may 9 , 1989 . the outputs of transformer block 120 can be viewed as a collection of 64 subband frames , as depicted in fig7 . each subband frame defines a subband with n / 8 rows of coefficients and m / 8 coefficients per row , where n and m are the numbers of rows and pixels per row in the image frame . as can also be observed in fig7 corresponding coefficients in the subbands can be grouped to form vectors , such as vector 35 . the elements of such vectors all stem from a common set of motion - compensated prediction error signals ( of block 110 ). alternatively , groups of coefficients in each subband ( such as block comprising 2 rows of 4 coefficients ) can be combined with this invention , when vectors such as vector 36 are employed , the 64 subband frames may be represented by mn / 512 vectors . it is recognized that there are more efficient and less efficient ways of communicating the information in the 64 subband frames . the challenge , of course , is to select a more efficient approach rather than a less efficient one . it is also recognized that some granularity may be introduced , and some information in the frequency domain may be ignored without undully damaging the image quality . based on these recognitions , the function of encoder block 130 is to identify the most important image information contained in the 64 subband frames and to pack this information in the available transmission capacity . this may be accomplished in three steps . in the first step of such a three step approach , a selection is made to transmit some information and to simply ignore some information . in the second step , the information to be transmitted is approximated by choosing to transmit from a restricted lexicon of signals . the lexicon restriction results in lower demands on the digital transmission capacity . in the third step , the information is packed within the available transmission capacity . having mentioned &# 34 ; transmission capacity &# 34 ;, it makes sense at this point to describe what the available transmission capacity is . referring to fig1 the line scans , the horizontal retrace and the vertical retrace periods are all directly related to the operation of the tv screen . they need not relate necessarily to the transmission of information to the tv receiver , as long as some means are provided to synchronize the screen to the received frame information . hence , subject to the synchronization requirement , the time interval corresponding to the sum of those periods can be devoted entirely to the transmission of frame information . in a terrestrial transmission environment , each tv channel is allocated a specific bandwidth . typically , at the transmitter &# 39 ; s end the tv signal is band limited and modulated ( am ) onto a carrier . to minimize interference between tv channels , a &# 34 ; taboo &# 34 ; guard band separates adjacent tv channels , where no signals should be present . the &# 34 ; taboo &# 34 ; bands are needed because the conventional tv signal has a number of very strong components , and any nonlinearities that the signal encounters create harmonic spillover . even low levels of interference are often objectionable because they create &# 34 ; ghosts &# 34 ; in the interfered channel . the human eye is quite adept at detecting these patterns . the need for reducing interference is greatest during the line scan . during the retrace periods , in contradistinction , much greater interference can be tolerated . at such intervals whatever interference is introduced needs to be limited only to the point of insuring that the interfering signal does not cause a loss of synchronization . in accordance with one aspect of this invention , interference is maintained at an acceptably low level by limiting the bandwidth of the information sent during the line scan intervals to the assigned channel &# 39 ; s frequency band . during retrace , the bandwidth of the transmitted information may be allowed to expand into the &# 34 ; taboo &# 34 ; channel . more specifically , in accordance with the principles of this invention , during the line scan intervals we send motion - compensated prediction error coefficients that are selected to fit within the allocated signal bandwidth . all other information is sent during the retract intervals . since the energy in the error signals represent the deviation of the predicted image from the true image , it is desirable to transmit as much of the energy represented by the motion - compensation prediction error coefficients as is possible . the largest amount of energy that the transmitter can impart to a receiver corresponds to the largest swings in the carrier &# 39 ; s amplitude . such &# 34 ; largest &# 34 ; carrier amplitude results in high positive and negative voltage level swings at the receiver . the product represented by the maximum rms level of the receiver &# 39 ; s voltage , times the interval during which that level is maintained , shown in fig8 by area 99 . when signal power is not considered , the objective is to pack as many of the motion - compensated prediction error coefficients in the time interval of area 99 . the motion - compensated prediction error coefficients , which are analog in value , can be represented by analog valued samples and the samples can be concatenated to form a step - like analog signal . the number of samples that can be packed within the line scan interval is limited by the permissible bandwidth of the modulating analog signal and by the ability of the receiver to resolve the signals in the time domain . the utilization of area 99 , under such circumstances , may be as depicted by curve 98 in fig8 . more specifically , the utilization is depicted by the area below area 98 , which represents the rms values of the analog samples . from the above it appears that a more efficient utilization of the transmission medium can be achieved by increasing the area under curve 98 and reducing the area above it . this can be accomplished by encoding the error signals appropriately . the resulting digitized signal may then be like the one depicted by curve 97 in fig8 . each level in the signal of curve 97 represents either one or more signal pulses . the process of combining a number of signals to form one signal is a &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; mapping . the combining of digitized signals can , for example , be quite straight forward . when a pair of like - signed signals have amplitude values lower than a selected value , such as the square root of the highest permissible amplitude , then the pair of signals may be combined to form a single digitized signal . the value of the resulting single signal may be dictated by a lookup table like the one depicted in fig9 . for example , when a first signal has the value 11 and a second signal has the value 3 , the combined signal developed in accordance with the fig9 table has the value 41 . when converted to pam format , a pulse of height 41 is sent to the receiver together with an indication that the pulse represents the combination of two signals . upon receipt of such an indication and the value 41 , the receiver accesses a similar look - up table and derives therefrom the two pam pulses . when a &# 34 ; one to many &# 34 ; mapping results in a signal with a specific analog level , as in the case above , great care must be taken in the encoding algorithm because transmission noise is always a factor . specifically , the encoding algorithm must be such that a received signal that includes a small deviation from the transmitted level should not decode to signals that are markedly different from the signals that formed the transmitted level . we call this &# 34 ; conforming encoding &# 34 ;. it may be noted that the coding in the fig9 table is so arranged . for example , a reception of level 10 when level 11 was transmitted does not cause an error in the decoded level of the second pam pulse and changes the level of the first decoded pam pulse by only one . the reception of level 16 when level 16 was transmitted causes no errors in the decoded level of the first pam pulse and only an error of one level in the decoded level of the second pam pulse . the above describes a &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; mapping that aims to make the overall pam signal out of the transmitter as large as possible . actually , a similar benefit results from a &# 34 ; one to many &# 34 ; mapping where large digitized signals are encoded into two or more smaller signals . the encoding algorithm in such a mapping may be quite trivial because the decoding process may simply be a combining of the constituent pulses . the &# 34 ; one to many &# 34 ; mapping improves utilization of area 99 ( as does the &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; mapping ) because it reduces the dynamic range of the signal and permits a more effective gain control mechanism . whereas the fig9 arrangement depicts an approach for combining two digitized signals , it should be clear that three ( or more ) digitized signals can be combined in a similar manner with a table ( of corresponding dimensionality ) that follows the concepts of fig9 . when combining and splitting of the prediction error signals is not employed , the maximum number of pam pulses that can be transmitted in region 99 is fixed ( by the transmission bandwidth ). when combining and splitting is employed , the maximum number of pulses that can be transmitted is no longer fixed . rather , it depends on the signal characteristics . still , experience with the transmission of various images gives some indication as to the percentage of digitized signals that can be combined , and that percentage provides an indication of the maximum number signals that can be combined and transmitted to the receiver . returning to the detailed description of the fig2 transmitter , fig1 presents a detailed block diagram of encoder 130 for the aforementioned three step approach . for the selection step , we chose to evaluate the subband frames of fig7 through vectors 36 . specifically , it was chosen to combine the energies in the 8 coefficients of each element of a vector ( the 8 coefficients in the 2 by 4 array of coefficients in a subband ) and to compare the combined value to a threshold , thereby developing binary values that reflect the comparison results . stepping through the subband frames in a non - overlapping fashion yields a set of vectors with 1 and 0 element values . in fig1 , buffer 131 stores the 64 subband coefficients , outputs groups of 8 coefficients and stores them in register 132 . combiner 133 develops a measure of the energy in the 8 coefficients and applies the results to subtractor 134 . subtractor 134 develops a 1 output when the combiner signal is greater than the threshold , and a 0 output otherwise . this binary output is stored in buffer 135 . buffer 135 stores 64 bit vectors . each vector relates to a block of 8 coefficients in the 64 subbands . a 1 in buffer 135 of the subbands suggests that the coefficients that produced the 1 should be transmitted , and a 0 suggests that the coefficients that produced the 0 need not be transmitted . the threshold value applied to element 134 can be fixed or variable . it should not be set to a value that is so high that an insufficient number of coefficients are chosen to be transmitted . that would cause some transmission capacity to be unused . it should also not be so low that many more coefficients are selected for transmission than the available transmission capacity could handle . such a selection would unnecessarily burden the processing equipment . fig8 provides means for allowing the threshold to be set adaptively . processor 138 has access to the coefficients in buffer 131 . knowing the transmission capacity , it sorts the coefficients ( based on the energy of the coefficients ) and counts from the sorted list the number of pam pulses that would be transmitted . when the transmission capacity is exhausted , the energy level of the last - accepted coefficient becomes the applied threshold . the assumption implied in deciding that savings will accrue when selected coefficients are not transmitted is that it takes more transmission capacity to transmit information which can be ignored , than to transmit the additional information necessary for identifying the information that is being transmitted . the assumption holds true only if the number k of such identifying information packets ( that number being effectively controlled by the threshold level ) and the capacity c required for identifying each such packet is such that the product kc ( which is the capacity needed to identify what is transmitted ) is less than the capacity saved by not transmitting the ignored information . this suggests that it is important to reduce c as much as possible . the simplest way to identify the coefficients that are being transmitted and the coefficients that are not being transmitted is to transmit the 64 bit vector of 1s and 0s in buffer 135 . keeping the admonition to reduce c in mind , we discovered that image quality may be maintained while reducing the number of possible combinations from 2 64 to 2 8 , or 256 . a reduced set of possible combinations permits one to define each possible combination of 64 bits with only 8 bits . this mapping of 64 bits to 8 bits is achieved by creating a codebook table with 256 entries . each entry maintains one of the 64 bit combinations ( one codebook vector ) and the codebook vector is identified by the address ( index of the codebook vector ) of the combination in the table . when such a codebook is employed , it becomes necessary to judiciously replace each of the combinations contained in buffer 135 with a codebook vector that best represents the replaced combination . this is the second step of encoder 130 . it is clear that , when considering a particular combination of 1s and 0s in buffer 135 , selecting any codebook vector that specifies a different combination of 1s and 0s would result in the transmission of at least some coefficients with lower values than the threshold . that is , some high level coefficients that produced a 1 in buffer 135 may not be sent , and some low level coefficients that produced a 0 might be sent . still , having decided to replace the full set of possible vectors with vectors from a limited set , it appears beneficial , at this level of optimization , to send the vector from the codebook that is a ) most like the vector it replaces and b ) transmits the most combined prediction error coefficients energy . in fig1 , block 136 contains a codebook of 256 vectors of 64 bits each . processor 137 is responsive to the codebook , to buffer 135 , and to buffer 131 . in accordance with one approach of this invention and the above - described beneficial choices , processor 137 identifies the information in buffer 131 that corresponds to a vector of 1s and 0s in buffer 135 , determines the number of 1s in that buffer 135 vector , and tentatively selects from codebook 136 , one at a time , those vectors with an equal number of 1s . it then evaluates the combined energy of all coefficients that would be transmitted if the tentatively selected vector were finally selected , and does finally select that tentatively selected vector that would transmit the set of coefficients with the largest combined energy . the selected codebook vector and the selected coefficients from buffer 131 are applied to packing block 140 . the function of block 140 is to sort the information by the degree of importance that the sorted information has for the development of a high quality reproduction of the video frame , and to transmit as much of the important information as is possible within the constraints of the channel capacity . this packing function is achieved in block 140 by creating a table that contains four columns : a codebook vector identifier column , a number of selected coefficients column , a block number identifier column , and an importance measure column ( e . g . total energy in the subbands selected for transmission in accordance with the 1 &# 39 ; s in the vector ). as an aside , the second column , which indicates a number of selected coefficients , is strictly a function of the codebook . for example , for a codebook of 16 codebook vectors , the vector identifier can be a 4 - bit number in the range 0000 to 1111 . vector identifier 0000 may correspond , for example , to vector 0100110001110000 . that means that whenever vector identifier 0000 is found in the first column of the table , the second column of the table contains the number 48 ( which is the number of 1 &# 39 ; s in vector 0100110001110000 times 8 -- 8 being the number of pixels in the subband group ). the packing process proceeds in block 140 by sorting on the &# 34 ; importance &# 34 ; column . as illustrated in the table below , the first entry belongs to codebook vector 1001 , with 56 selected error coefficients . this entry is for block 23 , which has an energy level of 731 . the second entry belongs to codebook vector 1100 , with 24 selected error coefficients . this entry is for block 511 , which has an energy level of 623 . the third entry belongs to codebook vector 0001 , with 3 ( different ) selected subbands . this entry is for block 127 , which has an energy level of 190 . subsequent entries ( which are not shown ) have lower energy levels . ______________________________________vector id # of coeff . block id importance______________________________________1001 56 23 7311100 24 511 5110001 24 127 1900101 8 1023 102 . . . ______________________________________ in addition to the above sorting and selection from the top of the sorted list , block 140 , performs the above described signal combining function signals when the magnitudes of the error signals so suggest ( per fig9 ). by selecting from the sorted table , keeping track of the number of selected coefficients ( column 2 ), performing the &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; one to many &# 34 ; mappings and augmenting the selections information in accordance with these mappings , block 140 is able to keep track of channel capacity that is taken up by the entries selected from the sorted table . when the allotted capacity ( i . e ., number of pam pulses ) is exhausted , selections from the table are terminated . the mappings can also be carried out in processor 137 in combination with the codebook . in such and embodiment , the codebook identifiers themselves carry the information about the samples that re mapped . for example , codebook identifier 10110 may represents a vector 0100010000000000 where none of the two sets of 8 signals are encoded . on the other hand , identifier 10111 may represent the same vector , except that it carries one set of 8 signals that are unencoded , and one set of 4 signals that were created from a &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; encoding process . the above - described encoding , selecting , and packing approach of encoder 130 is merely illustrative , of course , fig1 presents another approach . in fig1 , the input to encoder 130 is applied ( as in fig1 ) to buffer 131 . the groups of 8 pixels from each of the 64 subbands ( vector 36 ) are accessed from buffer 131 and applied to block 141 , which develops a measure of the energy in each of the elements of the 64 - element vector . this information is applied to 256 codebook vector switching circuits 142 . each circuit 142 merely passes the energies of the elements that correspond to a 1 in the codebook vector . thus , the output of a circuit 142 that pertains to codebook vector p provides a measure of the energy that would be sent if that codebook vector were used . on first blush , one might believe that sending the most energy is best , and that would suggest selecting a codebook vector with a large number of 1s . however , an unadulterated measure of the energy may be counter indicated . since the total number of 1s in the selected codebook vectors is fixed , a better approach would be to maximize the benefit that each 1 in the selected vectors provides . selecting the latter measure , each switch 142 in fig1 is followed by a benefit measuring circuit 143 . the benefit measure may be the average energy per 1 in the codebook vector , or some other measure . to optimize the selection , the outputs of the 256 benefit measuring circuits are applied to selector block 144 . it selects the codebook that offers the greatest benefit per 1 in the codebook ; which is also the greatest benefit per transmitted set of 8 prediction error coefficients . the output of selector 144 is applied to packing block 149 , which is very similar to packing block 140 . to wit , block 149 sorts the chosen codebook vectors by their benefit measures selects from the top of the sorted list performs the &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; many to one &# 34 ; mappings as appropriate , and accumulates signals to be transmitted until the transmission capacity is exhausted . the above - described concept of packing more than one pam pulse in a single slot improves performance via a better utilization of the available capacity as it is reflected by area 99 of fig8 . there is another aspect of area 99 that may be addressed , and that is noise immunity . since noise that is introduced by the transmission medium ( between the transmitter and the receiver ) is independent of the level of the transmitted signal , it is clearly advisable to transmit as large a signal as possible . this can be achieved in the system of our invention by introducing a controllable gain feature ( cgf ) into the transmitter and receiver . as suggested above , the &# 34 ; one to many &# 34 ; signal mapping process interacts well with the cgf process because large signals are broken up into intermediate signals , and that reduces the overall &# 34 ; spikiness &# 34 ; of the signal . the lack of very large signals permits a larger cgf signal to be applied to element 154 , and that results in a greater portion of area 98 to be encompassed by the signal energy . because of the noise that inevitably is introduced in the course of transmitting information to the receiver , one has to expect that , in spite of the cgf action , the information within buffer 165 will eventually differ from the information in buffer 160 . this problem is overcome by the well known technique of inserting in the transmitted error signal a fraction of the true image , and by discarding in the receiver a corresponding fraction of the image stored in buffer 165 . this is known as &# 34 ; signal leak &# 34 ;. fig1 and 13 present block diagrams of a transmitter and a receiver that include signal leak and cgf . the cgf capability is achieved by applying the pam pulses delivered by block 140 ( within block 130 ) to a buffer 152 , which basically is a delay line . processor 153 , which is also responsive to the output of block 140 determines , at fixed intervals , the largest pam pulse within the delay line buffer . based on that information , a multiplicative factor is selected and applied to multiplication element 154 , which receives its second input from buffer 152 . the result is sent to formatter 170 . the multiplicative factor , which is the cgf control signal , is also sent to formatter 170 , for transmission to the receiver . the cgf action is accounted for in divider 151 which is responsive to the multiplication factors of processor 153 and to the output of element 154 . the result is sent to combiner 159 which , with the vector information of encoder 130 recreates the frequency components of transform circuit 120 ( as best it can ). those frequency components are transformed in block 161 , to reverse the transformation effected in block 120 , and the results are applied to adder 180 . concurrently , the motion vectors of block 110 are applied to translator 150 . with the aid of these vectors , translator 150 modifies the information of frame buffer 160 , and applies the results to adder 180 . the sum signals developed in adder 180 are stored in buffer 160 . actually , translator 150 is not connected to buffer 160 directly . interposed between the two is a divider 189 . the function of divider 189 is to account for the signal leak of block 156 . block 156 is responsive to the frame information applied to block 110 . it transmits to its output a fraction of the signal applied to its input . that fraction is added by adder 157 to the motion compensated signal that is delivered by block 110 to block 120 . adder 157 is interposed between blocks 110 and 120 . the fraction that we use in block 156 is 1 / 32 . divider 189 , which accounts for the signal leak , also transmits to its output a fraction of its input . when the fraction in block 156 is 1 / 32 , the fraction in block 1879 is 31 / 32 . the receiver of fig1 comports with the transmitter of fig1 . separator 190 includes means for culling out the ll coefficients , the motion vectors developed in block 110 of the transmitter , the prediction error vectors of codebook 146 ( which may include the mappings information ), and the cgf multiplication factors . the cgf multiplication factors are applied to a divider circuit 158 which complements the actions of circuit 154 in fig1 . the output of divider 158 is applied to combiner circuit 163 and the output of circuit 163 is applied to transform circuit 155 . the output of circuit is applied to adder 185 which feeds buffer 165 . the output of buffer 165 is applied to divider block 166 , and it supplies signals to translator circuit 164 . translator 164 is also responsive to the motion vector of block 190 and its output forms the second input of adder 185 . the functions of blocks 158 , 163 , 155 , 185 , 165 , 166 , and 164 are identical to the functions of blocks 151 , 159 , 161 , 180 , 160 , 189 and 150 , respectively . as in the receiver of fig3 output of buffer 165 , which is the received ll frame , is applied to adder 186 where it is added to the ll frame developed in transform circuit 188 . it may be noted in passing that divider circuit 158 affects only the amplitude of the prediction error signals . skilled artisans would surely realize that divider 158 could follow combiner 163 , rather than precede it , if so desired . although the above - described approach sends the motion - compensated prediction error signals in pam format , the principles of this invention are applicable with equal efficacy to other modes of transmission . specifically , experimental results suggest that extremely good results can be obtained by sending only 200 , 000 error signals . clearly , these error signals can be coded digitally and transmitted in that fashion over whatever transmission medium can handle the resulting bandwidth . sending this information digitally over cable , for example , would obviate the need for the entire rf section of the transmitter ( which is not shown in fig1 anyway ) and for the rf receiver section . also , organization of the signals which puts the prediction error signals in the line scans period and the vector information in the retrace period need not be adhered to . the above description presents the principles of the invention in the course of describing a transmitter and receiver arrangement that is suitable for hdtv . the details of construction of the illustrative embodiments that were presented are not delved into for the sake of brevity . all of the block that make up the designs presented in the figures can be created with conventional designs without undue experimentation . indeed , many of the blocks in the transmitter and the receiver perform identical functions and can be constructed in an identical manner with conventional components . it should be noted that other embodiments can be created that are encompassed within the spirit and scope of this invention . for example , it has been concluded through experimentation that a better performance is obtained ( subjectively ) by transforming the error signal developed in block 110 ( in block 120 ) and by discarding some of the resulting frequency coefficients ( in block 130 ). actually , even in the time domain the error signal is generally small . when the available bandwidth is large and / or when the encoding process is efficient enough , it is possible to consider encoding the error signals themselves . the really small errors would be ignored , the large errors would be encoded , and some averaging can even be included . for example , the pixel that is ignored ( because it error level is too low ) but which is next to a pixel that is selected and encoded can be assumed to have a value just under the threshold level . eliminating the need to transform into the frequency domain and back to the time domain clearly has a positive effect on the cost of the transmitter and the receiver .
7
referring now to fig . a , the business method for insuring an insured for identity theft peril ( hereinafter referred to as “ the method ”) is generally referenced by the numeral a 00 . in general , the insurance product will insure the insured for monetary losses incurred in the event of identity theft peril . the product general entails two main components , obtaining the insurance a 01 and processing a claim a 02 . the method a 00 begins at with obtaining the insurance a 01 with step a 10 where the applicant prepares an insurance application , or alternatively one is prepared on the applicant &# 39 ; s behalf . this is followed by a decision step , step a 15 which determines if the applicant is insurable . if the applicant is not insurable the process end . however , if the applicant is insurable , then step a 20 determines the amount of the premium to be charge to the applicant . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention provides the basis of determining the amount of the premium . factors affecting the amount include the amount of coverage sought , the amount of deductible , the risk of identity theft for that individual , and the probability of restoration and recovery . these and other factors are discussed in greater detail later in the present application . once the premium amount is premium price is determined , then the applicant purchases the insurance , thereby becoming the “ insured .” obtaining the insurance a 01 ends and process a claim a 02 is able to occur . process a claim a 02 may never occur or may occur multiple times in relation to obtaining the insurance a 01 . the first step of processing a claim a 02 is step a 30 where the insured will submit an identity theft claim to the identity theft insurance company b 5 . step a 30 is followed by step a 35 where an identity theft claim is generated . step a 35 is followed by step a 40 where the claim is investigated by an investigator or claim adjuster of the identity theft insurance company b 5 . step a 40 is followed by a decision step , step a 45 . if the determination is no at step a 45 , the insured is notified that there is no identity theft at step a 50 . on the other hand , if the determination is yes at step a 45 , the investigator or claim adjuster of the identity theft insurance company b 5 issues , as shown in fig . j a certificate of identity theft j 00 in step a 55 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that once the present invention is known by other to produce a certificate which has a reasonable probability of validity in relation to correctly notifying interested parties that an individuals theft has occurred , certificate of identity theft j 00 will provide proof of theft to multiple parties and organizations . certificate j 00 preferably includes insured &# 39 ; s name j 10 , identification number j 15 such as the insured social security number , approximate date of theft j 20 , reference number j 25 to allow for easy confirmation of the theft , as well as identification proof j 30 such as a thumb or finger print . identifying information j 15 may also be the insured &# 39 ; s social security number , or other identifying information including date of birth , current address , phone number , draft registration number , address , and the like . proof of authentication j 35 shows this certificate to be a true document from the insurer may be a hologram , a watermark or the like . finally , one skilled in the art will appreciate that digital certificates may be utilized as certificate j 00 . identification proof j 30 may utilize any physical characteristic for which is capable of or tends to establish identity . for example , use of finger prints , eye imaging , dna / rna chains , voice recognition and the like . following issuing a certificate of identity theft in step a 55 the identity reclamation and the credit restoration process continues at step a 60 . it should be noted that the acts for the identity restoration and the acts for the credit restoration process overlap and are combined together . additionally it should be noted that step a 55 and step a 60 can be combined or reversed in whole or in part . step a 60 is followed by step a 65 where the insurance benefit is dispersed . the insurance benefit is a function of the monetary loss of the insured as determined by the monetary loss calculation process c 00 ( fig . c ). referring now to fig . d , the flowchart for the identity theft insurance premium calculation process d 00 is shown . as can be appreciated , the identity theft insurance premium calculation process d 00 is performed to establish a relationship between the insured and the identity theft insurance company b 5 . the identity theft insurance premium calculation process d 00 begins with step d 5 where a process for determining pre - existing identity theft is present . when determining whether pre - existing identity theft is present the prospect is provided with reports from the credit bureaus to determine abnormalities . the credit bureau reports can be used to verify at least in part credit account balances . a reported earning report from the social security administration may also generated for verification . a search for existence of imposters in other states such as through criminal records can be performed . step d 5 is followed by step d 10 where a determination is made whether pre - existing identity theft exists . if the determination at step d 10 is yes , the results are communicated to the prospect at step d 15 . on the other hand , if pre - existing identity theft is does not exist , step d 10 is followed by step d 20 . at step d 20 the prospect &# 39 ; s credit rating ( cr ) is determined . factors to consider and review include such things as criminal record and the like . one skilled in the art will appreciate the number of different aspects one to review for creation of said rating . step d 20 is followed by step d 25 to review and determine , if any , the applications criminal records . step d 25 is followed by step d 30 to determine the income ( i ) of the prospect . as can be appreciated , the higher the cr and / or higher the i creates a higher liability for total monetary loss in the event of identity theft peril . step d 30 is followed by step d 35 where a determination is made regarding the liability based on the cr and the i in an underwriting process for identity theft peril . step d 35 is followed by step d 40 where the deductible is determined . it should be noted that the deductible may be determined before step d 35 . step d 40 is followed by step d 45 where the identity theft premium is calculated to establish the relationship between the insured and the identity theft insurance company b 5 . step d 45 is followed by step d 50 where applicants finger prints are taken and stored . this will assist in determining and later proving the true identity of the applicant . as mentioned prior , this step can be augmented or replaced by recording other proof of identity which can later be used as identification proof j 30 . referring now to fig . c , the flowchart for the monetary loss calculation process c 00 is shown . the monetary loss calculation process c 00 begins with step c 5 where a total of the credit card fraud liability fee ( ccl ) is calculated . for example , if only one credit card was tampered with by the imposter , the ccl would be approximately $ 50 . 00 . however , if the imposter used other cards or was issued other credit cards , the ccl for the other credit cards is added together . however , if the liability or loss incurred is less than the ccl of the card , the liability or loss would be added to the total . step c 5 is followed by step c 10 where a determination of the atm loss or liability ( atml ) is determined . since each banking or financial institution b 15 is different , the atml varies from one insured to the other . the atml may include a liability fee or may include the total loss to the insured . atml will also include risk of loss in relation to the use of the card or other related bank cards as debit cards . step c 10 is followed by step c 15 where a total of fraudulent checks ( ckt ) is calculated . step c 15 is followed by step c 20 where the utility debit ( utb ) is calculated such as for cellular telephone use . utility debit may occur as the result of an imposter engaging in criminal activity . for example , once the criminal activity is complete by an imposter or if the imposter is apprehended , the utility debt may become delinquent and / or additional or first time deposits maybe required . this is also the case for fraudulent use of credit cards . step c 20 is followed by step c 25 where lost wages ( lw ) by the insured is calculated such as the result of improper imprisonment , interrogation and court appearances . step c 25 is followed by step c 30 where bond fees bf are determined . step c 30 is followed by step c 35 where attorney fees are calculated and other out - of - pocket expenses ( oop ). the out - of - pocket expenses may further include check canceling fees and check ordering fees for new account activation . oop includes monetary damages not easily categorized above . step c 35 is followed by step c 40 which calculates non - monetary damages ( nmd ). these damages can include emotional distress and the like . step c 40 is followed by step c 45 the total of the monetary loss is calculated by adding or summing the ccl , the atml , the ckt , the utb , the lw , the bf , the nmd , and the oop , including the attorney fees , together . furthermore , the total of the monetary loss calculated in step c 45 may be subtracted from the policies deductible d to determine the insurance benefit disbursement of step a 45 . additionally , the present invention will allow for a distribution of material to assist the insured , or prospective insured , to minimize and / or decrease the risk of identity theft . preferably a packet of material is provided to the insured or prospective insured containing instructions for the insured to take to reduce the risk . one skilled in the art will appreciate the potential contents of such a packet as well as the fact that the risk will be reduced to the insurer of such a person . therefore , a rate reduction maybe available to those who follow instruction from such a packet . referring now to figs . b , e and f , the identity reclamation and credit restoration system will be described in detail . as shown in fig . b , the identity theft insurance company b 5 communicates with the specialty merchants and utility companies b 10 to identity the unauthorized car purchases and utility debit ( utb ) if any . the identity theft insurance company b 5 communicates with the social security and passport administrations b 20 , the insurance companies b 30 , the state and federal courts and law enforcement agencies b 35 , the credit reporting agencies b 40 and the financial institution including all banks and credit companies , including without limitation credit card companies b 15 . furthermore , the identity theft insurance company b 5 communicates with the dmvs and the post office b 45 , and direct marketing associations b 25 . one skilled in the art may appreciate that direct marketing associations b 25 receiving incorrect address changes may be a benefit , potentially the only benefit , to the insured suffering identity theft , and updates may be undesired . referring now to fig . f , a general block diagram of the database system for the identity reclamation and credit restoration process is illustrated . the insurance company b 5 stores form letter shells in a plurality of databases f 5 , f 10 , f 12 , f 14 , f 16 , f 18 , f 20 , f 22 and f 24 . for letter shells for credit reporting agencies are stored database f 5 . database f 10 includes the form letter shells for all of the credit card issuers such as visa , master card , american express , etc . the form letters content include reporting of the identity theft , canceling of any existing accounts , and forms for establishing new accounts in the insured &# 39 ; s name . this provides for ( 1 ) stopping identity theft ; ( 2 ) reclaiming the insured &# 39 ; s identity and ( 3 ) restoring the insured &# 39 ; s credit . furthermore , when establishing a new account , the form letter includes links all of the insured identity information and contact information stored in the insured identity data files database f 26 . the identity data file is described later in detail with regard to fig . e . additionally , an identity password may be assigned by the insurance company b 5 and communicated with each of certified notifications via the form letters . the database f 10 includes the address for each credit card issuer and is directed to the fraud departments thereof . database f 12 includes the form letters for law enforcement agencies including local police for all states and jurisdictions including the addresses . the law enforcement letters database f 14 may further include submission of information for filing a police report or complaint of the identity theft in compliance with title 18 usc — section 1028 . database f 14 includes form letters for the social security administration to request reported earnings . the database f 16 includes form letters specialty merchants and utility companies . specialty merchants may include automobile dealerships , retail merchants , etc . the database f 16 includes the addresses for each of the specialty merchants and utility companies . the database f 18 includes forms for dmvs and other government personal identification ( id ) issuers to cease selling of the identity . in some states , a driver &# 39 ; s license may include a social security number . for example , a social security number may be provide under a social security number heading or may be the driver &# 39 ; s license number . recently , some states provide allows the id or driver &# 39 ; s license applicant to use a different number other than the social security number . therefore , for those states which use the social security number for the driver &# 39 ; s license number , a new number is generated for the insured and submitted accordingly . the database f 20 includes the form letters for financial institutions and banks including bank clearinghouses . database f 22 is form letters to direct marketing associations to cease and desist in the marketing of the stolen identity . database f 24 includes the forms for the creation of a red - flag account . referring now to fig . e , the identity data file e 00 is shown and is stored in the insured identity data files of database f 26 for each of the insured . the identity data file e 00 includes personal identity information data fields such as the first name e 10 , the last name e 12 , the address on address lines e 14 and e 16 , city e 18 , state e 20 , zip code e 22 , home telephone e 24 and e - mail address e 26 . employment information data fields includes data fields for employer name e 28 , employer address lines 1 and 2 e 30 and e 32 , city e 34 , state e 36 , zip code e 38 , work telephone e 40 , social security number e 42 and aliases e 44 such as for a maiden name . it should be noted , that the employment information may include data field ( not shown ) for employment history for the past 5 , 7 or 10 years . other personal information data fields includes fields for entering date of birth e 50 , mother &# 39 ; s maiden name e 52 , high school e 54 and college education e 56 . in the preferred embodiment , other personal information include data fields for income e 80 , driver &# 39 ; s license number e 82 , place of birth e 84 , marital status e 86 and sex or gender e 88 . the identity data file e 00 also provides for data fields e 60 for identifying utility company accounts ; data fields e 66 for identifying banking institutions ; and data fields e 70 for credit account numbers and creditors . the identity data file e 00 also provides for data fields e 90 for entry of finger print data . one skilled in the art will appreciate that other forms of physical proof may include blood samples , dna / rna chains , eye related images and the like . the data fields may be populated via an online session through the internet . however , the information may be provided via a questionnaire . referring now to fig . g , a generic form letter shell g 00 is shown . the identity theft may result from different losses therefore different form letter formats will be used . for example , identity theft may be an attempt to steal money . therefore , the identity recovery may be as simple as the cancellation of bank accounts , check cancellations , credit card cancellation and the payment of the liability fee of $ 50 . 00 for each credit card fraudulently used .. therefore , the identity reclamation and credit restoration is primarily focused on the credit restoration . on the other hand , if the identity theft created an alias for use in illegal activities , the identity reclamation and credit restoration process would primarily focus on identity reclamation to minimize future monetary loss and eliminate a criminal record . nevertheless , in some instances both types of identity theft converge , especially if the imposter using the alias completes their objectives . in general , the generic form letter shell g 00 includes a letterhead field g 10 , date data field g 15 , address data field g 20 and a letter data field g 30 including links to identity data fields stored in database f 26 . returning again to fig . f , it should be noted that all communications may be performed via multi - media communications f 40 . any mailed communications through the united states postal service f 44 are certified . in an alternate embodiment , if the communications are sent via the internet f 46 in the form of an e - mail communications via the identity reclamation and credit restoration processor f 30 . an e - mail communication is first assembled using a standardized electronic - mail transfer protocol which may be sent with a digital signature . digital signatures are well known for use in encryption and secure communications . therefore , no further discussion regarding digital signatures are necessary . the e - mail communication includes an e - mail address header which is automatically populated and a text section for insertion of the generic form letter g 00 or other alert . alternately , the identity reclamation and credit restoration processor f 30 may be equipped with a printer to print the hard copy form letters . additionally , the identity reclamation and credit restoration processor f 30 may include a fax modem for fax communications f 42 of the form letters via a fax transmission protocol . the identity reclamation and credit restoration processor f 30 accesses the stored form letter shells in a plurality of databases f 5 , f 10 , f 12 , f 14 , f 16 , f 18 , f 20 , f 21 , f 22 , f 24 , f 26 , f 27 , f 28 and f 29 and automatically populates the data fields of the generic form letter g 00 , accordingly . further , the identity reclamation and credit restoration processor f 30 accesses the identity data file in database f 26 and automatically populates the generic form letter g 00 with the linked data . referring now to fig . h , the flowchart for the identity and credit maintenance process is shown . the identity and credit maintenance process h 00 begins with step h 10 where a universal search for identity breaches are conducted . for example , an imposter may only write fraudulent checks in the name of the insured . on the other hand , an imposter may have changed addresses on existing credit card accounts or have new credit card accounts opened . step h 10 is followed by step h 15 where a credit report is requested and evaluated for maintenance . therefore , abnormal patterns of credit requests and unauthorized accounts can be rapidly determined . step h 15 is followed by step h 20 , where monitoring of reported income or earnings from the social security administration is performed . additionally , internet scans for identity information may be performed during step h 10 . step h 20 is followed by step h 25 where a determination is made regarding the need to update the identity password . therefore , maintenance of the identity and credit may include periodic issuance of a new identity password issued by the insurance company b 5 or other agency at step h 30 . referring now to fig . i , the flowchart depicting a method of obtaining the information and forms necessary to assist in combating an incident of identity theft . step i 10 populates icia database i 12 with information related to identity / credit interested agencies ( icias ). as discussed previously these agencies include law enforcement agencies , credit reporting bureaus , credit card issuers , financial banking institutions , and the like . it will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art of what additional companies , groups , agencies , and individuals will be incorporated as icias . database i 12 can include information required , needed or desired by each icia in combating an identity theft incident . this information can include the form of proof required to contest a charge ( financial and / or criminal ). for example , a notarized statement might be required by a particular icia . other may required an affidavit . for example , in relation to a law enforcement agency , information and forms necessary regarding reporting of the theft incident can be included as well as information and forms necessarily to prove that a criminal charge was brought on the wrong person for various charges and / or activities . additionally , an “ identity theft incident ” should not be construed to be limited to a single occurrence . it is not uncommon for a stolen identity to be used by more than one person . therefore the term “ incident ” as used herein , should be viewed broadly and to encompass more than a single discrete occurrence of identity theft . rather the term “ incident ” can encompass a multitude of discrete occurrences of identity theft over a substantial period of time . when such an incident recognized then , a list of icias related to the incident can be obtained and / or generated , as shown in step i 14 . this recognition can be accomplished in a multitude of ways . for example , the individual or representative thereof , can submit such a claim . or a flag could be generated via a credit and / or account activity watch . this flag could be triggered by a multitude of appropriate occurrences or combinations thereof . for example , abnormal credit activity , substantially large purchases , out of locale credit activity ( i . e . utility activation outside of living area ), or the like can be used to “ flag ” an account . the flagging agency could either then immediately act or could follow - up with the individual to ascertain the correctness of the “ flag .” step i 14 will then produce a list of icias related to an incident of identity theft 116 . this list need not be all inclusive , but can be limited through user and / or computer selection . for example , this list can be limited to credit agencies and financial institutions . step i 18 will then parse database i 12 with list i 16 to obtain an action item list of information to assist in identity reclamation i 20 . list i 20 can then be utilized to attempt to recover from the identity theft . as shown in fig . e , identity data file e 00 then can be used to fulfill some , if not all the requirements , in list i 20 by step i 22 , thereby creating a reclamation form for each icia i 24 . each said form should be evaluated for completeness and / or proper form i 26 . if the form is complete and in the correct format , the it can be sent to the icia as shown in step i 28 . however , if form i 24 is not in the correct format and / or not complete , then the needed information must be collected and / or the proper form must be gathered as shown in step i 30 . the correct information and / or proper form should be completed as shown in step i 32 . the form can be re - evaluated at step i 24 to ensure proper form and completeness . if complete , as evaluated in step i 26 , then it is sent to the icia as shown in step i 28 . if not complete and in the proper form under the evaluation in step i 26 , step i 30 is performed again . step i 28 can be carried out as discussed in relation to step f 40 as shown in fig . f . step i 24 of fig . i can provide a “ head start ” to reclamation of the identity , as typically time is of the essence in these situations and the present invention provides a substantial benefit in such reclamation attempts the preceding embodiment is given by way of example only , and not by way of limitation to the invention . the true essence and spirit of this invention are defined in the appended claims , and is not intended that the embodiment of the invention preceding should limit the scope thereof . it will be appreciated that the present invention can take many forms and embodiments . variations and combinations thereof obvious to one skilled in the art will be included within the invention defined by the claims .
6
fig1 shows an industrial washing machine , generally indicated at 1 . this machine comprises a casing 3 having a lid 5 with lid actuation means 7 on either side of the machine ( hereinafter disclosed ). referring to fig2 , and 4 shown is the internal working assembly for the machine . more specifically , the machine includes an internal liquid reservoir 42 , which is filled with water through inlet 44 also used to top up the reservoir when required . located above the reservoir 42 is a sloping removable cover member 72 which rests on a ledge 74 . the ledge 74 disposed about the internal periphery of the casing 3 projects outwardly and slightly downwardly e . g . one inch slope across the width and is normally to the inside surface of the casing 3 . the downward projection of the ledge 74 permits a cover member 72 ( hereinafter described ) to be sloped when positioned on the ledge 74 . located above the reservoir 42 is a rotatable parts basket 45 into which different industrial parts such as , for example , automotive transmissions are loaded for cleaning purposes . extending down from and rotatably coupled to the parts basket is a paddle brake 47 . provided on the bottom of the basket itself are a plurality of vanes 46 . a water pump 49 is located at the rear of the machine , more clearly illustrated in fig5 for drawing water from the liquid reservoir and pumping it under pressure via conduits 130 and 132 through a spray bar assembly directed at the cleaning basket . this spray bar assembly includes a vertical section 51 extending through a flexible coupling 57 to a horizontal section 53 secured to the inside of the lid and aimed downwardly at the parts basket . the flexible coupling allows lifting of the lid with sections 51 and 53 remaining coupled to one another . a further horizontal spray bar section 55 , common to the same spray bar assembly , is provided beneath and directed upwardly at the parts basket . a jet member or nozzle 59 offshooting from spray bar 51 provides a jet stream under pressure from pump 49 for rotating the parts basket . provided within reservoir 42 are immersion heaters 63 for heating of the cleaning liquid which is generally kept at about 160 ° f . the immersion heaters 63 preferably extend inwardly from housing 71 containing the same . the heaters may include removable sleeves 70 which preferably comprise a material not susceptible to attack by the detergents , grease or oil from the washing cycle and , which additionally allow the heat to radiate therethrough ; such material may include , for example , glass , polyethylene , etc . these may be removed for cleaning by entering the housing 71 . as well , within the reservoir 42 there is included means 82 for effecting the movement of the liquid surface hereinafter described , which aids in the removal of e . g . grease , oil , etc . from the wash water in the machine . located above the liquid reservoir is a vent 65 , opening through the back of the machine . provided to the rear outside of the machine are electrical boxes 22 and 24 . box 22 houses the electrical components for the immersion heaters 63 , while box 24 houses the electrical components for pump 49 , actuation means 7 etc . additionally , the function box 22a for operating the lid , wash cycle , and other operation functions for the machine , is included on the side of the casing 3 . the first stage in operating the machine is the filling of the liquid reservoir 42 by an outside water supply through inlet 44 . the reservoir is filled to the approximate level as shown in fig2 . located within the reservoir is a porous detergent or soap loader 61 having a sleeve 90 thereover which is connected directly with pump 49 by means of hose 62 . with the liquid reservoir appropriately filled , pump 49 is turned on to draw a mixture of water and detergent from the soap loader through line 62 and force the mixed cleaning solution upwardly into the spray bar assembly . the various different sections are provided with a series of small openings which , as seen in the drawings , are directed to substantially cover the entirety of the parts basket . at the same time , the cleaning solution is forced outwardly through jet member of nozzle 59 , as best shown in fig3 directed at the vanes on the bottom of and rotating the parts basket . accordingly , the same water supply is used to both provide the cleaning spray through the spray bar assembly and the rotational drive for the parts basket through the jet stream . it is essential that the speed of the parts basket be controlled to prevent the basket from free wheeling which could otherwise damage both the machine and the parts basket . this control is accomplished by means of the paddle assembly 47 which effectively acts as a braking device within the liquid reservoir . to assist in the braking action , jet 59 is set up to rotate the basket in the direction of arrow 45a , while pump 49 circulates the water through detergent loader 61 in the opposite direction , i . e . the water is circulated in a direction opposite to that in which the basket is rotated so that the paddle brake 47 is always rotating against the brake by the current in the reservoir . in conventional automotive parts washers , a soft wash , i . e . the pressure of the spray cleaning , is considered to be about 70 lbs . per square inch with hard washes ranging anywhere from 200 to 1200 lbs . per square inch . however , operating at these high pressures is not only hard on the pump but can also cause damage to certain automotive parts and in fact cannot be used in flushing out radiators and transmission coolers where the spray pressure should not exceed 50 lbs . per square inch . in the case of the present invention , the cleaning spray pressure is preferably at about 34 to 36 lbs . per square inch and is controlled not to exceed about 44 lbs . per square inch . the cooperation between the spray bar and the jet nozzle act as a safety guard in preventing undesirably high spray pressures . since the jet nozzle , which is of a substantially increased bore e . g . something in the neighbourhood of about 1 . 1 inches versus the much smaller spray bar holes at about 2 . 4 mm . provides an overflow relief against spray pressure increase . for example , should any of the holes in the spray bar become blocked the jet nozzle becomes the path of least resistance and picks up the greater portion of directed liquid flow which would otherwise have resulted in a correspondingly greatly increased spray pressure through the non - blocked spray bar holes . as stated above , it is also important that the parts basket be maintained at a controlled rotational speed . again , this is achieved by means of the paddle brake physically located in the liquid reservoir and guarding against increased basket speeds , even when there is additional flow from the jet nozzle . from a simplicity of construction standpoint , the holes in the spray bar may be drilled jets having a relatively random pattern covering the parts basket without any specific preciseness to the individual holes . therefore , if they wear or do become blocked , the entire bar can simply be welded and redrilled without having to actually replace the bar . this is to be compared to conventional machines where fishtail type jets are used which , if blocked or damaged , require substantially more maintenance or even replacement of the entire spray assembly . during the cleaning sequence the parts basket is rotated and the cleaning spray is directed , as described above , from different directions to cover the parts basket and physically clean dirt and grease from the parts . the dirt and grease is then carried down over the inclined cover member 72 which , directs the wash water into the filter means 70 ( fig6 a and 6b ) located internally of the casing and towards the front thereof . the wash water flowing over the cover member flows into the filter means 70 via the opening between the cover member and the cover 90 of the filter means . the wash water passes through the screens 76 , 78 and 80 in sequence to remove large agglomerated oil and sand particles , etc . the screens preferably include apertures of decreasing size . the wash water is returned to the reservoir 42 , via the plurality of apertures located within a front plate 100 of the filtering means 70 . the heavier oils and grease sink are effectively removed from the wash water by the filtering means while the lighter ones float on the liquid surface in the reservoir 42 . the means 82 for effecting movement of the liquid surface direct the floating oil and grease into the grease collecting means 67 . the means 82 for effecting movement of the liquid surface is located beneath the cover member 72 and in the reservoir area 42 , comprises interconnected by suitable randomly apertured hosing 86 e . g . polyethylene , p . v . c ., etc . the hosing 86 is disposed about the internal periphery of the casing held by suitable positioning means 85 e . g . holding pins . the hosing exits the internal area of the casing 3 for connection with a suitable air source , for example , pump 49 . once the machine has been turned off , the collecting means 67 is drained by drain 98 . the suitable air source is admitted into the means 82 via valve 110 , while the water is admitted into the reservoir 42 via a valve 112 . the air delivered to the hosing 86 causes the wash water beneath the cover member 72 to effervesce which directs the floating oil towards the trough 67 . water entering the reservoir causes the floating oil adjacent the collecting means 67 to spill over therein . the oil and grease therein are then drawn off from the machine through opening 69 which feeds from trough 67 . the wash water may be recirculated through pump 49 back to the sprayer and onto the parts . accordingly , the pump 49 includes a removable filtering means therein which filters out any impurities not filtered by the filter means 70 . this ensures that the recycled or recirculated cleaning solution is substantially free of dirt and grease which can lead to blockages in the spray bar assembly . as earlier mentioned , the industrial washer of the present invention is designed with safety in mind and each of the units illustrated in the drawings incorporates different safety features . in particular , the machine has a vent for venting trapped steam before the machine is opened . the inlet vent 65 which , through pressure differential , automatically provides an intake of fresh air as the steam is vented . in an optional form of the present invention the machine is provided with a timer located in electrical box 22 which operates an internal fan ( not shown ) for drawing off the steam before the lid can be opened . in other words , the lid can only be lifted after the steam has been cleared as determined by the timer which may operate for example for a period of about 45 seconds after which the lid is released from a locked position for lifting upwardly to gain access to the interior of the machine . the power lift unit , shown in fig1 through 5 and 7a , under the action of the actuation means . the lid opens to about 90 ° to allow full interior access for use with an overhead crane or the like . in an embodiment , a specific pneumatic control system including safety features is used to operate the cylinder arms 19 . this pneumatic control system is operated by a standard compressor ( not shown ) which may be included as part of the machine or as a totally separate unit . the compressor feeds air under pressure to one of two selected input lines depending on whether the lid is being lifted or lowered . in the case of lifting the lid the air feeds to a t junction 27 which is connected to air valves 23 at the bottom of each of the double acting cylinders 19 to either side of the machine . in the case of lowering the lid , air is fed to the junction 27 connected to air valve 23 at the top of each cylinder 19 . it is preferred that at least one of each of the t junctions include in line poppet valves 120 . these valves 120 allow air to move fully therethrough ; should the air pressure become disconnected from the system , the poppet valve will close by spring control pressure blocking any air flow not of either cylinder . the cylinders 19 preferably include a pressure equalization valve 122 intermediate the cylinder to ensure equal delivery to each . in the event of electrical power failure , the lid will open automatically . in greater detail of the actuation means for the power lift , reference will now be made to fig7 a and 7b . each cylinder 19 is controlled individually by one flow control valve for extending , and one flow control valve for retracting . additionally , the cylinders 19 include at least one poppet valve 120 connected in line with the retracting flow control valve . the control valves are pre - set on each cylinder to ensure simultaneous extension and retraction of the arms . more particularly , the poppet valves are used as blocking valves , i . e . the valve is air opening with a spring return . a filter lubricator regulator ( f . l . r .) which is set to deliver the correct pressure to the cylinders . this control pressure is directed from the output side of the f . l . r . to a t - junction ; one output of which connects to a second t - junction . the outputs of this second t - junction are connected to respective poppet valves of each cylinder . in this way , the poppet valve opens allowing air to move freely through a port therein , should the air pressure become suddenly disconnected from any part of the system . the result of such an occurrence causes the poppet valve to close by spring control pressure thus blocking any air flow out of either of the cylinders 19 . in the event of electrical power disconnection , the solenoid which communicates with the air compressor will open to allow the hood to automatically lift . in another embodiment the hydraulic operation of the cylinders 19 can be replaced with hydraulic motion of hydraulic cylinders . these would include bypass valves in substitution for poppet valves . this incoming air pushes on and opens the cylinder arm to lift lid 5 . in order to enable the movement of the piston arm , air valve 25 provides a bleed off for air trapped in the cylinder . the actuation means for the lid may be provided with an override feature in the form of a trip switch which controls the lift system to continue to operate moving the lid to a fully opened position before it can be reclosed . therefore , in the event that the closure switch is inadvertently hit while the operator is around the unit the lid will continue to lift before moving back downwardly giving the operator ample time to clear away from the machine . from the above , it will be seen that the industrial washer of the present invention has been designed with an extremely safe and efficient yet low maintenance construction to eliminate both on the job injuries and any substantial shut down time . furthermore , although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims .
1
the basic configuration of an adaptation probe 1 , which is also referred to as a “ finishing wire ”, will be explained in greater detail with reference to fig1 . a probe body 2 is formed of an elongated , flexible plastic rod equipped with a metal core which is not depicted . shortly before distal tip 3 , which is likewise non - conductive in the case shown , an electrical assembly 4 which can be composed e . g . of a capacitor 5 having a related capacitance c is integrated into probe body 1 . this capacitor is to be electrically connected to a supply lead of the electrode device by way of connection contacts 6 , 7 in a manner to be described in greater detail . in the case of the embodiment shown in fig2 , tip 3 in front of electrical assembly 4 is conductive . fig3 shows an adaptation probe 1 , in the case of which a plurality of electrical assemblies 4 having electrical components 8 , such as capacitors or even more complex circuits , are integrated therein , being distributed over a plurality of longitudinal positions of probe body 2 . fig4 shows the basic principle of cooperation between adaptation probe 1 and electrode device 9 which is shown in sections in this drawing . electrode device 9 is shown with electrode body 10 thereof and a spiral supply lead 11 which extends therein to a contact pole which is not shown . adaptation probe 1 slid into lumen 12 of electrode device 9 and contacts spiral supply lead 11 at a suitable point . between the two connection contacts 6 , 7 of electrical assembly 4 , the spiral supply lead functions as inductance and , together with capacitor 5 in adaptation probe 1 , can therefore form an lc oscillating circuit having a typical frequency - dependent transmission behavior . when adapted accordingly , the currents induced in the supply lead , which occur in the electrode device due to a high - frequency alternating field in the mr environment , are filtered out . fig5 shows an electrical assembly in the form of an adjustable filter , in which a series circuit of inductances l is connected parallel to a series circuit of capacitances c . each inductance l and capacitance c itself is short - circuited by jumpers 513 which — as indicated using dashed lines — can be separated individually . it is therefore possible to include the desired number of inductances l and / or capacitances c to the oscillating circuit with corresponding total inductance l ges and total capacitance c ges . in this manner , a potential scattering of the filter characteristics can be compensated for during production . “ trimming ” takes place by changing the capacitances and / or inductances . other alternatives for the contacting between electrical assembly 4 and supply lead 11 will be explained with reference to fig6 and 7 . fig6 shows a form - fit contacting in which probe body 2 with annular connection contacts 6 , 7 is slid into the lumen of spiral supply lead 11 , thereby contacting the corresponding winding of spiral supply lead 11 which is bare at this point . in the embodiment shown in fig7 , contacts 6 , 7 have geometric shapes e . g . in that a laterally projecting contact spring 514 establishes the electrical connection between connection contacts 6 , 7 and spiral supply lead 11 at two different positions . fig7 also shows a bayonet connection 15 , which indicates that in this embodiment the distal end section of adaptation probe 1 was “ released ” in electrode device 9 and remaining probe body 2 was removed . fig8 to 15 show different embodiments of how electrical assemblies 4 can be designed in the form of high - frequency filter 21 which is suitable for insertion into an electrode device for a cardiac pacemaker , defibrillator , neurostimulator or similar active medical implants . housings of aforementioned filters are typically composed of solid metal parts , and expensive ceramic components are usually used to build an insulation between housing and electrical components . the sealing of the housing is very elaborate , problematic , and therefore cost - intensive . the concepts shown in fig8 to 11 make it possible to create a simply designed seal against fluids , thereby enabling high frequency filter 21 to be realized in a cost - favorable manner . highly diverse electrical components can be embedded easily and in a variable manner since the housing is created mainly by providing a coating applied by injection molding , and possibly various pre - and post - handling steps . in detail , fig8 shows contact pins 13 , 14 of filter 21 , which are interspaced collinearly , between which one or more electrical components 25 are installed , being interconnected accordingly , and thereby being connected . the ends of contact pins 13 , 14 are left exposed and this entire assembly is enclosed in a plastic body 26 applied by injection molding , which ensures that components 25 are sealed and electrically insulated . if necessary , filter 21 produced in this manner can also be provided with a coating 27 which can be composed e . g . of a plastic , a ceramic , or another type of anorganic layer . such a functional coating 27 is used to adapt the surface properties to particular usage conditions ; for example , coating 27 can provide mechanical stabilization or form a vapor barrier . the embodiment depicted in fig9 differs from that shown in fig8 in that a wire coil 28 is also wound around electrical components 25 between contact pins 13 , 14 , which can generate inductance l of high frequency filter 21 . to provide an adaptation probe 1 with a high frequency filter 21 and simultaneously enable the use of a guide wire , fig1 shows an embodiment in which contact pins 13 , 14 are designed as conductive tubes 29 , 30 , lumen 31 of which align with a corresponding passage 32 in plastic body 26 that forms filter housing 22 . a guide wire , mandrel , or the like can then pass through lumen 31 and passage 32 . as shown clearly in fig1 , electrical components 25 are embedded such that they are offset laterally relative to passage 32 . fig1 shows another outer view of the filter depicted in fig1 , in which case as well a coating 27 of metal , various plastics or anorganic or organic compounds depending on the desired functionality is applied to the housing . electrical contact pins 13 , 14 or tubes 29 , 30 can be composed of stainless steel , platinum , platinum / iridium alloy , or titanium . they may also be provided with one or more bores , grooves , engravings , or recesses to increase the mechanical strength of filter 21 after the coating is applied by injection molding , thereby stabilizing it overall . fig1 to 17 which follow show embodiments of a high frequency filter 21 that do not require contact pins , and the housing of which can therefore be sealed in a simple manner . in the case of the above - described variants of filter 21 , contact pins 13 , 14 increase the overall size of filter 21 , and additional passages must be insulated or sealed off . as made clear from the view according to fig1 and the schematic sectional view according to fig1 , the contact pins are formed by two contact caps 33 , 34 which are insulated from one another , and which are mechanically connected and electrically insulated by an insulator insert 35 . the two “ semi - barrels ” formed by contact caps 33 , 34 are connected in a water - tight manner , and two electrically separated regions result . electrical components 25 are arranged in insulator insert 35 in an appropriate configuration so that they have e . g . a high - pass , low - pass , bandpass , or band - stop behavior . electrical components 25 are electrically connected to the inside of contact caps 33 and 34 . as indicated in fig1 , this takes place via appropriate connecting lines 36 , 37 which are formed by typical wires , litz wires , or wire cables , and can be welded , crimped , or lased to the inside of contact caps 33 , 34 . an inductively or capacitively coupling connection of the connectors is also feasible . the embodiment of high frequency filter 21 as a barrel filter described herein results in a shortening of the overall size and increases safety by reducing connection points . when installed in an adaptation probe , the region stiffened by the filter is therefore shortened as well . as shown in fig1 , components 25 can also be electrically contacted via sliding contacts 38 or corresponding contact springs which are in electrical contact with the inner side of contact caps 33 and 34 . fig1 shows a special embodiment of insulator insert 35 , on which a welding disc 39 composed of metal has been placed . they extend radially beyond the jacket wall of cylindrical insulator insert 35 and are used to connect contact caps 33 , 34 by welding . furthermore , insulator insert 35 has a passage coaxially in the center , similar to a tube , in the form of a bore or the like , as a recess for components 25 . insulator insert 35 , as insulating intermediate piece , can be composed e . g . of ceramic or plastic , onto corresponding projections 41 , 42 of which the contact caps — left contact cap 34 is shown in fig2 — can be slid and fastened to insulator insert 35 by welding , soldering , bonding , crimping , or the like . instead of metal , the two semi - barrels of contact caps 33 , 34 can also be made of a plastic , a conductive plastic , a ceramic , or another non - conductor . they must then be coated entirely or partially with a conductive material . finally , fig1 to 26 relate to further integral designs of a high - frequency filter 21 . for example , fig1 shows a high - frequency filter element 21 as pin unit 43 , in which a filter composed of two smd components 44 , 45 in the form of inductance l and capacitance c connected in parallel is formed . the design of smd components 44 , 45 need not be identical . they are integrated completely in the pin unit , which can therefore be manufactured isodiametrically . connectors 46 , 47 to the left and right are composed of conductive material . as shown in fig1 , pin unit 43 can also be composed of a body 48 of dielectric material , which has corresponding connecting lines 36 , 37 between smd components 44 , 45 , which form the filter components , and connectors 46 , 47 . this design places less of a demand on the filter components since they are embedded in a homogeneous material . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , high frequency filter 21 and smd components 44 , 45 thereof are integrated in a body 48 having a relatively thin structure . this installation between two conductive elements is omitted in this drawing . entire pin unit 43 is therefore not necessarily isodiametrical . as described with reference to fig1 , this embodiment can also be composed of dielectric material having suitable lead structures . to separate high frequency filter 21 itself from the surroundings , it is enclosed in a plastic body 26 applied by injection molding , a coating , a housing , or a similar measure , as shown in fig2 . a further miniaturization for pin unit 43 is attained using the embodiment shown in fig2 . there , wire - wound coil 28 of high frequency filter 21 is placed around smd component 44 which is designed as capacitor c . the required space is therefore markedly reduced compared to the above - described embodiments according to fig1 to 21 . in the embodiment of pin unit 43 depicted in fig2 , coil 24 and smd component 44 for capacitance c are installed mechanically one behind the other , wherein interconnection 49 emphasized using solid lines is parallel . the pin unit can be isodiametric in design and comprise appropriate connectors 46 , 47 on the ends thereof . in the interior of the component , capacitance c is installed as capacitor smd component 44 , and inductance l is installed as wire - wound coil . in fig2 , the supporting structure of the body of the pin unit is omitted for clarity . such a supporting structure is shown in fig2 . furthermore , this embodiment comprises a metallization 50 which extends over wide subregions of pin unit 43 on the outer side thereof . the contacting of the components takes place via metallization 50 , namely that of wire - wound coil 28 and capacitor smd component 44 , as shown in fig2 . interconnection 49 can therefore be designed with shorter paths in the interior . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations of the described examples and embodiments are possible in light of the above teaching . the disclosed examples and embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration only . other alternate embodiments may include some or all of the features disclosed herein . therefore , it is the intent to cover all such modifications and alternate embodiments as may come within the true scope of this invention .
0
illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below . in the interest of clarity , not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification . it will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers &# 39 ; specific goals , such as compliance with system - related and business - related constraints , which will vary from one implementation to another . moreover , it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time - consuming , but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure . the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached figures . various structures and regions are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the present invention with details that are well known to those skilled in the art . the relative sizes of the various structures and regions depicted in the drawings may be exaggerated for purposes of explanation . nevertheless , the attached drawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples of the present invention . the words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art . no special definition of a term or phrase , i . e ., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art , is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein . to the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning , i . e ., a meaning other than that understood by skilled artisans , such a special definition will be expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for the term or phrase . fig1 depicts one illustrative embodiment of the transistor 10 disclosed herein . as shown therein , the transistor 10 comprises a gate insulation layer 11 , a gate electrode 15 , at least one sidewall spacer 19 , a source region 12 and a drain region 14 . in the illustrative embodiment depicted in fig1 , the transistor 10 is formed in a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) substrate 16 comprised of a bulk substrate 16 a , a buried insulation layer 16 b ( sometimes referred to as a “ buried oxide layer ” or “ box ” layer ), and an active layer 16 c . a trench isolation structure 18 may be employed to electrically isolate the transistor 10 from other semiconductor devices . also depicted in fig1 are illustrative metal silicide regions 17 and illustrative conductive contacts 20 that are positioned in a layer of insulating material 22 . the conductive contacts 20 are conductively coupled to the source region 12 and the drain region 14 , as depicted in fig1 . a conductive contact is also formed to the gate electrode 15 , although that conductive contact is not depicted in fig1 . the gate insulation layer 11 , the gate electrode 15 , the sidewall spacers 19 , and the metal silicide regions 17 may all be formed using known techniques and materials . for example , the gate insulation layer 11 may be a thermally grown layer of silicon dioxide . the gate electrode 15 may be a doped layer of polysilicon that is formed by traditional deposition , doping and etching processes . similarly , the sidewall spacer 19 may comprise a material such as , for example , silicon nitride , and it may be formed by conformally depositing a layer of spacer material and performing an anisotropic etching process . the metal silicide regions 17 may be comprised of , for example , cobalt silicide , and they may be formed using traditional techniques . in one illustrative embodiment , the source region 12 of the transistor 10 is comprised of an epitaxially grown layer of silicon having a concentration of germanium ranging from approximately 10 - 25 %. the germanium may be introduced into the layer of epitaxially grown silicon by performing an in situ doping process that is performed as the layer of epitaxial silicon is grown . after a complete reading of the present application , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention has broad application . for example , the present invention may be employed in connection with the formation of nmos or pmos transistors . for convenience , the present invention will be disclosed in the context where an illustrative nmos transistor 10 is formed . however , the present invention is not limited to the formation of such illustrative devices . fig2 - 7 depict one illustrative process flow for forming the illustrative transistor 10 depicted herein . as shown in fig2 , the isolation region 18 may be formed in the active layer 16 c by performing known etching and deposition techniques . fig2 depicts the transistor 10 at the point of manufacture wherein the gate insulation layer 11 and the gate electrode 15 have been formed in accordance with known techniques . the sidewall spacer 19 may be comprised of a variety of materials and may be formed using a variety of known techniques . for example , the spacer 19 may be formed by conformally depositing a layer of spacer material , e . g ., silicon dioxide , silicon nitride , and thereafter performing an anisotropic etching process . in one illustrative process flow , the sidewall spacer 19 is employed to protect the gate electrode 11 during a subsequent etching process performed in forming the source region 12 , as described more fully below . the sidewall spacer 19 may be sacrificial or permanent as described more fully below . fig3 depicts the device shown in fig2 after an etching process 29 is performed to form a trench 30 in the active layer 16 c between the isolation structure 18 and the sidewall spacer 19 . in some cases , the spacer 19 may or may not be present . thus , when it is stated that the trench 30 is formed between the isolation structure 18 and the gate electrode 15 , it is to be understood that the gate electrode structure may or may not have the spacer 19 formed adjacent thereto . a masking layer 31 , e . g ., photoresist , is employed during the etching process 29 to protect the remainder of the substrate 16 . the sidewall spacer 19 protects the gate electrode 11 during the etching process 29 . in the particular embodiment depicted herein , the trench 30 is self - aligned with respect to the sidewall spacer 19 . in one illustrative embodiment , the trench 30 does not extend all the way to the buried insulation layer 16 b so that the remaining portions of the active layer 16 c in the trench 30 can serve as a seed layer for the subsequent epitaxial growth of silicon in the trench 30 , as described more fully below . in some cases , the trench 30 may have a depth or thickness of approximately 200 - 800 å . next , as shown in fig4 , in one illustrative embodiment , a layer of germanium - doped epitaxial silicon 32 (“ esi - ge ”) is grown in the trench 30 . the epitaxial silicon 32 may be grown using known processing techniques and known epi - deposition tools . a hard mask layer 37 is formed above the substrate 16 during the epitaxial growth process . the hard mask material may be comprised of the same materials as the spacer 19 . the material selected for the hard mask layer 37 must be able to withstand the processing conditions during the growth of the epitaxial layer of silicon 32 and still perform the necessary masking function . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , germanium is introduced into the epitaxial layer of silicon 32 by introducing germanium during the epitaxial growth process . the concentration of the germanium may vary depending upon the particular application . for example , the concentration of germanium in the final source region 12 may comprise approximately 10 - 25 %. the germanium in the layer 32 may act to reduce the effective bandgap of the silicon , thereby improving device performance . after the silicon - germanium epitaxial layer of silicon is formed , standard processing techniques are employed to complete the manufacture of the transistor 10 , e . g ., ldd and source / drain implants may be performed to complete the formation of the source region 12 and drain region 14 of the transistor 10 . as shown in fig5 , a new masking layer 37 may be formed above the substrate 16 and thereby exposes the area where the source region 12 and drain region 14 are to be formed . an ldd ion implant process 33 is performed to introduce an n - type dopant material , e . g ., arsenic , into the silicon germanium layer 32 and the portion 42 of the active layer 16 c wherein the drain region 14 will be formed . this ldd implant 33 results in the formation of ldd regions 45 that are self - aligned with respect to the gate electrode 15 . illustrative n - type dopant materials that are introduced in the ldd implant process 33 include , for example , arsenic , phosphorus , etc . the ldd implant process 33 may be performed at a dopant dose and an energy level appropriate for the device under construction . next , as shown in fig6 , a so - called source / drain ion implant process 35 is performed to introduce a relatively high concentration of an n - type dopant material , such as , e . g ., arsenic or phosphorous , at a dopant dose and energy level sufficient for the intended application . in the embodiment shown in fig6 , a new spacer 41 has been added prior to performing the source / drain implant process 35 . prior to performing the ldd implant process 33 , the spacer 19 may or may not be removed . if it is removed , at least one new spacer ( not shown ) may be formed adjacent the gate electrode 15 . for example , such a spacer may be employed prior to performing the ldd implant 33 on a pmos transistor . it should be understood that one or more spacers may be formed prior to or during the various ion implant processes performed to form the source region 12 and the drain region 14 . thereafter , known processing techniques may be employed to complete the formation of the transistor 10 , as shown in fig7 . for example , one or more heat treatment processes may be performed to activate the implanted dopant material and repair any damage to the lattice structure . if desired , metal silicide regions 17 may be formed on the source region 12 , the drain region 14 and the gate electrode 15 as shown in fig1 using known techniques . it should be noted that the transistor depicted in fig8 is depicted after various heat treatments have been performed to thereby cause the implanted dopant material to migrate somewhat under the gate electrode 15 . the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only , as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein . for example , the process steps set forth above may be performed in a different order . furthermore , no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown , other than as described in the claims below . it is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention . accordingly , the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below .
7
the previously described aspects of the present invention have many advantages , including using compressor air extraction to provide a simple and effective method of operating the gas turbine during under - frequency events . fig1 illustrates combined cycle gas turbine equipment 5 , including a compressor 50 , a combustor 52 , a gas turbine 54 , a heat recovery steam generator ( hrsg ) 56 and it associated steam turbine 58 . air , under ambient conditions , enters the axial flow compressor 50 at air intake 10 . the compressed air 12 enters the combustor 52 where fuel is injected at 28 and combustion occurs . the combustion mixture 14 leaves the combustor and enters the gas turbine 54 . in the turbine section , energy of the hot gases is converted into work . this conversion takes place in two steps . the hot gases are expanded and the portion of the thermo - energy is converted into kinetic energy in the nozzle section of the gas turbine 54 . then a portion of the kinetic energy is transferred to the rotating bucket of the bucket section of the gas turbine 54 and converted to work . a portion of the work developed by the gas turbine 54 is used to drive the compressor 50 whereas the remainder is available for generating electric power . the exhaust gas 16 leaves the gas turbine and flows to the hrsg 56 , providing energy to produce steam for driving steam turbine 58 . electric power is generated from the gas turbine driven generator 60 and the steam turbine driven generator 62 and supplied to an electric power grid 64 . the brayton cycle is the thermodynamic cycle upon which gas turbines operate . every brayton cycle can be characterized by pressure ratio and firing temperature . the pressure ratio of the cycle is the compressor discharge pressure at 12 divided by the compressor inlet pressure at 10 . the firing temperature is defined as the mass flow mean total temperature at the stage 1 nozzle trailing edge plane . it is well known that an elevated firing temperature in the gas turbine is a key element in providing a higher output per unit mass flow and therefore a higher output power . the maximum pressure ratio that the compressor can deliver in continuous operation is commonly defined in terms of a margin from a surge pressure ratio line . compressor surge is defined as a low frequency oscillation of flow where the flow separates from the blades and reverses flow direction fig2 shows different extraction points and discharge paths for air extraction on the combined cycle gas turbine equipment 5 , which may be used alone or in combination . in one aspect of the invention , extraction air would be taken from the compressor 50 outlet and / or combustor 52 at 20 and vented to atmosphere at 22 via discharge to atmosphere control valve 40 . compressor air may be further extracted at 34 from the compressor upstream of the compressor outlet . specific location points for extraction of air from the gas turbine depend on the particular device . for example , air extraction from the general electric “ e ” series gas turbines is typically from the outlet of the compressor while the air extraction point from the general electric “ f ” series gas turbines is typically from the combustor . in another aspect of the invention , extracted air may be discharged to air extraction energy recovery equipment 66 through discharge to energy recovery equipment control valve 42 . the air extraction energy recovery equipment 66 may include an air separation unit ( asu ) 68 and other recovery equipment 76 . the asu 68 separates n 2 and o 2 in the air . the o 2 may then be used in the production of syngas fuel for a gas turbine in a gasification process while n 2 may be used as a diluent or vented . still another aspect of the invention provides extraction of compressor 50 outlet air through inlet bleed control valve 44 to the inlet side of the compressor 50 at 26 . air extraction alone will typically result in a decrease in power output , all other factors being equal , due to decreased mass flow rate input . however , simultaneously with the air extraction , additional fuel is supplied to the combustor 52 . at 28 . the reduction in compressor airflow through air extraction provides relief of the compressor pressure ratio limits typically encountered . because compressor airflow extraction provides relief of the compressor pressure ratio limits , increased fuel flow can be accommodated within the compressor pressure ratio limits . the resulting gas turbine output power is increased while maintaining margin to the compressor pressure ratio . during under - frequency conditions , employing air extraction with increased firing will increase gas turbine output power to assist in meeting grid code requirements . yet another aspect of the present invention reduces diluents inflow 30 to the combustor 52 . lower diluent flow to the combustor reduces the overall fuel / air flow rate . with a lower diluent flow rate , the margin to the compressor - pressure ratio limit is increased and more fuel may be added in its place to increase power . in still a further aspect of the present invention , the combustor 52 may be co - fired with a richer alternative fuel at 32 , such as natural gas or distillate or blends with the richer alternative fuels , if a primary fuel is leaner as is typical of syngas and process fuels . because the co - firing with the richer alternative fuel permits a higher power output with the same fuel flow rate , higher output power can be achieved with a lower overall fuel / air flow rate , thereby maintaining a margin to the compressor pressure ratio limit . individual elements described above for permitting a higher power output from the gas turbine may be used alone or in combination . efficient operation of the gas turbine requires that a number of critical turbine operating parameters be processed to determine optimal settings for controllable parameters such as fuel flow and intake air flow . such operating parameters include compressor inlet and outlet temperatures and pressures , exhaust temperature and pressure and the like . one example of a control system or means for controlling a gas turbine is the general electric co .&# 39 ; s speedtronic ™ mark v control system , which is designed to fulfill all gas turbine control , including speed and load control functions . such a control system is described in andrew et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 226 , 974 ). andrew describes a controller that is coupled to receive input from a plurality of sources such as operations controls and a plurality of sensors coupled to the turbine and power output means . the controller is coupled to a system of turbine actuators that are used to maintain or establish a particular turbine operating regime . the actuators include , but are not limited to , an air flow control actuator and a fuel flow control actuator . in an aspect of the present invention , a similar control system to andrew et al . may be employed , with or without igv control . the control system may also employ controls over one or a combination of control valves . referring to fig2 , the control system 80 may control additional actuating controls , such as discharge to atmosphere control valve 40 , discharge to energy recovery equipment control valve 42 and inlet bleed control valve 44 that extract part of the air flowing from the discharge of the compressor for improving margin to compressor pressure ratio limits , thereby allowing increased firing for power control . the control system 80 initiates the compressor air extraction and controls the amount of compressor air extraction from discharge to atmosphere control valve 40 , discharge to energy recovery equipment control valve 42 , and inlet bleed valve 44 . further , the control system 80 will further control fuel input to the combustor 70 , diluent control 72 , and alternate fuel control 74 . because such sensing and actuating controls are well known in the art , they need not be described herein with respect to actuator controls for air extraction operation . while only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention .
5
while the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications , it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications , applications , and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the invention would be of significant utility . the present invention is described and illustrated with regard to a representative linear - theory - designed configuration . the present invention may be utilized with other configurations , although they are not presented here . one of ordinary skill in the art could readily utilize the method of the present invention to determine the applicability to other configurations without undue experimentation . in the following discussion , the conventional waisted design is referred to as the linear - theory baseline , or simply , baseline design . the modified and optimized designs refer to the embodiments of the present inventive method . fig2 is a graph illustrating the m ∞= 1 . 0 - cut area ( standard cross - sectional area , in . 2 ) distribution along the fuselage station ( fs ) ( in .) of each of the baseline , modified and optimized designs for the wing , fuselage and wing / fuselage combination . note the distinctive waisting ( reduced cross - sectional area ) for the baseline fuselage . fig3 is graph of the fuselage camber line as a function of the fuselage station for the baseline , modified and optimized designs . the fuselage camber line is the locus of points , measured in waterline ( wl ) ( in . ), halfway between the crown ( upper surface ) and keel ( lower surface ) at a constant fuselage station . the first general part of the method of the present invention is to remove the fuselage waisting ` w ` for an exemplary conventional supersonic aircraft such as shown in fig1 a . the waisting is removed by linearly reconstructing the fuselage cross - sections between a designated endpoint ` f ` corresponding to a fuselage station just forward of the waisted portion and a designated endpoint ` a ` corresponding to a fuselage section just aft of the waisted portion . referring to fig2 these endpoints of the waisted portion are at approximately fs1400 and fs2700 . this linear reconstruction essentially produces a linear variation in the fuselage cross - sectional area between the endpoints ` f ` and ` a `. after the waisting is removed , the fuselage camber line of the baseline configuration is then re - imposed or recovered as shown in fig3 to provide the same camber line for the modified fuselage . note that in fig3 the baseline and modified fuselage camber lines thus overlap after the recovery step . the resulting configuration at this stage of the present invention is referred to as the modified wing / fuselage configuration . the top and side views of the modified configuration are shown in fig4 a and 4b respectively . fig4 a clearly shows the increased fuselage volume that results from removing the waisting , ` w m `, of this modified configuration compared to the baseline fuselage in fig1 a . fig5 is a graph showing the m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 - cut area distributions of the baseline , modified and optimized designs along the fuselage stations . the m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 area cuts show that removing the fuselage waist does increase the total cross - sectional area for the modified design as expected , but that the cross - sectional area distribution remains smooth . fig6 is a graph showing the aerodynamic performance ( lift coefficient ( c l ) vs . pressure drag coefficient ( c dp )) of the baseline , modified and optimized designs at m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 as predicted by cfl3d in the euler mode . cfl3d is a computational fluid dynamics package readily available from the nasa langley research center . fig6 shows that the modified configuration has 1 . 5 counts less pressure drag ( δc dp =- 0 . 00015 ), about a 2 % reduction at the supersonic cruise point ( m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 , c l = 0 . 102 ), compared to the baseline configuration . the modified configuration will also have less skin friction drag than the baseline configuration due , in part , to the reduced wetted area . the off - design performance of the modified design was also evaluated near m . sub .∞ = 1 where area - ruling is especially important . fig7 is a graph showing the aerodynamic performance ( c l vs . c dp ) of the baseline and modified designs at m . sub .∞ = 1 . 1 as predicted by cfl3d in the euler mode . at the thrust drag pinch - point ( m . sub .∞ = 1 . 1 , c l = 0 . 135 ), the modified configuration has 2 . 9 counts less pressure drag ( δc dp =- 0 . 00029 ) drag than the baseline configuration . fig8 is a graph showing the m . sub .∞ = 1 . 1 - cut area distributions of the baseline , modified and optimized designs . note that the modified configuration has a smoother area distribution near fs1500 than the baseline configuration , which has an inflection point in the curvature . fig9 is a graph showing the aerodynamic performance ( c l vs . c dp ) of the baseline and modified designs at m . sub .∞ = 0 . 95 as predicted by cfl3d in the euler mode . at the subsonic cruise point ( m . sub .∞ = 0 . 95 , c l = 0 . 145 ), the modified configuration has 0 . 2 counts less pressure drag (. increment . c dp =- 0 . 00002 ) than the baseline configuration . in addition to the enhanced supersonic aerodynamic performance at the supersonic cruise point ( fig6 ), fig7 and 9 illustrate that the off - design aerodynamic performance is also desirably enhanced through the application of this invention . after the fuselage waisting is removed as described above to produce a modified configuration , in the second general part of the present invention , the fuselage of the modified configuration is optimized , without changing the fuselage cross - sectional area , to maximize the supersonic aerodynamic performance . for optimizing , a commercially available design optimal tool ( dot ) optimizer , available from vma engineering , is used with the method of feasible directions to allow constraints to be applied directly without penalty functions . there is one aerodynamic constraint : the lift coefficient , c l , is allowed to vary ± 2 % during the optimization . there are several constraints on the deck placement , including : deck angle , cabin height , cargo height , and wing / deck clearance . there are two design variables for deck placement , one for wing plunge , nine for fuselage camber , one for fuselage incidence , and one for angle - of - attack . fig1 a shows a schematic view of a fuselage . the fuselage camber is changed by applying hicks - henne sine functions to perturb the reference geometry . fig1 b shows five hicks - henne sine functions used to perturb the entire length , l , of the fuselage . the vertical coordinate , z , of the reference fuselage z ref , is changed by adding the shape function multiplied by the design variable , v , associated with that shape function , φ shape , according to the equation : the location of maximum displacement of each shape function is shown by the circles on the fuselage schematic in fig1 a . fig1 a and 11b are top and side views , respectively , of the wing / fuselage configuration with an optimized non - waisted fuselage , ` w o `, after the fuselage camber is optimized in accordance with the present invention . fig2 shows that the optimized total wing / fuselage cross - sectional area at m . sub .∞ = 1 . 0 is reduced slightly from the modified design . fig3 illustrates how the optimized fuselage camber and incidence changes with respect to the baseline / modified designs . that is , the optimized camber line is slightly higher than the baseline / modified designs forward of the formerly waisted area , and the optimized camber line is slightly lower than the baseline / modified designs aft of the formerly waisted area . recall that the baseline camber line was re - imposed or recovered in a prior step , and thus the baseline and modified fuselage camber lines overlap . in fig5 the m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 area cuts show that removing the fuselage waist does increase the total cross - sectional area for the optimized design as expected , but that the cross - sectional area distribution remains smooth and it is slightly less than the modified design . in fig8 the m . sub .∞ = 1 . 1 - cut area distributions show that the optimized design , like the modified design , has a smoother area distribution near fs1500 than the baseline configuration , which has an inflection point in the curvature . fig6 shows the aerodynamic performance at the supersonic cruise point ( m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 , c l = 0 . 102 ). the optimized configuration has 1 . 8 counts less pressure drag ( δc dp =- 0 . 00018 ) than the baseline configuration , as compared to the modified configuration which had 1 . 5 counts less drag than the baseline configuration . the present invention thus provides a method to obtain a fuselage with 4 . 6 % more fuselage volume while reducing the drag at the supersonic cruise point ( m . sub .∞ = 2 . 4 , c l = 0 . 102 ) by 1 . 8 counts . in addition , the pressure drag is also reduced at the off - design conditions of m . sub .∞ = 1 . 1 and m . sub .∞ = 0 . 95 . the present invention may be applied to improve the supersonic aerodynamic performance of any airborne vehicles where there is a distinct fuselage . this includes supersonic military fighter , attack , and bomber aircraft ; supersonic commercial aircraft such as the high - speed civil transport ( hsct ); and supersonic missiles . although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein above , it should be clearly understood that many variations and / or modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught , which may appear to those skilled in the art , will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents .
1
referring now more particularly to the drawings , and specifically to fig1 thereof , an animal collar cover is there generally designated 10 , circumposed about the outer side of an animal collar 11 , which may be conventional , such as fabricated of leather , plastic , fabric , or the like . in practice , animal collars 11 of the medicated or flea collar type are conventionally employed about an animal &# 39 ; s neck , or elsewhere if desired , and for appearance and safety reasons it is highly advantageous to apply the collar cover 10 which effectively obscures the collar 11 from view , and effectively prevents or limits personal contact with the collar . the animal or flea collar 11 may include a flexible elongate element 15 , having on one end a buckle 16 , say of a rectilinear outline configuration as illustrated , or otherwise , and having a central through opening 17 . in the conventional manner , the buckle 16 on one end of the elongate collar element 15 serves as an adjustable connection to the other end of the elongate collar element . the collar cover 10 is best seen in fig2 and 3 , and as there illustrated includes an elongate flexible strip 20 , advantageously of washable textile fabric , or other suitable flexible sheet means , and relatively imperforate , for reasons appearing presently . the strip 20 is of elongate configuration , and of width appreciably greater than the width of an associated elongate collar element 15 . the elongate fabric strip 20 may have opposite end portions 21 attractively configured , as by convergent edge portions 22 , so as to define outwardly tapering end portions . on one surface of the strip 20 , the outer surface as seen in fig1 there may be provided suitable ornamentation , as at 23 , say in the material of the strip . extending longitudinally along the inner face or side of the strip 20 , spaced laterally medially between the side edges thereof , is a reinforcing tape or strip 25 , also advantageously fabricated of textile sheet material and suitably secured to the strip 20 , as by stitching , shown at 26 in fig3 . the tape , ribbon or band 25 may have a lateral dimension approximating that of the elongate collar element 15 , being interposed between the latter and the ornamental strip 20 to effectively reinforce and protect the latter strip . further , end portions 27 of the tape , ribbon or band 25 extend oppositely beyond respective ends of the ornamental strip 20 , and each is secured in a condition folded upon itself to reduce its width and define freely extending end ties in the manner of cord or piping . thus , it will be seen that the flexible end ties 27 extend longitudinally outwardly from respective end portions 21 of the strip 20 , laterally medially of the latter . at locations longitudinaly spaced along the tape or band 25 and spaced laterally medially between the side edges of the strip 20 , there are provided a plurality of transversely extending loops or eyes 28 , which are advantageously formed of suitable fabric material , such as woven ribbon , or elastic . the loops or eyes may be spaced along the tape or ribbon 25 , and secured between the latter and the strip 20 by the stitching 26 , as seen in fig3 . as may be seen in fig2 and 3 , the elongate collar element 15 may extend through the several loops or eyes 28 , whereby the collar 11 is attached to the cover 10 , the collar being retained in position laterally medially of the cover spaced between the side edges thereof . while the loops or eyes 28 may be fabricated of either elastic or inelastic material , the former serves to afford accommodation to collar elements 15 of a wide range of sizes , while the latter may be advantageous when firm retention of a conventional collar size is desired . with the animal collar 11 closed , having its buckle 16 connected to both ends of the elongate element 15 , and the cover extending circumferentially about and on the outer side of the animal collar , receiving the latter in the loops 28 , the flexible ribbon end portions or ties 27 may be extended through the central opening 17 of collar 16 and tied togther in any suitable fashion , as by a bow 30 . that is , the ties 27 may extend toward each other , each extending between the elongate collar element 15 and the adjacent side of buckle 16 , and thence outwardly through the central buckle opening 17 for securement at 30 . further , the ties 27 may be provided on their distal ends with enlargements 31 , say in the form of knots , to effectively retain the ties from inadvertent retraction through the buckle 16 . in this manner it will be appreciated that the cover 10 is effectively secured in position on the collar 11 , whether the loops 28 be elastic or inelastic , maintaining the collar laterally medially of the cover to effectively obscure the collar from view and exposure to animal handlers and other persons . thus , rather than a worn or otherwise unattractive animal collar 11 being presented to view , there is apparent substantially only the highly attractive and aesthetic appearance of the collar cover 10 . however , the animal collar buckle 16 may be observed , and attractively ornamented by the bow 30 of the collar cover end strings or ties 27 . from the foregoing , it is seen that the present invention provides a cover for an animal collar which is highly attractive in appearance , safe , economical and durable throughout a long useful life , and which otherwise fully accomplishes its intended objects . although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purpose of clarity of understanding , it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention .
0
the chart used in the identification of the colors is that of the royal horticultural society ( r . h . s . colour chart ) except where ordinary color terms are utilized . such common color terms are to be accorded their customary dictionary significance . the description is based upon the observation during june of plants of the new variety at an age of approximately five years while budded on rosa froebelli rootstock and growing outdoors at le cannet des maures , var , france . growth habit .— somewhat creeping . height .— commonly approximately 80 cm on average . width .— commonly approximately 70 cm on average . color .— young stems : near green group 138b . — adult wood : near yellow - green group 146d . texture .— smooth for young and adult branches . thorns .— not formed during observations to date . overall appearance .— very dense , attractive dark green . size .— commonly approximately 4 cm in length on average and approximately 2 . 8 cm in width on average for a typical five - leaflet leaf . leaflets .— shape : generally ellliptic . number 3 , 5 and 7 ( most often ). apex : acuminate . base : obtuse . — size : the terminal leaflets commonly are approximately 4 . 5 cm in length on average , and approximately 2 . 8 cm in width on average . — serration : small and single . — texture : firm and leathery . — color : young foliage : near green group 137a on the upper surface , and near yellow - green group 147b on the under surface . mature foliage : near yellow - green group 147a on the upper surface , and near yellow - green group 147b on the under surface . stipules .— general appearance : adnate , pectinate , and rather broad . — texture : smooth . — length : approximately 1 . 5 cm on average . — width : approximately 0 . 6 cm on average . — color near yellow - green group 147c on the upper and under surfaces . petioles .— length : commonly approximately 2 . 5 cm on average for the terminal leaflet . — diameter : commonly approximately 0 . 2 cm on average . — texture : non - glandular on the upper surface , and commonly without prickles on the under surface . — color near yellow - green group 147b on the upper surface , and near yellow - green group 147c on the under surface . rachis .— length : commonly approximately 0 . 5 cm on average . — diameter commonly approximately 0 . 2 cm on average . — texture : smooth . — color near yellow - green group 147b on the upper surface , and near yellow - green group 147c on the under surface . number of flowers .— commonly three to five or more per stem . peduncle .— approximately 3 cm in length on average , approximately 2 mm in diameter on average , smooth in texture , and commonly near yellow - green group 147c in coloration . sepals .— generally obovate , narrow - pointed tip , relatively smooth margins , tomentose on upper surface , smooth on under surface , generally upright at the base , commonly with convex tips , commonly approximately 1 . 3 cm in length on average , approximately 0 . 7 cm in width on average at the widest point , near yellow - green group 147c on the upper surface , and near yellow - green group 147 suffused with near yellow - green group 148a on the under surface . buds .— shape : generally conical . — size : small . — length : approximately 1 cm on average . — width : approximately 1 cm at the widest point on average . — color upper surface : near red group 46a suffused with near red group 53a . under surface : on the external petals near red group 53a , and on the inner petals near white group 155d amply suffused with near red group 54b and red group 54c . flower .— diameter approximately 5 cm on average when fully open . — height : commonly approximately 2 cm on average . — shape : cup - shaped . — color ( in course of opening ): upper side : near red group 45b amply suffused with near red group 46a and with a spot of white group 155d at the base . under side : near red - purple group 62b slightly suffused with near red - purple group 58b and with a spot of white group 155d at the base . — color ( when fully open ): upper side : with a white eye at the base near white group 155d , thereafter intense red near red - purple group 62d suffused with red - purple group 58b and amply suffused with red group 46a , and at the extreme margin near brown group 200a . under side : with a white eye at the base near white group 155d , and thereafter near red - purple group 62d amply suffused with near red - purple group 62b and red - purple group 62c , and more or less margined with near red group 54a . — fragrance : none observed . — petal number commonly approximately 14 on average under normal growing conditions . — petal shape : generally obovate , with a rounded tip and a cuneiform base and reflexed margins . — petal size : commonly approximately 2 . 7 cm on average in length and width . — petal arrangement : imbricated and without petaloids . — petal substance : firm and leathery . — petal drop : good with the petals commonly detaching cleanly before drying . — stamen number approximately 86 on average . — anthers : regularly arranged around the styles , approximately 2 mm in length on average , approximately 1 mm in width on average , and near yellow - orange group 22c in coloration . — filaments : commonly approximately 2 mm in length on average , approximately 1 mm in diameter on average , and near red group 42d in coloration . — pollen : commonly present in a moderate quantity and near yellow - orange group 22c in coloration . — pistils : commonly approximately 31 on average . — styles : approximately 1 mm in length on average , and commonly near yellow group 8d in coloration . — stigmas : commonly approximately 3 mm in diameter on average , and commonly near yellow group 8d in coloration . — receptacle : shape : pitcher - shaped . length : approximately 6 mm on average . width : approximately 5 mm at widest point on average . texture : smooth . color . near yellow - green group 147c . — hips : substantially round in configuration , approximately 1 mm in diameter on average , and commonly near orange - red group 33b in coloration . vegetation .— strong . blooming .— medium season , very abundant , and substantially continuous . tolerance to diseases .— very good for common diseases . tolerance to pests .— very good for common pests . plants of the new ‘ meimasula ’ variety have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date . accordingly , it is possible that the phenotypic expression may vary somewhat with changes in light intensity and duration , cultural practices , and other environmental conditions .
0
the detailed description and examples will illustrate specific embodiments of the invention will enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention , including the best mode . the oximes used in this process are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 487 , 745 which is hereby incorporated by reference and shown by the following chemical structure : wherein r 1 and r 2 are the same or different and are selected from hydrogen , lower alkyl groups of 1 - 8 carbon atoms and aryl groups , and mixtures thereof , particularly aliphatic oximes . most preferably used as the oxime is methyl ethyl ketoxime ( meko ). although not required , the oxime is can be added to a feedpoint that will expose the said methyl ethyl ketoxime to a temperature of about 30 ° c . to about 320 ° c . the primary hydroxylamines used in this invention have the following structural formula : wherein r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 are the same or different and are selected from hydrogen , lower alkyl groups of 1 - 8 carbon atoms , aryl groups , arylalkyl groups , and mixtures thereof , preferably aliphatic primary hydroxylamines , most preferably isopropyl hydroxylamine ( ipha ). the ratio of oxime to primary hydroxylamine is typically from about 100 : 1 to about 1 : 10 , preferably from about 20 : 1 to about 1 : 1 most preferably from about 10 : 1 to about 2 : 1 . the typical dosage of the composition is used in an aqueous system with thermal and / or mechanical deaeration for a feedwater ( for a boiler which is in operation ) oxygen scavenging is in the range of 30 ppb to 300 ppb , preferably from about 30 ppb to 150 ppb , most preferably from about 65 ppb to 100 ppb . the typical dosage of the composition used in an aqueous system without thermal and / or mechanical deaeration for a feedwater ( for a boiler which is in operation ) is in the range of 5 to 200 ppm , preferably from about 15 ppm to 120 ppm , most preferably from about 15 ppm to 60 ppm . for boilers in layup , the typical dosage of the composition is used in the range of 5 to 200 ppm , preferably from about 5 ppm to 120 ppm , most preferably from about 5 ppm to 60 ppm . although it is not critical to inject the composition into a particular injection point , typical injection points where the composition can be added to an aqueous stream of a steam generator include the pre - boiler system of the steam generator , the boiler steam drum of the steam generator , the highest - temperature feedwater heater extraction steam of the lower pressure steam turbine , the main steam header prior to the turbine , the turbine crossover piping , and satellite feeds to stream condensate lines . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , those skilled in the art will understand that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . in this application all units are in the metric system and all amounts and percentages are by weight , unless otherwise expressly indicated . the control did not contain meko or ihpa . sample compositions a - d are comparative examples . they contain either ipha or meko , but not both . dissolved oxygen and ph were monitored on sample compositions at ambient temperature in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the compositions in scavenging dissolved oxygen . the monitoring system consisted of hach d175 dissolved oxygen meter equipped with a probe , cole - parmer ph meter equipped with a ph and atc probes , a four - neck round bottom flask and a stirrer . the evaluations were done by adding known amounts of meko , ipha and a blend of meko and ipha to oxygen saturated di water . the ph of the test solutions were maintained at 10 . 00 - 10 . 25 using dilute sodium hydroxide solution . reagent grade methyl ethyl ketoxime ( meko ) 1 was used in the evaluation . a product called hydroguard i - 15 , which is a 15 % solution of isopropyl hydroxylamine supplied by angus chemical company / dow chemical company was used as the source for the ipha . 1 ashland specialty chemical company markets meko as mekor ® corrosion inhibitor . table i shows dissolved oxygen data over time for two levels of meko , ipha , and a blend of meko and ipha . 1 ashland specialty chemical company markets meko as meklor ® corrosion inhibitor . the data in table i show that meko does not scavenge oxygen at ambient temperature . additionally the data show that the combination of meko and ipha removes more oxygen than ipha or meko alone . the data indicate that there is a synergy when meko and ipha are used together , since the effectiveness of this combination in removing dissolved oxygen was unexpected in view of their effectiveness when used individually . this degree of dissolved oxygen removal was not expected in view of the performance of meko and ipha alone , particularly since the test was not carried out at a temperature that would activate the meko .
2
the embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail . the polyimide which can be used in the adhesive tape and the liquid adhesive for electric parts of the present invention contains at least one of the repeating units represented by the following formulas ( 1a ) and ( 1b ). in this case , the polyimide contains &# 34 ; at least one of the repeating units represented by the formulas ( 1a ) and ( 1b )&# 34 ; includes polyimides containing the repeating unit represented by the formula ( 1a ) alone , polyimides containing the repeating unit represented by the formula ( 1b ) alone , and polyimides containing both the repeating units represented by the formulas ( 1a ) and ( 1b ). ## str4 ## wherein ar is the same meaning as described above . the polyimide also contains at least one of the repeating units represented by the following formulas ( 2a ) and ( 2b ). in this case , the polyimide contains &# 34 ; at least one of the repeating units represented by the above formulas ( 2a ) and ( 2b )&# 34 ; includes polyimides containing the repeating unit represented by the formula ( 2a ) alone , polyimides containing the repeating unit represented by the formula ( 2b ) alone , and polyimides containing both the repeating units represented by the formulas ( 2a ) and ( 2b ). ## str5 ## wherein r and n are each the same meaning as described above . in the above described polyimide , the greater the proportion of the repeating units represented by the formulas ( 1a ) and ( 1b ) ( referred to as ( 1a )+( 1b )! herein after ) is , the higher the glass transition point becomes , while the greater the proportion of the repeating units represented by the formulas ( 2a ) and ( 2b ) ( referred to as ( 2a )+( 2b )! herein after ) is , the lower the glass transition point becomes . accordingly , it is possible to control a temperature capable of adhering the adhesive by controlling glass transition point of the polyimide . accordingly , a preferred polyimide used in the present invention comprises from 95 to 40 mol % of at least one of the repeating units represented by the above formulas ( 1a ) and ( 1b ) and from 5 to 60 mol % of at least one of the repeating units represented by the above formulas ( 2a ) and ( 2b ), which has a number average molecular weight of from 4 , 000 to 200 , 000 . regarding solubility of the above mentioned polyimide , it is greatly influenced by the proportion of ( 2a )+( 2b )! in the polyimide . when the proportion of it is lower than 5 % by mol , the polyimide is soluble in only amide solvents . the above polyimides to be used in the present invention can be produced according to conventional processes for producing polyimides . in concrete , they can be produced from tetracarboxylic dianhydrides corresponding to the desired repeating units and diamines or diisocyanates corresponding to the desired repeating unit . typically , the above polyimide can be produced by reacting tetracarboxylic dianhydrides represented by the following formula ( 3a ) and / or ( 3b ) with a compound represented by the following formula ( 4 ) and / or a siloxane compound represented by the following formula ( 5 ). ## str6 ## wherein ar is the same meaning as described above and y is an amino group or an isocyanate group . ## str7 ## wherein r and n are each the same meaning as described above and y is an amino group or an isocyanate group . examples of tetracarboxylic dianhyrides represented by the formulas ( 3a ) and ( 3b ) which are used as raw materials for producing the polyimide and form the basic construction of them are 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride respectively . examples of the compound represented by the formula ( 4 ) include those wherein ar is a divalent group selected from the above mentioned formulas having aromatic rings . typical examples of the compound wherein the functional group y is an amino group include the following diamines : 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminobiphenyl , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminobiphenyl , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminobiphenyl , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenylmethane , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenylmethane , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenylmethane , 2 , 2 -( 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 -( 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 -( 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 -( 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) hexafluoropropane , 2 , 2 -( 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) hexafluoropropane , 2 , 2 -( 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl ) hexafluoropropane , 3 , 3 - oxydianiline , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- oxydianiline , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- oxydianiline , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfide , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfide , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfide , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfone , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfone , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfone , 1 , 3 - bis 1 -( 3 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 1 , 3 - bis 1 -( 4 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 1 , 4 - bis 1 -( 3 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 1 , 4 - bis 1 -( 4 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 1 , 3 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 1 , 4 - bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 1 , 4 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , bis 4 -( 3 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! sulfone , bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! sulfone , 2 , 2 - bis 3 -( 3 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 2 , 2 - bis 3 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 3 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 2 , 2 - bis 3 -( 3 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 2 , 2 - bis 3 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 3 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 9 , 9 - bis ( 3 - aminophenyl ) fluorene . 9 , 9 - bis ( 4 - aminophenyl ) fluorene , and the like . examples of diisocyanates which are the compounds represented by the formula ( 4 ) wherein the functional group y is an isocyanate group include those exemplified in the above mentioned diamines in which &# 34 ; amino &# 34 ; is replaced by &# 34 ; isocyanate &# 34 ;. examples of the diamines in the compounds represented by the formula ( 5 ) wherein the functional group y is an amino group include bis ( 3 - aminopropyl ) tetramethyldisiloxane , bis ( 10 - aminodecamethylene ) tetramethyldisiloxane , tetramer and octamer of dimethylsiloxane having aminopropyl at the terminal , bis ( 3 - aminophenoxymethyl ) tetramethyldisiloxane , etc . they can be used as a mixture . examples of the diisocyanates in the compounds represented by the formula ( 5 ) wherein the functional group y is an isocyanate include those exemplified in the above diamines wherein &# 34 ; amino &# 34 ; is replaced by &# 34 ; isocyanate &# 34 ;. the diisocyanates wherein the functional group y in the above mentioned formulas ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) is an isocyanate group can be easily produced by reacting the above exemplified corresponding diamine with phosgene . the polyimides of the present invention can be produced as follows . examples of processes for producing the polyimide using tetracarboxylic dianhyrides and diamines as the raw materials for the polyimide include the following . a process for directly obtaining a polyimide by heating a tetracarboxylic dianhyrides and diamines in an organic solvent , optionally in the presence of a catalyst ( in an amount of not more than 20 parts by weight of the reactants ) such as tributylamine , triethylamine , or triphenyl phosphite to a temperature of not less than 100 ° c ., and preferably not less than 100 ° c . a process for obtaining a polyimide by reacting tetracarboxylic dianhyrides with diamines in an organic solvent at a temperature of not more than 100 ° c . to obtain a polyamic acid which is a precursor of the polyimide , optionally adding a dehydrating such as p - toluenesulfonic acid ( in an amount of 1 to 5 times the mol of the tetracarboxylic dianhydride ), and then heating the solution to cause an imidation . a process in which the above - mentioned polyamic acid is caused to a ring closing reaction at a relatively low temperature ( in a range from room temperature to 100 ° c .) by adding dehydrating ring closing agent such as an anhydride , e . g ., acetic anhydride , propionic anhydride or benzoic anhydride , a carbodiimide compound , e . g ., dicylohexylcarbodiimide , and optionally a ring closing catalyst such as pyridine , isoquinoline , imidazole and triethylamine ( as for the dehydrating ring closing agent and ring closing catalyst , in an amount of 2 to 10 times the mol of the tetracarboxylic dianhydride ). examples of the organic solvents used in these reactions include aprotic polar solvents such as n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , n , n - dimethylacetamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide , sulforane , hexamethylphosphoric acid triamide , and 1 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - imidazolidone , and phenol solvents such as phenol , cresol , xylenol , and p - chlorophenol . optionally , solvents such as benzene , toluene , xylene , methyl ethyl ketone , acetone , tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , monoglyme , diglyme , methyl cellosolve , cellosolve acetate , methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , methylene chloride , chloroform , trichloroethylene , and nitrobenzene can be mixed with the above - mentioned solvents as a mixture . in the case where tetracarboxylic dianhydrides and diisocyanates are used as the raw materials , the product can be produced according to the above - mentioned process for directly obtaining a polyimide . in this case , the reaction temperature is preferably not less than room temperature , and particularly not less than 60 ° c . the polyimide having a high polymerization degree can be produced by the reaction between equimolar amounts of the tetracarboxylic dianhydrides and the diamines or diisocyanates . if necessary , the molar ration of bismaleimide to diamine or dithiol can be varied in a range of from 11 : 10 to 10 : 1 by which the polyimide can be produced . since the film formability depends upon molecular weight of the polyimide used in the present invention , the molecular weight can be optimally decided according to desired film formability . when being used in the present invention , polyimide having too low molecular weight is not preferred because film formability in some degree is required in the adhesive layer even in the case of the liquid form and the heat resistance is also lowered . in the present invention , the molecular weight is required to be not less than 4 , 000 . when being used as a thermoplastic adhesive , the adhesion is changed for the worse , if the viscosity during the melting is too high . the molecular weight is a factor for controlling the viscosity during the melting . in the case of the polyimide used in the present invention , the number molecular weight is approximately not more than 400 , 000 . if the molecular weight is higher than this value , there is a high increase in the viscosity making it difficult to be used as an adhesive . the liquid adhesive of the present invention is produced by dissolving the polyimide in an organic solvent . examples of the organic solvents used for dissolving the polyimide include various organic solvents such as aprotic polar solvents , e . g ., n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , n , n - dimethylacetamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide , sulforane , hexamethylphosphoric acid triamide , and 1 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - imidazolidone , phenol solvents such as phenol , cresol , xylenol and p - chlorophenol , etc ., isophorone , cyclohexanone , carbitol acetate , diglyme , dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , etc . moreover , alcoholic solvents such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol , ester solvents such as methyl acetate , ethyl acetate and butyl acetate , nitrile solvents such as acetonitrile and benzonitrile , aromatic solvents such as benzene , toluene and xylene , halogen solvents such as chloroform and dichloromethane , and the like can be mixed and used in such a degree that the polyimide is not separated . since the required viscosity and volatility change depending upon the process for applying the liquid adhesive and the base to be applied , the solvent for the liquid adhesive of the present invention can be optimally selected from the above solvents according to the applications . in the liquid adhesive of the present invention , a filler having a particle size of not more than 1 μm may be incorporated for the purpose of controlling the characteristics during the adhering . the content of the filler when being incorporated is preferably from 1 to 50 % by weight , and more preferably from 4 to 25 % by weight , based on the total solid content . if the content of the filler exceeds 50 % by weight , the adhesion strength is remarkably lowered . conversely , if it is less than 1 % by weight , no effect of the addition of the filler can be obtained . examples of the fillers which can be used are silica , quarts powder , mica , alumina , diamond powder , zircon powder , calcium carbonate , magnesium oxide , fluorine containing resin , and the like . the adhesive tapes for electronic parts according to the first and the second aspects of the present invention can be produced by using the above liquid adhesive . the adhesive tape of the first aspect is produced by applying the liquid adhesive of the present invention to one side or both sides of a heat resistant films followed by drying the resultant laminate . the adhesive tape of the second aspect is produced by applying the liquid adhesive of the present invention to one side of a release film , followed by drying the resultant laminate . examples of the heat resistant films include heat resistance films made of polyimide , polyphenylene sulfide , polyether , polyparabanic acid and polyethylene terephthalate , etc ., and composite heat resistant film such as epoxy resin / glass cloth , epoxy resin / polyimide / glass cloth , etc ., and polyimide film is particularly preferred . the heat resistant film which is preferably used has a thickness of from 5 to 150 μm , and more preferably from 10 to 75 μm . if the thickness of the heat resistant film is too thick , the operation of punching the adhesive film becomes difficult . conversely , if it is too thin , the rigidity of the film becomes insufficient . the adhesive layer formed on a side or both sides of the above - mentioned heat resistant film may have a thickness in a range of from 1 μm to 100 μm and preferably from 5 μm to 50 μm . the release film in the adhesive tape of the second aspect of the present invention serves as a temporary base , which has a thickness of from 1 to 200 μm . typical examples of the release film used include resin films made of polyethylene , polypropylene , fluorine containing resin , polyethylene terephthalate , polyimide , etc . and paper , and those the surface of which is subjected to releasing treatment with a silicone releasing agent . the adhesive layer formed on a side of the above - mentioned release film may have a thickness in a range of from 1 μm to 100 μm and preferably from 5 μm to 50 μm . it is possible to provide on the formed adhesive layer the above - mentioned release film as a protective layer . as be clear from the results of examination shown hereafter , the liquid adhesive and the adhesive tape for electronic parts of the present invention have sufficient heat resistance and reliability . the liquid adhesive of the present invention can be suitably be used for adhering between parts around leadframes making up a semiconductor device , for example , lead pins , semiconductor - mounted substrate , heat spreader , and semiconductor chips themselves , and the adhesive tape for electronic parts of the present invention can suitably be used as an adhesive tape for the innerlead fix of the leadframe and a tab tape , etc . the present invention will now be described in greater detail . first , examples for producing the liquid adhesive are shown . into a flask equipped with a stirrer were introduced 12 . 34 g ( 67 mmol ) of 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminobiphenyl , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone at an iced temperature , and stirring was continued for 1 hour . consequently , the solution was reacted at room temperature for 3 hours to synthesize a polyamic acid . to the resulting polyamic acid were added 50 ml of toluene and 1 . 0 g of p - toluenesulfonic acid , the mixture was heated to 160 ° c . and an imidation reaction was carried out for 3 hours while separating water which was flowed by being azeotropically distilled with toluene . after toluene was distilled off , the resulting polyimide varnish was poured in methanol , followed by separation of the resulting precipitate , pulverization , washing , and drying to obtain 50 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) of a polyimide consisting of the above mentioned repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 13 . 41 g ( 67 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- oxydianiline , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 51 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 13 . 29 g ( 67 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenylmethane , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 52 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 14 . 49 g ( 67 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfide , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 51 . 0 g ( yield : 93 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 16 . 64 g ( 67 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfone , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 51 . 5 g ( yield : 90 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 15 . 16 g ( 67 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - aminophenyl ) propane , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ) ( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 54 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 22 . 40 g ( 67 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - aminophenyl ) hexafluoropropane , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 60 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1721 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 19 . 58 g ( 67 mmol ) of 1 , 4 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 58 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 19 . 58 g ( 67 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 2 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 58 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 23 . 08 g ( 67 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis 1 -( 4 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 62 . 5 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 24 . 68 g ( 67 mmol ) of bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 64 . 0 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 25 . 75 g ( 67 mmol ) of bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 64 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 28 . 98 g ( 67 mmol ) of bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! sulfone , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 65 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1719 cm - 1 and 1785 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 27 . 50 g ( 67 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 65 . 0 g ( yield : 96 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 34 . 74 g ( 67 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxans , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 74 . 0 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 23 . 35 g ( 67 mmol ) of 9 , 9 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) fluorene , 8 . 20 g ( 33 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 67 : 33 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 60 . 5 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 13 . 82 g ( 75 mmol ) of 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminobiphenyl , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 54 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 15 . 02 g ( 75 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- oxydianiline , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 52 . 0 g ( yield : 89 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 14 . 87 g ( 75 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenylmethane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 55 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 16 . 22 g ( 75 mmol ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfide , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 54 . 0 g ( yield : 90 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 18 . 63 g ( 75 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl sulfone , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 55 . 5 g ( yield : 89 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 16 . 97 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - aminophenyl ) propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 57 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 25 . 07 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - aminophenyl ) hexafluoropropane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 67 . 0 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1721 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 21 . 92 g ( 75 mmol ) of 1 , 4 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 . 100 was obtained in an amount of 62 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 21 . 92 g ( 75 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) benzene , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )!. ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 64 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 25 . 84 g ( 75 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis 1 -( 4 - aminophenyl )- 1 - methylethyl ! benzene , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 67 . 0 g ( yield : 96 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 27 . 63 g ( 75 mmol ) of bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) biphenyl , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 69 . 5 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1780 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 28 . 82 g ( 75 mmol ) of bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) diphenyl ether , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 . 100 was obtained in an amount of 70 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1718 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 32 . 08 g ( 75 mmol ) of bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! sulfone , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 74 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1719 cm - 1 and 1785 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 78 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 73 . 0 g ( yield : 98 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 38 . 69 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! hexafluoropropane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 80 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 26 . 14 g ( 75 mmol ) of 9 , 9 - bis ( 4 - aminophenoxy ) fluorene , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 41 . 03 g ( 100 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 0 : 100 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 0 : 100 was obtained in an amount of 66 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1780 cm &# 39 ; 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 20 . 53 g ( 50 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 12 . 43 g ( 50 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 50 : 50 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 61 . 0 g ( yield : 93 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 65 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 32 . 84 g ( 80 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 4 . 97 g ( 20 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 80 : 20 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 68 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 36 . 95 g ( 90 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 2 . 49 g ( 10 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 90 : 10 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 69 . 0 g ( yield : 97 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 17 . 91 g ( 50 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , 20 . 53 g ( 50 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 50 : 50 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 50 : 50 was obtained in an amount of 68 . 5 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 8 . 96 g ( 25 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , 30 . 77 g ( 75 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 25 : 75 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 25 : 75 was obtained in an amount of 69 . 5 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 6 . 21 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 - aminopropyl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 26 . 87 g ( 75 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , 10 . 26 g ( 25 mmol ) of ethylene glycol bistrimellitate dianhydride and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 75 : 25 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 75 : 25 was obtained in an amount of 66 . 0 g ( yield : 94 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1715 cm - 1 and 1786 cm - 1 . the molecular weights glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 9 . 42 g ( 25 mmol ) of 1 , 3 - bis ( aminophenoxy ) methyl !- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane , 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfontetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 69 . 0 g ( yield : 95 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1720 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . using 30 . 79 g ( 75 mmol ) of 2 , 2 - bis 4 -( 4 - aminophenoxy ) phenyl ! propane , 10 . 72 g ( 25 mmol ) of aminopropyl terminated dimethylsiloxane tetramer represented by the following formula ( 5 ) wherein y = nh 2 , r = propylene , n = 3 : ## str8 ## 35 . 83 g ( 100 mmol ) of 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride , and 300 ml of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , a polyimide consisting of the repeating units in a proportion of ( 1a )+( 1b )! : ( 2a )+( 2b )!= 75 : 25 wherein ( 1a ):( 1b )= 100 : 0 and ( 2a ):( 2b )= 100 : 0 was obtained in an amount of 67 . 0 g ( yield : 91 %) by the same manner as in example 1 . the ir spectrum measurement of the resultant polyimide showed typical absorption bands of imide at 1712 cm - 1 and 1783 cm - 1 . the molecular weight , glass transition point and temperature of initiating thermal decomposition of the polyimide were determined . the results are shown in table 1 . the resultant polyimide was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran so as to be the concentration of 25 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . table 1______________________________________number temperature ofaverage glass transition initiating thermalmolecular point decompositionweight (° c .) (° c .) ______________________________________ex . 1 39 , 000 230 452ex . 2 14 , 000 217 456ex . 3 37 , 000 180 450ex . 4 13 , 000 220 451ex . 5 48 , 000 190 450ex . 6 68 , 000 190 450ex . 7 40 , 000 190 455ex . 8 39 , 000 230 450ex . 9 25 , 000 192 450ex . 10 38 , 000 160 450ex . 11 53 , 000 232 450ex . 12 25 , 000 230 453ex . 13 12 , 000 170 450ex . 14 26 , 000 211 458ex . 15 23 , 000 201 451ex . 16 36 , 000 241 452ex . 17 29 , 000 190 452ex . 18 12 , 000 177 456ex . 19 27 , 000 140 455ex . 20 13 , 000 180 451ex . 21 38 , 000 150 453ex . 22 58 , 000 153 453ex . 23 38 , 000 149 455ex . 24 29 , 000 190 453ex . 25 15 , 000 152 454ex . 26 28 , 000 130 453ex . 27 43 , 000 182 452ex . 28 22 , 000 190 453ex . 29 11 , 000 134 451ex . 30 22 , 000 171 448ex . 31 21 , 000 161 454ex . 32 26 , 000 201 455ex . 33 23 , 000 180 451ex . 34 45 , 000 226 465ex . 35 46 , 000 236 464ex . 36 48 , 000 248 460ex . 37 34 , 000 199 458ex . 38 31 , 000 183 455ex . 39 43 , 000 220 465ex . 40 44 , 000 230 455ex . 41 43 , 000 180 440______________________________________ in the above table 1 , the measurement of the molecular weight of polyimides was carried out using tetrahydrofuran as an eluent and shodex 80m × 2 as a column . value of the molecular weight is a number average molecular weight which is calculated as polystyrene . the glass transition point was determined by a differential thermal analysis ( in a nitrogen atmosphere , heated at 10 ° c ./ min .) and the temperature of initiating thermal decomposition was determined by a thermogravimetry ( in a nitrogen atmosphere , heated at 10 ° c ./ min .) a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 60 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 1 with 40 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 10 . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 60 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 16 with 40 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 10 . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 50 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 33 with 50 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 36 . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 80 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 33 with 20 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 36 . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of alumina filler ( produced by showa denko k . k . ; particle size : 0 . 05 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 10 to disperse therein . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of alumina filler ( produced by showa denko k . k . ; particle size : 0 . 05 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 14 to disperse therein . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of alumina filler ( produced by showa denko k . k . ; particle size : 0 . 05 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 34 to disperse therein . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of silica filler ( produced by arakawa chemical industries ltd . ; particle size : 0 . 07 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 10 to disperse therein . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of silica filler ( produced by arakawa chemical industries ltd . ; particle size : 0 . 07 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 14 to disperse therein . a liquid adhesive was obtained by mixing 10 parts by weight of silica filler ( produced by arakawa chemical industries ltd . ; particle size : 0 . 07 μm ) with 100 parts by weight of the liquid adhesive obtained in example 34 to disperse therein . table 2______________________________________number temperature ofaverage glass transition initiating thermalmolecular point decompositionweight (° c .) (° c . ) ______________________________________ex . 42 -- 200 440ex . 43 -- 210 440ex . 44 -- 215 440ex . 45 -- 195 440ex . 46 38 , 000 160 450ex . 47 26 , 000 211 458ex . 48 45 , 000 226 465ex . 49 38 , 000 160 450ex . 50 26 , 000 211 458ex . 51 45 , 000 226 465______________________________________ in the above table , measurements of each value were carried out by the same manner as described above . since the symbol &# 34 ;-&# 34 ; means a mixture of two polyimides , the number average molecular weight is not shown in the table . a nylon - epoxy adhesive ( toresime fs - 410 , produced by teikoku chemical industry co ., ltd .) ( solid content : 20 %; solvent isopropyl alcohol : methyl ethyl ketone = 2 : 1 ) was prepared . a 20 % by weight solution of polyimide varnish ( lark tpi , produced by mitsui toatsu chemicals inc .) in n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone was prepared . each of the liquid adhesives obtained from examples 1 to 51 was applied to both sides of a polyimide film , and dried in a hot air circulating oven at 150 ° c . for 5 minutes to produce an adhesive tape . the application was controlled so as to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm . each polyimide obtained in examples 1 to 41 was dissolved in a solvent mixture of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone and xylene ( 90 : 10 ) so as to be a concentration of 20 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . each of the resultant liquid adhesives was applied both sides of a polyimide film , and dried in a hot air circulating oven at 180 ° c . for 10 minutes to produce an adhesive tape . the application was controlled so as to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm . each polyimide obtained in examples 1 to 41 was dissolved in a solvent mixture of n , n - dimethylacetamide and toluene ( 95 : 5 ) so as to be a concentration of 20 % by weight to produce a liquid adhesive . each of the resultant liquid adhesives was applied both sides of a polyimide film , and dried in a hot air circulating oven at 180 ° c . for 5 minutes to produce an adhesive tape . the application was controlled so as to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm . the liquid adhesive obtained from comparative example 1 was applied to both sides of a polyimide films and dried in a hot air circulating oven at 150 ° c . for 15 minutes to produce an adhesive tape . the application was controlled so as to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm . the liquid adhesive obtained from comparative example 2 was applied to both sides of a polyimide film , and dried in a hot air circulating oven at 250 ° c . for 120 minutes , and then 250 ° c . for 60 minutes to produce an adhesive tape . the application was controlled so as to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm . the leadframe used in a semiconductor package as shown in fig1 was assembled according to the following procedures under conditions shown in the table 3 . a metal plane was placed on a hot plate , and the tape punched out in a ring form was pressed onto the plane by means of a metal rod to be pre - attached . the metal plane to which the adhesive tape had been pre - attached in the above stage and a leadframe were positioned , and heated and pressed on a hot plate heated under the conditions shown in table 3 to adhere the leadframe and the plane via the adhesive tape . in a hot - air circulating oven whose atmosphere was substituted by nitrogen , the adhesive tape was cured on the leadframe assembled in the above three stages under the conditions described in table 3 . table 3______________________________________ name of operation pre - attachment curing of of adhesive assembling of adhesiveadhesive tape tape leadframe tape______________________________________adhesive tapes 200 ° c ./ 1 sec . glass transition none1 and 2 using / 4 kgf / cm . sup . 2 point of eachadhesives of resin + 80 ° c ./ 1examples 1 - 49 sec ./ 4 kgf / cm . sup . 2comparative 80 ° c ./ 2 sec . 120 ° c ./ 2 sec . 150 ° c ./ 3adhesive tape 1 / 4 kgf / cm . sup . 2 / 4 kgf / cm . sup . 2 hrs . comparative 350 ° c ./ 10 sec . 350 ° c ./ 15 sec . noneadhesive tape 2 / 4 kgf / cm . sup . 2 / 20 kgf / cm . sup . 2______________________________________ thereafter , the produced leadframe was used to assemble a package according to the following procedures . the reason why the conditions of curing were different at the time of assembling the leadframe is that the characteristics of the adhesives are different from each other . here , optimum conditions for each adhesive were selected , and the adhesive was cured based on such conditions . a semiconductor chip was adhered to a plane portion with a silver paste for die bonding , which was then cured at 150 ° c . for 2 hours . using a wire bonder , a wire pad on the semiconductor chip and a silver plated portion at the end of the inner lead were connected with a gold wire . via stages of forming , dum cuttings solder plating on the outer leads , etc ., the packaging was finished . the evaluation of whether or not the oxidization took place during curing the adhesive was visually determined by observing the color change on the surface of the leadframe . as a result , since the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of the present invention could be taped at a low temperature , no oxidation occurred , but in the case of the comparative adhesive tape 2 requiring a high adhesion temperature , the color change was observed , indicating that the leadframe was oxidized . a 90 ° peel strength of 10 μm wide tape at room temperature was measured after the adhesive tape was adhered ( taped ) onto a copper plate under the condition shown in table 3 . as a result , the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of the present invention were found to have a strength ranging from 35 - 50 g / 10 mm , while the comparative adhesive tape 1 had the strength of 2 - 4 g / 10 mm , and that of the comparative adhesive tape 2 had the strength of 10 - 40 g / 10 mm , the last value having a large variation . whether or not the voids formed when the adhesive was cured was within the level problematic for a practical use was visually evaluated by means of a microscope . as a results in the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of the present inventions no void could be founds whereas in the comparative adhesive tapes 1 , formation of voids was found . handlings ( curl , feedability , etc .) when the adhesive tapes were used in order to assemble leadframes , and the surface tackiness of the adhesive tapes were evaluated . as a result , the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of the present invention was found to have good handling abilities , and that no tacking occurred on the surfaces , but the comparative adhesive tape 2 was found to be problematic in handling abilities . in the assembling of the package , the wire bondability onto the leadframe when wire bonding with the gold wire was determined . as a result , in the case of using the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of the present invention , no bonding defect was observed in the tests for 832 pins . on the other hand , in the case of comparative adhesive tape 11 bonding defects were observed in 123 of the 832 pins , indicating that the gold wire bonding could not be done with sufficient strength . the packages obtained as described above were tested using the pcbt test ( pressure cooker biased test ). the test was carried out at 5 v of applied voltage at 121 ° c . at 2 atmospheres and at 100 % relative humidity . as a result , in the case of the adhesive tapes 1 and 2 of present invention , no shorting took place even after 1 , 000 hours . as is clear from the results described above , in the case of the adhesive tapes for electronic parts of the present invention , the semiconductor package can be produced in a good manner . in contrast , the adhesive tapes using adhesives of comparative examples are not suitable for manufacturing electronic parts , because there are problems in that oxidation of leadframe occurs , the conditions for adhering are not suitable for assembling the leadframe , and the wire bonding of gold wire cannot be carried out .
7
before explaining the present invention in detail , it is important to understand that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the embodiments and steps described herein . the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in a variety of ways . it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . referring now to fig1 , a spinning - type fishing reel , according to the present invention , is designated generally as 10 . spinning reel 10 has a rotor 12 . rotor 12 has a generally cylindrical rotor body 13 ( fig2 ), which defines a rotor face 14 ( fig2 and 3 ). bail wire 15 is provided to wrap a supply of line around spool 16 at the front of reel 10 . spool 16 defines a skirt 17 , a spool shoulder 18 , a spool lip 19 ( fig2 ), a spool cap 20 ( fig2 ), spool cap cavity 21 ( fig2 ), and spool face 22 ( fig4 ). it should be understood that reel 10 described herein is only exemplary of the environment for the invention . many variations in the configuration of reel 10 shown are contemplated by the invention . particularly , it is contemplated that the clicker of the invention may be utilized with other types of reels such as trolling reels or other types of fishing reels . reel 10 has main housing 23 that encases operating mechanism 24 ( fig2 ). housing 23 has an integrally formed stem 25 that terminates at foot 26 , which is attachable to a fishing rod ( not shown ) by conventional means . rotor 12 is rotated about a central longitudinal axis 27 ( fig1 ) by crank handle 28 , which is operably connected to operating mechanism 24 . as rotor 12 is rotated , fishing line is continuously wrapped about spool 16 . operating mechanism 24 includes structure for oscillating spool 16 in fore and aft direction , as indicated by the double - headed arrow 29 ( fig1 ), as rotor 12 rotates , to thereby assure that the line is evenly distributed over the surface of spool 16 between spool shoulder 18 and spool lip 19 . rotor 12 has diametrically , oppositely located first and second ears 34 , 36 . ears 34 , 36 cooperatively define a support for a movable bail assembly 38 . bail assembly 38 has a first bail arm 40 mounted to first bail ear 34 and second bail arm 42 mounted to second bail ear 36 . the ends of u - shaped bail wire 15 are fixedly attached , one each to the bail arms 40 , 42 , so that the bail arms 40 , 42 and bail wire 15 are movable as a unit . first bail arm 40 is connected to the first bail ear 34 to be pivotable relative thereto about an axis . in like manner , the second bail arm 42 is attached to the second bail ear 36 for pivoting movement relative thereto about a parallel axis . with this arrangement , the bail assembly 38 is pivotable as a unit relative to the rotor 12 about the axes between a first position , or cast position , and a second position , or retrieve position . through an over - center bias mechanism ( not shown ) within at least one ( 1 ) of the bail ears 34 , 36 , the bail arms 40 , 42 , and thus the entire bail assembly 38 , are biased into the cast and retrieve positions as the bail assembly 38 approaches each . when bail assembly 38 is in the cast position , line is allowed to freely pay off the spool 16 . to change the bail assembly 38 from the cast position to the retrieve position , crank handle 28 is turned . a mechanism is typically provided that is activated by rotation of rotor 12 that causes the bail assembly 38 to be deflected out of the cast position and into the retrieve position upon rotation of crank handle 28 . in the transition from the cast position to the retrieve position , the line is guided along an edge of bail wire 15 and onto line roller 44 . with reel 10 in the retrieve position , the line extends from spool 16 , around cylindrical line roller 44 , and forwardly from line roller 44 away from reel 10 . operation of crank handle 28 , with bail assembly 38 in the retrieve position causes rotor 12 to rotate clockwise about axis 27 as viewed from the front of spool 16 . rotation of rotor 12 brings fishing line against the line roller 44 and causes the line to wrap around spool 16 as rotor 12 rotates . referring now primarily to fig2 , a main shaft 50 communicates with operating mechanism 24 . main shaft 50 has a cylindrical segment 52 that terminates at shoulder 54 . main shaft 50 additionally has a driving segment 56 , e . g ., a rectangular segment . driving segment 56 is provided with threaded end 58 . main shaft 50 passes through a central aperture in rotor 12 and through a central aperture in spool 16 . cylindrical segment 52 of main shaft 50 rotatably passes through rotor 12 with said cylindrical segment 52 . rotor 12 is mounted in such a way to allow for relative rotation between the main shaft 50 and the rotor 12 . driving segment 56 of main shaft 50 passes through spool 16 . relative rotation of said spool 16 with respect to said main shaft 50 is permitted . a clicker gear 60 ( fig2 and 3 ) and washer 62 ( fig2 and 3 ) are located on main shaft 50 between rotor face 14 of rotor body 13 and spool 16 . clicker gear 60 and washer 62 are fixedly mounted on main shaft 50 , preferably by means of polygonal openings 64 , 66 that mate with driving section 56 of main shaft 50 . skirt 17 of spool 16 surrounds rotor body 13 and rotates relative thereto . drag washers 70 are located within spool cap cavity 21 wherein alternating drag washers 70 are keyed to driving segment 56 of main shaft 50 in a similar manner to clicker gear 60 and washer 62 . drag dial 72 is threadably received on threaded end 58 of main shaft 50 and is provided to selectively compress drag washers 70 for adjusting drag , i . e ., for adjusting frictional resistance of spool 16 to rotate with respect to main shaft 50 . referring now to fig4 , shown is an enlarged view of spool 16 . spool skirt 17 is shown surrounding spool face 22 . clicker assembly 80 is located within the space defined by spool skirt 17 and spool face 22 . clicker assembly 80 is made up of anchor sub - assembly 82 and clicker sub - assembly 84 . anchor sub - assembly 82 is affixed to spool face 22 at anchor 86 . anchor sub - assembly 82 supports first magnet 88 . referring now to fig4 and 5 , pivot post 90 protrudes from spool face 22 . clicker sub - assembly 84 is pivotally attached to pivot post 90 . clicker sub - assembly 84 is made up of body 92 that defines clicker 94 , post orifice 96 for receiving pivot post 90 and magnet bracket 100 for receiving magnet holder 110 . second magnet 112 is received within magnet holder 110 . magnets 88 and 112 actuate the clicker mechanism either via an attracting force or a repelling force . anchor sub - assembly 82 is secured to anchor 86 . clicker sub - assembly 84 pivots about pivot post 90 . when spool 16 is rotated , clicker 94 interacts with clicker gear 60 , which displaces body 92 of clicker sub - assembly 84 into a secondary position . the magnetic force functions to return the clicker assembly to a starting position . clicker 94 is the mechanism that interacts with clicker gear 60 . magnet holder 110 is preferably secured to magnet bracket 100 via heat staking , orbital staking , or insert molding . second magnet 112 is preferably press fit into magnet holder 110 and its surface sealed with a two - part epoxy to protect second magnet 112 from the ambient environment . protecting magnets 88 , 112 is desirable since magnets are extremely prone to corrosion . referring now to fig6 , shown is an enlarged view of spool 16 having a second embodiment of a clicker assembly mounted therein . spool skirt 17 is shown surrounding spool face 22 . clicker assembly 150 is located within the space defined by spool skirt 17 and spool face 22 . clicker assembly 150 is made up of clicker housing 152 , which contains base magnet 154 and piston magnet 156 . clicker 158 protrudes from piston magnet 156 . clicker housing 152 is secured to clicker mount plate 160 . clicker mount plate 160 is rotatably secured to spool 16 with serrated ring 162 . serrated ring 162 defines a plurality of inwardly facing serrations 164 . clicker mount plate 160 defines an engaging orifice 166 for rotatably affixing clicker mount plate 160 to driving segment 56 of main shaft 50 . base magnet 154 and piston magnet 156 interact to generate a repelling force for forcing piston magnet 156 outwardly , where clicker 158 is forced into engagement with serrations 164 of serrated ring 162 . when spool 16 is rotated , attached serrated ring 162 rotates therewith , which causes serrations 164 to be moved laterally relative to clicker 158 . as the serrations 164 pass over clicker 158 , clicker 158 is alternately pushed towards base magnet 154 and forced into recesses between the peaks of serrations 164 , thereby making an audible clicking sound . thus , the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein . while presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure , numerous changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims .
0
referring to fig . there is shown a side elevational view of an exemplary embodiment of a medical solution container 10 provided in accordance with practice of principles of the present invention . the container comprises a collapsible bag or pouch portion 12 connected to a header portion 13 , from which inlet and outlet ports 14 and 15 , respectively , extend . an interior compartment 16 , in which a medical solution is stored , is defined within the pouch and header portions of the container . the container 10 is formed substantially as is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 484 , 916 , with the outlet port 15 modified in accordance with the invention . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 484 , 916 is incorporated herein by reference . in an exemplary embodiment , the header 13 is a molded thermoplastic material which has the appropriate properties of flexibility , durability , autoclavability , and inertness . such materials include polyolefins , particularly propylene - ethylene copolymers such as a polyallomer , provided by eastman kodak under the designation &# 34 ; m753 - 296e ,&# 34 ; blended with 10 % by weight of a styrene butadiene elastomer sold by shell chemical company under the trademark &# 34 ; kraton .&# 34 ; the bag portion 12 comprises two sheets or films of thermoplastic material , heat - sealed to each other along their side and bottom marginal areas or edges 18 and 20 , respectively , and heat - sealed to the header 13 along their top marginal areas 22 . the end 24 of the container 10 opposite from the header 13 is provided with an opening 26 to facilitate suspension of the container from a hook of a conventional iv stand ( not shown ). the inlet port 14 is provided for injecting additives ( e . g ., medication or nutrients ) into the contents ( such as a prepackaged dextrose solution ) of the container 10 . the port 14 has an opening or channel 28 leading to the contents of the container 10 , and a resilient self - sealing stopper ( not shown ) is mounted on the port upstream from the opening 28 , through which the additives are injected . suitable inlet ports are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 484 , 916 . the outlet port 15 may be referred to as a set port because it can be used to couple the container 10 to a conventional administration set . as is well known , such an administration set includes a hollow spike ( 34 in phantom in fig3 and 4 and in detail in fig5 ) that is inserted into the set port . such a spike is frictionally retained by the set port in order that the container 10 may be inverted and suspended , and its fluid contents withdrawn and administered intravenously to a patient . the outlet port 15 can be provided with a sealing disk and a tear - off cap combination ( not shown ), both of which would be removed prior to insertion of the spike into the port . the sealing disk and cap , which are provided to seal the port 15 to maintain the sterility of the interior of the port prior to use , and which need not be described in any detail to understand the invention , are removed prior to insertion of the spike 34 into the port 15 . the port 15 includes a projection 32 , which is used in conjunction with the sealing disk and cap arrangement . with reference to fig3 and 4 , the set port 15 provided in accordance with this invention is shown with the spike 34 , located at two different positions during the spike insertion process . the port 15 comprises a hollow tubular neck portion 36 forming an elongated channel 38 with an axis 40 ( the longitudinal axis ) along its length . the set port 15 and its channel 38 are shaped and dimensioned for receiving and frictionally holding the spike 34 . in one preferred embodiment of a set port 15 provided in accordance with this invention , the neck 36 is formed integrally with the header 16 and includes a lower wall portion 42 with an enlarged cylindrical bore 44 and a central wall portion 46 defining a coaxial cylindrical bore 48 , which has a smaller internal diameter than the bore 46 . the transition between the bores 44 and 48 forms a downwardly - facing planar ledge 49 . a tapered , annular , resilient collar 50 is formed integrally with the neck 36 and extends upwardly from the central wall portion 46 . the collar 50 has an inner surface 50a that merges with the surface of the bore 48 , and an outer surface 50b . both the inner surface 50a and outer surface 50b slope inwardly ( toward the longitudinal axis 40 ), terminating in a circular lip 50c , which defines the opening 51 of the set port . the diameter of the opening 51 is smaller than the internal diameter of the reduced cylindrical bore 48 . consequently , a spike 34 , which has an outside diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the bore 48 but larger than the diameter of the opening 51 , will engage the collar 50 to cause limited expansion thereof . the spike will be retained , at least in part , by the tensioning of the collar about the spike . this engagement also serves to form a seal . the set port neck 36 includes a pierceable diaphragm 54 , which extends across and seals the channel 38 . in an exemplary embodiment , the diaphragm is formed integrally at the junction of the central wall portion 46 and the lower wall portion 42 , substantially in the plane of the ledge 49 . in accordance with practice of the present invention , the diaphragm 54 is slanted or tilted , i . e ., it lies substantially in a plane which is at an angle c to a normal 55 ( shown in fig3 and 4 , in phantom ) to the insertion direction a . said another way , the diaphragm 54 lies in a plane which is at an angle c to the normal of the axis 40 or to the insertion direction a of the spike 34 . in an exemplary embodiment , where the bore 48 is about 1 / 4 inch in diameter , diaphragms having a thickness in the range of 0 . 005 - 0 . 009 inch are preferred for the material specified herein for the header and associated diaphragm . the result of having a diaphragm inclined at an angle , such as the angle c , is that the peak or maximum insertion force needed to push a spike through the diaphragm is decreased , compared to the peak force required for insertion of a spike through a comparable diaphragm which is not at an angle , i . e ., which is in a plane normal to the axis 40 . fig7 graphically shows the variation in ( 1 ) the peak force required to insert a spike ( configured like the spike 34 ) into the outlet port 15 of fig3 and 4 , manufactured from the blend of polyallomer and kraton described herein , and ( 2 ) the force required to retract the spike therefrom , as a function of diaphragm angle . while the plot 101 of insertion force is seen to progressively diminish as the diaphragm inclination angle c is increased , the plot 103 of retraction force peaks at an angle c in the range of between 5 ° and 15 °. when the angle c is less than about 5 °, the reduction in insertion force is minimal compared to the reduction at larger angles , and the retraction force is relatively low . the retraction force also falls below its maximum when the angle c exceeds about 15 ° and falls substantially below its maximum when the angle c reaches 20 °. accordingly , for the outlet port material described herein ( the blend of polyallomer with 10 % kraton ), the preferred range within which the inclination angle of the diaphragm should be kept , is from about 5 ° to about 20 °, and preferably at about 15 °. of course , with different materials and / or spike dimensions , the optimum range of angles may be wider , narrower , or displaced from that shown . the spike insertion process will be described in more detail following a description of a typical spike 34 , shown in a partial cutaway and vertical sectional view in fig5 . the spike 34 has a cylindrical shaft 60 terminating in a tapered , and shown here as conical , tip 62 , with a point 63 on its end . a circular junction 64 is defined by a line of transition which extends around the spike between its cylindrical shaft and tip portions and which falls in a plane which is normal to the longitudinal axis of the spike . the spike 34 has a top section 66 to which iv tubing ( not shown ) is connected and which includes a shoulder 68 on its bottom . two vertical apertures 70 are formed in the spike , extending from the top section 66 for communication with iv tubing , through the conical tip section 62 for communication with the interior compartment 16 of the container 10 . ( it should be emphasized that the advantages of the invention are not limited to the particular spike described herein .) with renewed reference to fig3 and 4 , the spike 34 is inserted into the outlet port 15 in the direction a . as the tip 62 enters the channel 38 , its conical wall bears against , and spreads open , the annular collar 50 . when the spike tip 62 has moved past the lip portion 50c of the collar 50 , so that the spike &# 39 ; s cylindrical shaft 60 engages and begins passing through the collar lip 50c , the collar 50 is spread to its widest position , as is shown in dashed lines . as insertion continues , the point 63 of the tip 62 meets the slanted diaphragm 54 and pierces and ruptures it . the ruptured diaphragm 54 is folded downward and outward as the tip 62 passes through . fig3 illustrates the instant when the circular junction 64 between the spike &# 39 ; s cylindrical shaft 60 and conical tip 62 first engages the ruptured diaphragm 54 and , more particularly , the diaphragm &# 39 ; s peripheral junction with the bore 48 , which runs along an elliptical path due to the inclination of the diaphragm . the initial engagement between the circular junction 64 of the spike 34 and the diaphragm &# 39 ; s periphery occurs at a point 76 on the diaphragm , which is the portion of the diaphragm nearest the opening 51 . the internal diameter of the bore 44 below the diaphragm 54 is larger than the internal diameter of the bore 48 above the diaphragm , so that , as the spike 34 ruptures the diaphragm , the diaphragm material tends to fold or roll downwardly and outwardly , and is accommodated in the space 77 ( best seen in fig4 ) around the inside circumference of the bore 44 . as the insertion of the spike 34 continues , the junction 64 contacts the remaining portion of the diaphragm , with the contact point moving outwardly , in both directions , away from the initial contact point 76 , around the circumference of the diaphragm . as the insertion process continues , the junction 64 contacts and pushes through the diaphragm at its lowest point 78 , i . e ., the point on the diaphragm furthest from the opening 51 . the cylindrical shaft 60 pushes the ruptured diaphragm material against the interior surface of the wall 42 in the enlarged bore 44 . as can thus readily be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , it is preferred that the enlarged bore have a radius equal to or greater than the radius of the reduced bore 48 by at least the thickness of the diaphragm 54 to provide for accommodation of the diaphragm wall , so that jamming of the spike is inhibited . the insertion process ends , i . e ., the spike is fully inserted , when the shoulder 68 ( fig5 ) of the spike 34 meets lip 50c of collar 50 . as is well known in the art , the spike and the set port are dimensioned so that , at this point , the channels 70 are open into the interior compartment 16 of the container 10 . in addition , the spike 34 must be retained in the set port so that container 10 can be inverted . in the set port provided in accordance with the present invention , the force retaining the spike 34 in the port 15 results both from frictional engagement of the spike 34 with the ruptured diaphragm 54 and from the frictional engagement between the spike and the collar 50 . from the above description of the insertion process , significant advantages of the invention over conventional set ports are evident . in particular , an important advantage of the invention is that the peak or maximum force required to insert the spike is reduced , as compared to the peak force required with a set port having a conventionally oriented diaphragm . in such a conventional set port , a large increase in insertion force is required ( the peak force ) when the cylindrical shaft of the spike meets the diaphragm , because the entire circumference of the diaphragm is contacted at the same time by the entire circumference of the junction 64 between the conical point and cylindrical shaft of the spike . this occurs with conventionally - oriented diaphragms because both the junction 64 of the spike and the line along which the diaphragm is attached to the junction of the wall portions of the port lie in planes which are normal to the insertion direction of the spike . as the material at the circumference of the diaphragm is supported by the set port wall , it is difficult to bend downward , particularly when it must bend all at once , as is the case when prior - art diaphragm configurations are used . requiring the circumferential diaphragm material to be pushed or bent downwardly at the same time causes the sharp rise in the insertion force . conversely , the use of a slanted diaphragm in accordance with the invention results in a the required peak insertion force being relatively less . this is due to the progressive engagement of the junction 64 with the diaphragm , so that the circumferential diaphragm material is not contacted and bent downwardly at the same time . the reduced peak insertion force resulting from the arrangement of the present invention promotes complete penetration of the diaphragm by the spike . such complete penetration is important to ensure that the ruptured diaphragm participates fully in retaining the spike 34 within the outlet port . as noted above , when in use , the iv bag is suspended port end down , so the spike will be pulled downward by gravity and by the downward pressure from the iv liquid flow , as well as by any forces created by jostling of the iv tubing . without proper frictional retention , fluid may leak or the spike may become disengaged and fall out of the set port . either of these events can waste the iv bag and its contents and contaminate the spike . a second embodiment of the invention is shown in fig6 . most of its elements are similar to corresponding elements in the outlet port of fig3 and 4 and bear the same reference numerals except for being incremented by 100 , so that , for example , the neck 36 of fig3 and 4 appears as the neck 136 in fig6 . in accordance with the invention as implemented in the port of fig6 the diaphragm 154 comprises a relatively thick , peripheral , ring portion 154a and a relatively thin , central portion 154b . for a bore 148 diameter of 0 . 25 inch , suitable thicknesses for the thin and thick regions 154b and 154a are in the ranges of about 0005 - 0 . 009 inch and 0 . 020 - 0 . 030 inch , respectively . the advantage of this embodiment is that , with the diameter of the thin portion 154b just slightly smaller than that of the spike 134 ( by from about 0 . 010 to about 0 . 020 inch ), the retraction force is greater because the thick , peripheral ring portion 154a grabs the spike 134 as it is being withdrawn . while in the foregoing , embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in considerable detail for purposes of illustration , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may be varied without departing from the invention as defined by the appended claims .
0
certain high stiffness and low inertia materials are known to be used for making moving ( or dynamic ) mirrors that move during use , such as mirrors in limited rotation motor systems . it is desired that such mirrors ( ideally ) have infinite stiffness and zero inertia , and beryllium for example , provides an excellent choice given its high stiffness and low mass . it is also known that mirror structures may be machined to further reduce the mass of the mirror , specifically on the back of the mirror and near the edges furthest from the axis of rotation of the mirror . this machining is designed to further reduce the mass of the mirror while not significantly reducing the stiffness of the mirror . in this regard , it is desired to machine the mirror in such a way that walls remain to provide stiffness ( e . g ., in a honeycomb pattern ) that are as thin as possible . while materials used for mirror structures have very low specific inertia ( gm - cm 2 per unit area ), it is difficult to machine certain low inertia materials such as beryllium to very fine thicknesses without cracking . beryllium is also expensive to machine and produces a dust that is hazardous . machine tooling is generally unique to specific materials , requiring various speeds , feeds , lubricants , coolants , tool geometries materials and coatings . it is therefore desirable to increase the manufacturing speed of beryllium mirrors , and at the same time , overcome the limitations of the known machining art . fig1 shows at 10 a beryllium mirror substrate , including wall sections 12 and a floor 14 that remain following material removal . as is know in the art , a computer file representing a solid model may be converted directly into machining instructions on a machine tool that mills the part in plan , drills the longitudinal hole , and performs such secondary operations such as drilling and tapping holes as may be required while still a section of a surface of the parent beryllium block . the substrate 10 may be further processed by removing it from the parent material block on which it is milled by means of a sawing - off process such as wire edm ( electrical discharge machining ) or electro chemical sawing . the separated substrate is then finished typically in accordance with desired tolerances . it may then conventionally be used as - is , or further processed by plating , vacuum coating , or both . the present invention is directed to a process for generating the substrate itself . as is known to those skilled in the machining art , the production of a single substratum on a face of a parent block or the production of a multiplicity of substrata on one or more faces of a parent block or in fact the production of a single substratum from a single near - net - shape block all share the same issues and therefore these variants do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention . the exact size and shape of the substratum and the precise configuration of the stiffening structure on the back of the mirror are variants that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention . one of the difficulties in machining beryllium is that the surface develops cracking as a result of the machining forces and the heat developed . with care , using very sharp tools , flood coolant , and spindle speeds in milling under 10 , 000 rpm these cracks are restricted to the top 10 microns or so of the surface . even so , they must be removed after machining and before use because otherwise they tend to grow in length and depth , particularly if the part is stressed as during acceleration , until they meet in the interior of the part and cause rupture . unfortunately , when the section thickness of the beryllium is severely reduced ( as it must be in order to produce the low inertia desired in mirror substrates ) at some reduced thickness , section bending takes place during machining . this bending causes deeper cracking . as a result , the minimum section thickness practical has been approximately 0 . 5 mm in structures of the scale of mirror substrates as shown at d 1 in fig1 . this section thickness then essentially puts a lower limit on the inertia that can be achieved . the surface cracking caused during machining such as milling may be removed by immersing the clean part after machining in an etchant solution such as 60 % concentration hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) 1 part and 69 % concentration nitric acid ( hno 3 ) 9 parts or other suitable etchant . the material removal rate at 20 c +/− 5 c is about 18 microns per minute per surface exposed to the etchant . although this may seem slow compared with typical milling tooth loading of 5 microns at a spindle speed of 10000 rpm , the milling takes place over a single line contact somewhere on the part , whereas the etching takes place simultaneously over the entire exposed surface of the part , and is therefore much faster . in general , because of the linear relationship between material removed and immersion time , agitation bath composition and temperature remaining constant , it is adequate for the desired metal removal depth to be controlled by the time the part is immersed in the bath . as the depth - to - width ratio of any enclosed areas on the backing structure increases however , general agitation becomes less effective and surface tension of the etchant tends to keep the exhausted chemicals in place on the walls to be thinned . in order to more completely refresh the local effectiveness of the etchant , it is necessary to periodically move the local surface of the etchant up and down the walls so that the integrated position of the surface of the etchant over time resembles a slow withdrawal of the part out of the bath with a dither . in other words , the part is withdrawn at a constant rate superimposed on which there is a small up - and - down motion that has the effect of washing away any exhausted etchant adhering to the walls . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , a beryllium mirror structure ( such as shown in fig1 ) may remain in the etching bath for an extended period of time of , for example , 5 to 6 minutes , with the last minute , for example , providing a period of time during which the substrate is being slowly removed from the etchant bath as discussed in more detail below . following such a treatment , sections of the beryllium structure become etched to much smaller dimensions as shown at 20 in fig2 . the etched walls are shown at 22 and the etched floor is shown at 24 . the thickness of the floor section , for example , may be reduced from d 2 ( e . g ., about 0 . 5 mm ) to d 4 ( e . g ., about 0 . 4 mm ). further , the wall sections become tapered , having triangular cross - sectional shapes . the thickness of the wall sections , for example , may be reduced from d 1 ( again e . g ., about 0 . 5 mm ) to walls having a variable thickness that is for example , about 0 . 25 mm at the thickest part ( d 3 ) down to possibly zero at the top . this has the desirable effect of further reducing the mass of the ribbing and therefore the inertia of the part , particularly since more mass is removed further from the axis of rotation of the mirror . the tapering may be controlled by controlling the rate of removal of the substrate from the fluid bath as well as by controlling the agitation of the substrate within the fluid bath as discussed in more detail below . mirrors formed of such a process were tested and found to be exceptionally low in specific inertia . during further development of the process , it was found that the ribs could be reliably reduced to a line at the top without reducing their height ( stiffness ) simply by controlling the immersion time . the triangular shaping of the rib cross - section is attributed to partial exhaustion of the etchant inside the closed cells . although the removal of material from the reflective face of the substrate reduces its inertia , it also reduces its stiffness : however , a minimum stiffness is required in order to support the forces produced during polishing of the reflective surface . in keeping with the requirement that the reflective surface be flat to ¼ wavelength or better at the wavelength of use , it follows then that the required minimum section thickness ( the inverse of stiffness first order therefore inertia all other things remaining constant ) will vary with the intended wavelength of use . conventionally , it was necessary to machine a mirror substratum to a section thickness in inverse proportion to the intended wavelength of use ( ¼ of a shorter wavelength is a smaller absolute allowed departure from flatness , and so requires a stiffer substrate ). fig3 - 7 show a beryllium mirror structure 30 having a front side 32 that provides a highly reflective surface and a back side 34 . the sides furthest from the axis of rotation ( a r ) of the mirror are reduced as shown at 35 , and an cavity 33 may be provided that contains mirror damping material as disclosed , for example , in u . s . patent application publication no . 2010 / 0271679 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . as shown at 36 in fig6 and 7 , the back side 34 is machined to removed beryllium material in a honeycomb pattern from areas 36 , leaving wall sections 38 that are six sided and formed adjacent one another to provide support for the mirror yet with a reduced weight ( due to the removal of material ). as shown in fig8 a - 8c , the substrate 40 may be processed by immersion in the etchant solution 42 discussed above . a protective film 44 is provided over the highly reflective mirror surface to prevent etching of the highly reflective mirror surface . by controlling the rate of separation of the substrate 40 from the etchant solution 42 , the shapes of the walls 46 may be controlled , permitting the walls 46 to be thinnest furthest from the highly reflective mirror surface . the taper of the walls , therefore , may be linear or non - linear . the walls 46 and the floors 48 still define generally hexagonal shapes , but are thinner , particularly at the further ends thereof . with reference to fig9 - 12 , following chemical treatment in the fluid etching agent , the wall sections 58 and the floor 59 of the mirror structure 50 are etched to provide tapered shapes as shown in fig2 . the wall sections , in particular , have a shape that tapers as the wall extends away from the highly reflective surface of the mirror . again , the front side 52 of the mirror 50 remains unetched due to masking . as shown in fig9 and 10 , the hexagonal shaped walls have a reduced thickness due to the etching , yet still provide structural support for the mirror . as shown at 57 in fig1 and 12 , the hexagonal walls are shorter in height near the lateral edges away from the axis of rotation of the mirror ( a r ). because the etching process is fast and un - attended , the present invention is very economical compared with the machining of discrete individual section thicknesses , so that even if in the future a method is found which allows the direct machining of thinner sections than those now possible , processes of the invention will continue to provide a more economical approach to the production of very thin very low inertia mirrors . in practice therefore , a single rather thick substrate is milled or otherwise machined in multiple units , and the individual units are then processed using etching to the final dimensions required for a particular wavelength or wavelength interval of rise . in accordance with various embodiments of the invention , therefore , a section of beryllium mirror stiffening ribs and / or a face may be reduced to a desired thickness by etching , and / or by masking the exposed mirror face to effectively deepen the ribs without causing cracking in the reflecting face . in accordance with further embodiments , a rate of mechanical agitation may be controlled to control the partial exhaustion of the etchant so that triangular cross - sections thinner at the open end are produced . in accordance with further embodiments , selected areas of the mirror substrate may be masked prior to etching to prevent etching in those areas , and in further embodiments , the etching substrata may be machined to a uniform over - size section thickness to a variable final desired section thickness . as further shown in fig1 , in a limited rotation motor system 60 , the optical element 62 ( e . g ., the mirror 50 ) is coupled to a limited rotation motor 64 via mirror mounting structure 66 ( e . g ., via a clamp , threaded mounting structure and / or a tapered mounting structure as disclosed for example in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 212 , 325 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety ) for rotation about the motor rotor axis a r . the system 60 also includes a position transducer 68 that is coupled to a feedback control system 70 that provides a command signal 72 to the motor 64 responsive to an input command signal from an input node 74 and a feedback signal 76 from the position transducer 68 to control the speed and / or position of the motor shaft , and therefore the optical element 62 . the feedback control system is used to cause the rotor of the motor , and therefore the mirror , to follow a position and velocity command waveform with arbitrarily high fidelity . there are limits however , on the fidelity with which the system may follow the input command signal . the acceleration of the mirror in the system for example , is limited by the rate of rise of current in the motor windings , and the positional precision is limited by the signal to noise ratio of the feedback system . the ability of the system to move the mirror from a position a to a position b at a desired high velocity and to then settle at position b precisely in the shortest time ( the bandwidth of the system ) is limited primarily by vibrations in the moving parts . providing a mirror substrate in accordance with the invention advantageously permits the mirror to be very high in stiffness yet low in inertia . those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications and variations may be made to the above disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
2
fig1 is a circuit diagram of an example of a static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 is configured to generate a differential output from an input and may include a node 102 connected to a high voltage source vdd , a first load transistor 106 , a second load transistor 108 , a node 110 at which an output signal − vout is produced , a node 112 at which an output signal + vout is produced , a first amplifying transistor 114 with a gate at which an input signal + vin is applied , a second amplifying transistor 116 with a gate at which an input signal − vin is applied , a current source 120 , shown as a fixed current source but which may be a variable current source ( not shown ), and a node 122 connected to a low voltage source − vss . as shown in fig1 , the drain and gate of first load transistor 106 may be connected to node 102 , the source of first load transistor 106 may be connected to node 110 , the drain of first amplifying transistor 114 may be connected to node 110 , the source of first amplifying transistor 114 may be connected to node 118 , current source 120 may couple node 118 and node 122 , the drain and gate of second load transistor 108 may be connected to node 102 , the source of second load transistor 108 may be connected to node 112 , the drain of second amplifying transistor 116 may be connected to node 112 , the source of second amplifying transistor 116 may be connected to node 118 . by using transistor elements to provide amplifier loads m l , static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 may improve gain consistency among individual programmable gain differential amplifiers produced on a production line by avoiding difficulties associated with consistently producing identical load resistor elements . for example , production line variations in such load resistors within a single device , or among different devices , may be due to inconsistencies in the material from which the respective resistor elements are formed , and / or structural inconsistencies in the respective resistors due to , for example , differences in the temperature and / or other characteristics of the base material at the respective load resistor locations . variations in the load resistors within devices produced by a production line may be influenced by , among other causes , changes in the ambient temperature of the production line environment when the respective devices are made . further , by using transistor elements to provide amplifier loads m l , static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 may improve the operational stability of devices using such amplifiers by making the devices more temperature stable . for example , in a device that uses resistor elements to provide amplifier loads m l the impedance of the load resistors used in the respective programmable gain differential amplifiers within the device may vary with an operating temperature of the device . therefore , as the operating temperature of an operational device in which such programmable gain differential amplifiers are used changes , so may the impedance of the respective resistors , and hence the gain of the respective amplifiers in which the resistors are used . therefore , by replacing temperature sensitive resistor units with transistor elements , which are operationally less sensitive to changes in temperature , static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 improves the operational stability of devices using such amplifiers by making the devices more temperature stable . in addition , resistor elements generally have a larger physical footprint than a transistor capable of providing the same resistive load . therefore , amplifiers that use resistor elements to provide load m l , will have a larger physical footprint than amplifiers that use transistor elements to provide load m l . therefore , by using transistor elements to provide amplifier loads m l , static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 is able to reduce the physical footprint of the amplifier . by connecting the gate of first load transistor 106 and second load transistor 108 to node 102 , which is connected to high voltage source vdd , first load transistor 106 and second load transistor 108 are fixed in a closed state and current passes through each of the respective transistor channels . the gain parameter ( k ) of each of first load transistor 106 and second load transistor 108 may be determined based on the equation : g is a parameter related to the conductance of a single square , i . e ., l = w area of the transistor channel which may be determined based on the equation : where ū n is the average mobility of the charge carriers in the channel region ; and c ox is oxide capacitance . based on the relationships defined above in eq . 1 and eq . 2 , the magnitude of + vout and − vout of static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 may be determined based on the equation : where v th is the threshold voltage of a load transistor ; i 0 is the tail current allowed to pass through the current source ; k a is the gain parameter of an amplifying transistor ; k l , is the gain parameter of a load transistor ; and v in is the magnitude of the applied input signal voltages . current integrated circuit construction techniques are able to control transistor channel dimensions and charge carriers per unit surface area with high levels of precision . by employing transistors to provide a resistance load , the variability of the applied load in programmable gain amplifiers can be minimized . as demonstrated by eq . 1 and eq . 2 , for amplifiers with the same c ox and ū n the gain of the respective amplifiers depends only on the relative w / l ratios of the respective transistors included in the differential amplifier design . further , as demonstrated by eq . 3 , gain does not depend on tail current i 0 , whereas the working point does depend on tail current i 0 . in addition , as a gain parameter of the respective load transistors decreases , the gain of the amplifier increases . other benefits achieved using amplifier load transistors may include , high production accuracy and consistency , and reduced temperature dependency , resulting in a gain that is highly stable . the example embodiment of a static high accuracy gain amplifier , described above with respect to fig1 , and the example embodiments of high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers described below with respect to fig2 and fig3 , use nmos transistors . nmos transistors may be consistently and reliably produced using existing production techniques . therefore , high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers constructed using nmos load transistors in place of load resistors may avoid many of the operational instabilities associated with the programmable gain amplifiers that use resistor load elements . further nmos transistors have a high gate impedance and , therefore , nmos transistor gates may be directly connected to , and driven by , relatively low power logic circuits , as described in greater detail below , it is noted that although the examples of high accuracy gain amplifiers described above with respect to fig1 , fig2 , and fig3 , use nmos transistors , implementation of high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers should not be considered to be restricted to the use of nmos transistors . other transistor technologies may also be used . for example , circuits similar to those described above with respect to fig1 , fig2 , and fig3 , may be constructed using pmos transistors in place of the nmos transistors shown in those example embodiments . in such a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier embodiments , each pmos transistor may be placed in a closed state by applying a low voltage to the pmos transistor gate , and each pmos transistors may be placed in an open state by applying a high voltage to the pmos transistor gate . further , the current in such example pmos circuit embodiments may flow in a direction opposite that of the current flow described above with respect to the nmos embodiments described above with respect to fig1 , fig2 and fig3 . fig2 is a circuit diagram of a first example of a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier in accordance with an embodiment . as shown in fig2 , high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 may include a node 204 connected to a high voltage source vdd , a first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 ( 0 ) through 206 ( 7 ), a second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 ( 0 ) through 208 ( 7 ), a node 209 at which an output signal − vout is produced , a node 211 at which an output signal + vout is produced , a first amplifying transistor 210 with a gate at which an input signal + vin is applied , a second amplifying transistor 212 with a gate at which an input signal − vin is applied , a fixed current source 214 , and a node 216 connected to a low voltage source − vss . as further shown in fig2 , the drain of each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and the drain of each transistor in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may be connected to node 204 , the source of each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 may be connected to node 209 and the source of each transistor in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may be connected to node 211 , the gate of each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and the gate of each transistor in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may be connected to a logic circuit , not shown , that provides one of a high and a low logic signal on each of the respective individually switchable load transistor gates , the drain of first amplifying transistor 210 may be connected to node 209 , the source of first amplifying transistor 210 may be connected to node 213 , fixed current source 214 may couple node 213 and node 216 , the drain of second amplifying transistor 212 may be connected to node 211 , and the source of second amplifying transistor 212 may be connected to node 213 . the logic signals provided to first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may be referred to collectively as a gain word . the configuration of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 is similar to the configuration of static high accuracy gain amplifier 100 , described above with respect to fig1 , with the exception that first load transistor 106 has been replaced by first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second load transistor 108 has been replaced by second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 . therefore , the relationships described above with respect to eq . 1 , eq . 2 and eq . 3 , described above with respect to fig1 , apply to high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . during operation , individual load transistors within first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may be selectably opened and closed . for example , a controller logic circuit may generate on each bit of the gain word one of a logical 1 , or high output which may have a voltage level equal to that of vdd , and a logical 0 , or low output , which may have a voltage level equal to that of 0 volts . therefore , applying a high value from the controller logic circuit on a gate of an individually switchable load transistor within first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 or on a gate of an individually switchable load transistor within second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may close the transistor , i . e ., may cause a conductive path to be formed between the transistor source and the transistor drain that connects the transistor source to vdd , thereby dynamically connecting the transistor as a load transistor in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . however , applying a low value from the logic circuit controller on a gate of an individually switchable load transistor within first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 or on a gate of an individually switchable load transistor within second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 may open the transistor i . e ., may prevent a conductive path from being formed between the transistor source and the transistor drain , thereby disconnecting the transistor source from vdd and thereby dynamically disconnecting the transistor as a load transistor in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . whenever several closed transistors of the same type are connected as demonstrated in fig2 at 206 and 208 , they act as a same type single transistor with a k that equals the sum of the respective transistor k &# 39 ; s . therefore , a logic circuit within a control unit for the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier may dynamically change the load transistor gain k l , applied to high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 and , hence , may dynamically change the gain of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . the load transistors in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 may be configured in parallel between node 204 and node 209 of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . therefore , increasing the number of control bits corresponding to load transistors in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 has the effect of increasing the gain parameter , k , between node 204 and node 209 . further , the load transistors in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 are configured in parallel between node 204 and node 211 of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 . therefore , increasing the number of control bits corresponding to load transistors in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 has the effect of increasing the gain parameter , k , between node 204 and node 211 . in one example of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 , the controller logic circuit may generate a 16 - bit gain word . each of the first 8 - bits , i . e ., 0 - 7 , of the gain word may be applied to a gate of each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 , i . e ., transistors 206 ( 0 ) through 206 ( 7 ), respectively , and each of the second 8 - bits , i . e ., 8 - 15 , of the gain word may be applied to a gate of each transistor in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 , i . e ., transistors 208 ( 0 ) through 208 ( 7 ), respectively . in one example of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 , each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 have the same channel width - to - length ( w / l ) ratio . to maintain a balance of the load transistors in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 , the controller logic circuit may set at least one bit high in each of first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 . further , if the controller logic circuit sets more than one bit high , the controller logic circuit may set to high an equal number of bits controlling gates in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 as the number of bits controlling gates in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 . sizing the width - to - length ( w / l ) ratio of transistors in each of first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 in such a manner allows high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 to achieve very accurate and uniform gain steps , e . g ., such as a minimum gain step of − 3d13 , yet allows the controller logic circuit to assure that transistor loads within high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 remain balanced . in another example of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 , the channel width - to - length ( w / l ) ratio of each transistor in first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 , i . e ., 206 ( 0 ) through 206 ( 7 ) may vary , but may be configured to equal the channel width - to - length ( w / l ) ratio of a corresponding transistor in second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 , i . e ., 208 ( 0 ) through 208 ( 7 ). in such a configuration , in order to maintain a balance of the load transistors , if the controller logic circuit sets a first set of bits in the gain word to high , e . g ., control bits corresponding to the gate of load transistor 206 ( 0 ), 206 ( 1 ) and 206 ( 7 ), the controller logic circuit may also set to high , e . g ., control bits corresponding to the gate of load transistor 208 ( 0 ), 208 ( 1 ) and 208 ( 7 ). sizing the width - to - length ( w / l ) ratio of transistors in each of first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 in such a manner allows high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 to achieve accurate gain steps , yet allows the controller logic circuit to assure that transistor loads within high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 remain balanced . it is noted that , in one example embodiment , the controller logic circuit described above with respect to high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 may be integrated within the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier , may receive a control signal from a control unit , and may generate the gain word used to activate load transistors in a first set of individually switchable load transistors 206 and second set of individually switchable load transistors 208 based on the received control signal . in another example embodiment of a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier , the logic circuit may be integrated within a control unit that is separate from the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier , as described in greater detail below with respect to fig4 , and the logic circuit may transmit the gain word to high accuracy programmable gain amplifier from the separate control unit . fig3 is a circuit diagram of a second example of a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier . as shown in fig3 , the components of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 are like the components included in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 described above with respect to fig2 . components in fig3 corresponding to components in fig2 have been identified with like numeric labels , in which the only the first numeral has been changed . these components operate in the same manner as described above with respect to fig2 and , therefore , will not again be described . however , it is noted that in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 , the fixed current source 214 included in high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 200 has been replaced with a variable current source 314 . it is further noted that , as described above with respect to eq . 3 , the working point for a high accuracy gain amplifier may be initially established by establishing an initial tail current i 0 . therefore , in one example of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 , an external control unit , described in greater detail below , may provide a current source control signal to variable current source 316 . in conjunction with setting the gain , the control unit may change the working point for high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 . once the working point has been determined by establishing a fixed tail current , the control unit may fine tune the gain of high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 using the gain word , described above , to dynamically include and / or remove load transistors from high accuracy programmable gain amplifier 300 , as needed , to achieve the desired gain . although not shown in fig2 and fig3 , in one example embodiment , a single output from the controller logic circuit may be connected to multiple load transistor gates . such an approach may be used to allow a dynamically controlled load value controlled by a single control bit to be constructed from multiple transistors , each transistor constructed using either the same , or different , w / l ratios . further , such an approach may be used to allow controller logic circuit to dynamically apply a wide range of load values to an amplifier circuit using fewer control bits . fig4 is a system level block diagram of an example of an rf transceiver device that may include examples of high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers , for example , as described above with respect to fig2 and fig3 . as shown in fig4 , rf transceiver device 400 may include an rf antenna 402 , an rf interface 404 , a processor 406 and device components 408 . rf interface 404 may include a transceiver switch 410 , a transmitter 412 and receiver 414 . transmitter 412 may include a modulator 420 , an up - conversion module 422 , a transmitter local oscillator 424 , a transmitter high accuracy programmable gain amplifier ( pga ) 426 , for example , as described above with respect to fig2 or fig3 , a transmitter pga control unit 428 and a power amplifier 430 . receiver 414 may include a low noise amplifier 440 , a down - conversion module 442 , a receiver local oscillator 444 , a receiver high accuracy programmable gain amplifier ( pga ) 446 , for example , as described above with respect to fig2 or fig3 , a receiver pga control unit 448 , and a demodulator with rssi measurement module 450 . as further shown in fig4 , device components 408 may communicate with processor 406 , which may communicate with the transmitter pga control module 428 and modulator 420 within transmitter 412 , and may communicate with demodulator 450 and receiver pga control unit 448 in receiver 414 . within transmitter 412 , up - conversion module 422 may be in communication with modulator 420 , local oscillator 424 and transmitter high accuracy pga 426 . transmitter high accuracy pga 426 may be connected with transmitter pga control unit 428 and power amplifier 430 which may selectively connect to rf antenna 402 via transceiver switch 410 . within receiver 414 , low noise amplifier 440 may selectively connect with rf antenna 402 via transceiver switch 410 and may further communicate with down - conversion module 442 . down - conversion module 442 may communicate with local oscillator 444 and receiver high accuracy pga 446 , which may communicate with receiver pga control unit 448 and demodulator 450 . although not shown in fig4 , in a typical rf transceiver device 400 , device components 408 may include features such as a device memory , a rechargeable battery , and a user interface which may include a display , a keyboard , a speaker and / or microphone and a data interface unit . in operation as a receiver , processor 406 may receive from demodulator 450 a demodulated data stream containing , for example , digitized voice data received by rf transmission from a remote transmitter , or base station , and may further receive from demodulator 450 a demodulated control data stream and an rssi measurement of the rf signal received from the remote transmitter , or base station . processor 406 may pass the digitized data stream to device components 408 which may process the voice data via a digital - to - analog converter and may use the generated analog signal to drive a speaker within the user interface . further , processor 406 may process the control data stream to extract a transmission power that the processor has been instructed to use when transmitting an rf response . in addition , processor 406 may receive from device components 408 , for example , digitized voice data generated by a local user via a microphone and voice digitizer included in device components 408 . processor 406 may generate and pass to modulator 420 a formatted data stream that may include a control channel data stream that includes the rssi measurement and other control data and may further include a voice data stream that includes the digitized voice data received from device components 408 . modulator 420 may receive the formatted digital data stream from processor 406 and may generate an analog modulated signal in accordance with a selected transmission protocol standard , e . g ., cdma , wideband - cdma , etc ., and may pass the analog modulated signal to up - conversion module 422 . up - conversion module 422 may receive the analog modulated signal at a baseband frequency and may mix the signal with a higher frequency , e . g ., an rf frequency , oscillating signal generated by local oscillator 424 and may provide the rf frequency signal as input to transmitter high accuracy pga 426 . transmitter high accuracy pga 426 may be a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier , for example , as described above with respect to fig2 and fig3 , and may include dynamically configurable load transistors and a variable tail current source as described above with respect to fig3 . for example , transmitter high accuracy pga 426 may be configured to maintain a gain setting based on , for example , a gain word . for example , upon receiving a transmission power assignment that is different from a previously received transmission power assignment from a remote transmitter , or base station , via a control data channel embedded in a demodulated data stream received from demodulator 450 , processor 406 may pass the new power assignment to transmission pga control unit 428 . transmission pga control unit 428 may assess the transmission power assignment and , based on knowledge of the power of the rf signal received from up - conversion module 422 , and the static amplification applied by power amp 430 , and the gain ranges and gain steps supported by transmitter high accuracy pga 426 , transmission pga control unit 428 may generate a variable current source control signal and / or a new gain word which may be passed to transmitter high accuracy pga 426 to dynamically configure the transmitter high accuracy pga 426 to apply an appropriate amount of gain and working point . once a signal is received by transmitter high accuracy pga 426 from up - conversion module 422 , the signal is amplified in accordance with settings established within transmitter high accuracy pga 426 by transmitter pga control unit 428 , and passed to power amplifier 430 . power amplifier 430 applies a predetermined amplification to the signal received from transmitter high accuracy pga 426 and transmits the signal via transceiver switch 410 and rf antenna 402 . in operation as a receiver , low noise amplifier 440 may receive an re signal from antenna 402 via transceiver switch 410 . low noise amplifier 440 may amplify the received signal by a predetermined gain and may pass the amplified signal to down - conversion module 442 . down - conversion module 442 may mix the rf frequency with a signal produced by local oscillator 444 to produce a down - converted signal , and may pass the downconverted signal to receiver high accuracy pga 446 . receiver high accuracy pga 446 may work in concert with demodulator 450 , processor 406 and receiver pga control unit 448 . for example , demodulator 450 may inform processor 406 of bit error rates ( ber ), or other measure of error , being obtained by demodulator 450 in attempting to demodulate the received signal at the current signal strength received from receiver high accuracy pga 446 . if processor 406 determines that the measure of error are acceptable , processor 406 may do nothing , and receiver high accuracy pga 446 may continue to amplify the down - converted signal in accordance with current control setting established and maintained by receiver pga control unit 448 in response to a previous instruction from processor 406 . however , if processor 406 determines that measure of error may be improved , processor 406 may instruct receiver pga control unit 448 to increase the amplification applied by receiver high accuracy pga 446 . in response , receiver pga control unit 448 may assess the incremental gain requested by processor 406 and , based on knowledge of the working point and gain steps supported by transmitter high accuracy pga 426 , transmission pga control unit 428 may generate a new gain word and variable current source control signal which may be passed to receiver pga 426 to dynamically reconfigure the transmitter high accuracy pga 426 to apply a corresponding incremental amount of gain and a corresponding working point . further , demodulator 450 , with the assistance of , for example , an integrated rssi measurement module , may determine the power of the amplified signal received from receiver high accuracy pga 446 . once the power of the signal received at demodulator 450 is determined , the rssi measurement module within demodulator 450 may determine the signal strength of the original rf signal received by antenna 402 , and may pass the determined rssi value to processor 406 . the rssi measurement module may determine the signal strength of the original rf signal received by antenna 402 by adjusting a measure of the power of the signal received at demodulator 450 by a switch loss at transceiver switch 410 , the amount of gain applied by low noise amplifier 440 , and the amount of gain applied by receiver high accuracy pga 446 . for example , the amount of gain applied by receiver high accuracy pga 446 may be obtained from receiver pga control unit 448 via processor 406 . processor 406 may , in turn report the rssi value to the base station and / or other rf device with which re transceiver device 400 is communicating via a next rf transmission . fig5 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system that includes rf transceiver devices that may include high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers , as described above , and which may support transmit power control ( tpc ) enabled protocols such as global system for mobile communications ( gsm ), code division multiple access ( cdma ), and wideband cdma ( w - cdma ). as shown in fig5 , a base station may support indirect communication between a number of rf transmitter received devices . such communication may include voice and / or data communication between any number of re enabled devices , such as , cell phones 508 ( a - n ), re interface enabled laptops 506 ( a - n ) and rf interface enabled personal digital assistants 504 ( a - n ) and / or between any number of other rf enabled devices . each of the rf enabled device shown in fig5 may include high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers , such as those described above with respect to fig2 through fig4 , and may include transceiver components such as those described above with respect to fig4 . although not shown in fig5 , base station 502 may include connections to other base stations , thereby allowing the respective transceiver devices to communicate with other devices not shown in fig5 , such as non - rf enabled devices capable of establishing a communication path to base station 502 . further , although not shown in fig5 , rf enabled devices may use high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers embedded within the respective devices , and / or the techniques described above , to support peer - to - peer communication between rf enabled devices that support a common transmission protocol . fig6 shows a flow - chart of an example of a process for the generation and transmission of a tpc compliant rf signal by an rf transceiver device , such as the example rf transceiver device described above with respect to fig4 , that includes a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier in the transmission path . as shown in fig6 , operation of the method begins at step s 602 and proceeds to step s 604 . in step s 604 , a transceiver device processor may receive a demodulated data stream with a measured rssi value , and operation of the method continues to step s 606 . in step s 606 , the transceiver device processor may extract a control channel and a data channel from the received digital data stream , and operation of the method continues to step s 608 . in step s 608 , the transceiver device processor may extract from the control channel a transmit power assigned , for example , by a base station with which the transceiver device may be communicating , and operation of the method continues to step s 610 . if , in step s 610 , the transceiver device processor determines that the assigned transmit power has changed , operation of the method continues to step s 612 , otherwise , operation of the method continues to step s 622 . in step s 612 , the transceiver device processor may determine a transmission gain that should be applied by the transmitter high accuracy pga so that the rf signal emitted from the transmitter is emitted at the assigned transmit power and may instruct the transmitter high accuracy pga control unit to configure the transmitter high accuracy pga to apply such a gain to outgoing signals , and operation of the method continues to step s 614 . in step s 614 , the transmitter high accuracy pga control unit may determine and apply to the transmitter high accuracy pga an adjusted working point control signal , and operation of the method continues to step s 616 . in step s 616 , the transmitter high accuracy pga control unit may determine and apply to the transmitter high accuracy pga an adjusted gain word to change a gain parameter , and operation of the method continues to step s 618 . in step s 618 , the transmitter high accuracy pga may adjust the tail current source based on the received working point control signal , and operation of the method continues to step s 620 . in step s 620 , the transmitter high accuracy pga may activate / deactivate load transistors based on the received gain word , and operation of the method continues to step s 622 . in step s 622 , the transceiver device processor , having determined that the transmitter high accuracy pga is configured to apply the appropriate pga gain , may formulate an outgoing data packet containing the measured rssi value and outgoing data and pass the data packet to the transmitter , and operation of the method continues to step s 624 . in step s 624 , the transmitter may modulate and up - convert the received data packet and pass the resulting modulated , up - converted analog signal to the transmitter high accuracy pga , and operation of the method continues to step s 626 . in step s 626 , the transmitter high accuracy pga may apply to the outgoing analog signal the pga gain that the transmitter high accuracy pga has been configured to apply , and may pass the amplified signal to the power amplifier , and operation of the method continues to step s 628 . in step s 628 , the power amplifier may apply a predetermined rf transmission gain to the outgoing analog signal and pass the amplified rf signal to the rf antenna via the transmission / receiver switch , and operation of the method continues to step s 630 . in step s 630 , the rf signal may be transmitted from the antenna with data and measure rssi value at the requested power level , and operation of the method terminates at step s 632 . fig7 shows a flow - chart of an example of a process for receiving a tpc compliant rf signal by an rf transceiver device , such as the example rf transceiver device described above with respect to fig5 , that includes a high accuracy programmable gain amplifier in the receiver path . as shown in fig7 , operation of the method begins at step s 702 and proceeds to step s 704 . in step s 704 , a transceiver device processor may receive a demodulated data stream with a measured rssi value and a measure of demodulation error , e . g ., such as bit error rate ( ber ), etc ., and operation of the method continues to step s 706 . if , in step s 706 , the transceiver device processor determines that the demodulation error rate is acceptable , operation of the method continues to step s 718 , otherwise , operation of the method continues to step s 708 . in step s 708 , the transceiver device processor may determine an increase in the receiver high accuracy pga gain required to achieve an acceptable demodulation error rate and may communicate the determined increase in pga gain to the receiver high accuracy pga control unit , and operation of the method continues to step s 710 . in step s 710 , the receiver high accuracy pga control unit may determine and apply to the receiver high accuracy pga an adjusted working point control signal , and operation of the method continues to step s 712 . in step s 712 , the receiver high accuracy pga control unit may determine and apply to the receiver high accuracy pga an adjusted gain word to change a gain parameter , and operation of the method continues to step s 714 . in step s 714 , the receiver high accuracy pga may adjust the tail current source based on the received working point control signal , and operation of the method continues to step s 716 . in step s 716 , the receiver high accuracy pga may activate / deactivate load transistors based on the received gain word , and operation of the method continues to step s 718 . in step s 718 , the transceiver device may proceed to receive , via the transceiver device antenna , an rf signal from a remote transceiver device with which the transceiver device is communicating , such as a base station , and operation of the method continues to step s 720 . in step s 720 , the receiver low noise amplifier may amplify the received rf signal and may pass the amplified signal to the down - conversion module , and operation of the method continues to step s 722 . in step s 722 , the receiver down - conversion module may down - convert the amplified rf signal and may pass down - converted signal to the receiver high accuracy pga , and operation of the method continues to step s 724 . in step s 724 , the receiver high accuracy pga may apply to the incoming down - converted analog signal the pga gain that the receiver high accuracy pga has been configured to apply , and may pass the amplified signal to the receiver demodulator , and operation of the method continues to step s 726 . in step s 726 , the receiver demodulator may demodulate the analog signal to produce a demodulated data stream , and operation of the method continues to step s 728 . in step s 728 , the receiver demodulator may determine an rssi value for the received demodulate the analog signal and a demodulation error for the demodulated data stream , and operation of the method continues to step s 730 . in step s 730 , the receiver demodulator may provide the demodulated data stream with rssi value and demodulation error to the transceiver processor , and operation of the method terminates at step s 732 . it is noted that that the described high accuracy programmable gain amplifier may be used to amplify any signal with accurate gain and that use of the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier is not limited to use in rf transceiver devices , but may be used in any device in which accurate analog and rf signal amplification is desired . it is noted that embodiments of the described high accuracy programmable gain amplifier may include modifications in the amplifier topology . for example , one example embodiment of the described high accuracy programmable gain amplifier that includes modification in the amplifier topology may include interstage circuitry coupled between the described amplifying transistors and the described load transistors . for example , such an embodiment may include a first interstage circuit component coupled between the first plurality of load transistors and the first amplifying transistor of the pair of amplifying transistors ; and may include a second interstage circuit component coupled between the second plurality of load transistors and the second amplifying transistor of the pair of amplifying transistors . for purposes of explanation , in the above description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers and use of the high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers within rf transceiver devices in support of rf based communication . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the features of the high accuracy programmable gain amplifiers and the rf transceiver devices in which the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier may be used . while the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , embodiments of the high accuracy programmable gain amplifier as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative , not limiting . there are changes that may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
7
referring to the attached fig1 through 9 , a water condensing system embodiment is shown comprising a frame ( 1 ) with wheels ( 21 ) and a handle ( 22 ). in such frame ( 1 ) there is an air entrance system , which comprises an air filter and fan ( 7 ); an air cooling / condensation system , with cold coil ( 12 ), compressor ( 5 ), and radiator ( 3 ); condensed water purification system , with ultraviolet filter ( 10 ), solid particle filter ( 9 ), second storage tank for purified water ( 2 , 18 ); purified water cooling system , with the water cooler ( 17 ), its respective compressor ( 4 ); water dispensing system ; electronic control board . note that the ultraviolet filter acts as a disinfecting unit and could be substituted for other disinfecting units , such as , but not limited to , ozone generator or chemical dispensing unit . water formed on coil ( 12 ) falls via gravity to a condensed water collector ( 13 ) where it is then transferred to a primary water storage tank ( 14 ). the term “ fluid communication ” as used herein refers to a connection between two or more elements , wherein such connection allows for the one - way or bi - directional flow of a fluid , whether in its liquid or gaseous form . the system works as follows : by means of a fan ( 7 ) the ambient air , posterior to filtering , is admitted in the interior of the system while the humidity in it is condensed through the cold coil ( 12 ), collected by the collector ( 13 ) and stored in the primary water storage tank ( 14 ). the residual dry air is expelled from the system by the fan ( 7 ). the fan ( 7 ) is shown positioned between the coil ( 12 ) and the radiator assembly ( 3 ). this strategic positioning allows for the efficient flow of air through the system and also acts to muffle the noise created by the fan , due to blockage of sound by the coil ( 12 ), radiator assembly ( 3 ) and exterior walls ( not shown ). prior art systems can be noisy making them less desired in quiet places , such as offices or homes . furthermore , the coils are typically designed to be moved or positioned so the cleaning of the coils is possible from outside of the frame and then repositioned back into the system at the proper location . this can be accomplished by latches , pivoting means or other similar means , so long as the fluid communication of the coil with the compressor is not severed or irreversibly disrupted without recharging the refrigerant provided . in one embodiment , a door is provided on the system for accessing a replacing an air filter . the coils may be positioned immediately behind the air filter , such that when the air filter is removed , the coils may be accessed . the coils , typically made of a metal tubing , are configured such that the coil may be pivoted out of the frame through the air filter doorway . the coil is designed such that the pivot point of the coil occurs over a range of 1 - 10 inches , or more , so as to minimize torsional forces on a focused portion of the coil tubing . the radiator assembly ( 3 ) of the subject system is unique in that it combines heat transfer for both the water cooling compressor ( 4 ) and air condensation compressor ( 5 ) systems . the radiator assembly ( 3 ) comprises tubes in fluid communication with both systems . this allows for maximization of space within the system , as well as efficient heat transfer for both compressors . the primary water storage tank ( 14 ) has a level sensor ( 15 ), which creates a signal when the condensed water reaches its maximum level , whereby the pump ( 11 ) is actuated to direct flow of collected water through the ultraviolet filter ( 10 ), and solid particles filter ( 9 ), and ultimately to the main purified water tank ( 2 ) located in the top section of the condensation system . note that the pump and filter sequence may be varied . the main storage tank ( 2 ) contains , in its interior , a cold - water storage compartment ( 18 ) wherein cold water is produced by chilling unit ( 17 ). the chilling unit comprises a heat exchanger ( not shown ). from these storage tanks ( 2 and 18 ) the water flows to the room temperature and cold water disposal valves ( 24 and 25 ), respectively . furthermore , according to another embodiment , the water storage tank comprises a drain which would allow water to flow out of the tank ( 2 ), at a predetermined level , to provide water to a remote location . one example of this would be for use in a boat or motorhome , or other vehicle or structure comprising its own water storage tank , wherein the system is used to generate water and passively fill a water storage tank on said boat , motor home , or other vehicle or structure . the remote storage tank can be equipped with a sensor so that when it reaches a desired fullness , it triggers a remote valve to stop flow from the main storage tank to the remote storage tank . the purified water storage tank or second storage tank ( 2 ), which has a lid ( 20 ) to allow it &# 39 ; s cleaning , also presents a level sensor ( 19 ). every time the water reaches its maximum level , the sensor shuts the water off and the water is drained to the collector ( 13 ) through the solenoid valve ( 6 ) repeating the purification cycle , providing continued recycling , if desired . the cooling / condensation system also comprises a heating element ( 16 ) that , controlled by a sensor , promotes , when needed , the defrosting of the ice on the coil ( 12 ). this allows efficient production of potable water at temperatures of 20 ° f . and above , and more preferably , at 32 ° f . and above . in case of the rendering of the alternative in which the machine contains a structuring device ( 8 ), when the water form the primary tank ( 14 ) reaches the maximum level and is pumped to the main storage tank ( 2 ), it also goes through the structuring device ( 13 ) before it reaches the afore mentioned storage tank ( 2 ). in an alternative embodiment , the system comprises an additional pump ( 23 ) in fluid communication with the main storage tank ( 2 ). this pump directs water from the storage tank ( 2 ) to a remote location . one example of use of this alternate embodiment is the provision of water to a sink , refrigerator , ice machine or other dispensing location within a building or home . water is produced outside the building or home , where humidity is generally higher to optimally produce water , and then delivered to the source of need . for most applications of this embodiment , a chilling unit and cold water storage compartment for the system will not be needed . the condensing system can still be provided with a system , which allows for coin or dollar bill operation . as in other coin - operated machines , in this alternate version of the invention there will be a coin slot and a bill slot , change dispenser and a cup holder . fig1 shows a diagram of a typical arrangement of the components of an embodiment of the subject water condensation system ( 900 ). ambient air ( 910 ) enters the system ( 900 ) through air filter ( 912 ). the ambient air ( 910 ) contacts the cooling coil ( 12 ) whereby humidity in the air condenses to form condensed water ( 914 ) and is collected by collector ( 13 ). from the collector ( 13 ), water ( 914 ) travels into a primary storage tank ( 14 ). pump ( 11 ) directs water ( 914 ) from the primary storage tank ( 14 ) to an ultraviolet filter ( 10 ), which from there is directed to a solid particle filter ( 9 ) and optionally a water structuring device ( 8 ) to then form purified water ( 916 ). through purified water ( 916 ) is then directed to the main storage tank ( 2 ). the purified water ( 916 ) may then be dispensed from the main storage tank ( 2 ), or upon reaching a certain level , recycled through the purifying process by actuating solenoid valve ( 6 ). dry air ( 918 ) formed after the condensing of the water is pulled through the system ( 900 ) by fan ( 7 ) and pushed across the radiator assembly ( 3 ) and to the exterior ( 920 ) of the system ( 900 ). the teachings of the references cited throughout the specification are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference to the extent they are not inconsistent with the teachings herein . it should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and the scope of the appended claims .
4
without any intent to limit the scope of this invention , reference is made to the figures in describing the various embodiments of the invention . referring to fig1 through 4 , a sports and recreational trailer 100 , chassis 101 can support platform 102 , in a number of ways . one such way is directly , i . e . is permanently affixed to chassis 101 . another method is an elevational connection , that is , a platform that is able to be lifted up relative to chassis 101 , which will be discussed in greater detail below . other modes of connectivity would be possible as well , and evident to those skilled in the art . chassis 101 would likely be mobile in most applications , to provide added convenience and utility . mobility can be achieved by attaching various mobility - enabling devices such as wheels 103 for general utility , skids 116 if in a more arctic climate or even buoyant devices , such as pontoon floats 117 if in an aquatic environment . part of trailer &# 39 ; s 100 mobility is being able to be affixed to a towing vehicle 115 , such as a car , truck , snowmobile or all - terrain vehicle ( atv ) via hitch 104 . the trailer 100 could also conceivably be self - propelled if desired . if trailer 100 is in a configuration by which platform 102 is able to be elevated , additional parts will be configured as part of trailer 100 . one such part would be lift 105 , which can be attached to platform 102 and to chassis 101 . using lift 105 , platform 102 may be elevated as illustrated in fig5 . such lift 105 would be comprised mainly of linkage 133 attached to chassis 101 . linkage 133 would comprise a series of crossed bars 134 , each forming a section 135 , with the overall number of sections 135 dependent upon the desired maximum height of the device , as well as other factors which may warrant additional sections 135 . examples of such varying needs include increased weight capacity or space constraints , such as the need for a shorter trailer . first leg 137 of first section 136 of linkage 133 would be pivotally attached to a fixed point of chassis 101 . second leg 138 would be slidably attached to chassis 101 by way of channel 139 , which would permit lateral movement of second leg 138 . such lateral movement is necessary to facilitate the elevation of platform 102 . horizontal braces 107 may also be utilized to provide additional stability and weight capacity . other types of lifting mechanisms could also be used , but this particular iteration permits platform 102 to remain flat when in the down position , substantially parallel to chassis 101 . this enables efficient use of space and minimal intrusion of lift 105 and platform 102 when in the stowed , or down position , as well as permitting platform 102 to be used for storage when in the down position , rather than occupying space on the trailer , as other devices in the art do . to counteract any torquing forces that may result from the higher center of gravity when elevated , chassis 101 may be outfitted with stabilizers 110 . these may be mounted in several ways , and in several configurations , one of which is pictured in fig5 . in this particular embodiment , stabilizers 110 are attached to the rear and / or front of chassis 101 and rotate down to engage the ground below when needed . stabilizers 110 can take various forms , such as that listed here , as well as telescoping bars that extend out of the box steel forming chassis 101 , as in fig1 , or any other out rigging device that could prevent rotational motion of trailer 100 . platform 102 may also be equipped with various other accoutrements to facilitate activities on trailer 100 . one such example would be collapsible shelter 111 , which may be used during hunting or fishing , among other things , for protection from weather . collapsible shelter 111 would comprise structural ribs 112 that support material 113 such as canvas , nylon , plastic or the like , forming collapsible shelter 111 . alternately , railing 118 can be employed about the perimeter of platform 102 . railing 118 can be used to retain objects within trailer 100 or to support concealing mesh 119 or other material , and need not be permanently attached to platform 102 . concealing mesh 119 can be used to prevent game from spotting the user of trailer 100 and / or as shelter from the weather when affixed to railing 118 or collapsible shelter 111 . in addition , platform 102 may have opening ( s ) 114 in strategically placed positions on the floor to permit access to the ground below . this enables users of trailer 100 to access the surface below for activities like ice fishing , where access to the ground is required . openings 114 can be used with doors 120 so that openings might not always be exposed and objects pass therethrough . platform 102 may also be configured to permit its rotation about wheels 103 by being releasably attached to hitch 104 . in this manner , platform 102 can be permitted to tilt until it contacts the ground . this precludes the need for a ramp for loading snowmobiles , atv &# 39 ; s or similar items . ramp 121 can be utilized , if desired , which doubles as a retaining device to keep loaded items within trailer 100 when ramp 121 is closed . dropping hitch assembly 152 may be configured to permit trailer 100 to raise and lower independently of the hitch 104 . this is accomplished by having tongue 123 from trailer 100 connected to another piece which attaches to the towing vehicle . the two can be connected in multiple ways , one of which is in a hinged fashion as illustrated in fig6 . this configuration has pivot 151 whereby hitch 104 remains stationary and tongue 123 moves downward , permitting trailer 100 to rest flat on the ground when axles 122 are also disengaged . axle 122 may be constructed in various ways to permit trailer 100 to be lowered and put in substantial contact with the ground beneath it . one method is to have stub axle 124 connected to suspension component 129 , such as leaf spring 125 or similar device , which would be hinged at rear point 126 , and front point 127 would be detachable . it should be noted that this could be configured in the reverse , namely that front point 127 could be hinged , while rear point 126 could be detachable , however in the pictured embodiment , the former method was chosen . in either case , while in the up position , as pictured in fig3 a , axle pin 128 can be employed to hold suspension component 129 in place . also part of this assembly would be suspension winch 130 with cable 131 that would be used to raise and lower the detachable point of suspension component 129 . this procedure is outlined in greater detail below . in operation , hitch 104 and trailer 100 can remain in the standard position , or lowered in order to be flush with the ground . if the latter is desired , hitch 104 and trailer 100 must be lowered , though not necessarily in that order . dropping hitch assembly 152 can be lowered by removing axle hitch pin 150 . this permits the front end of the trailer to move toward the surface below it , while hitch 104 remains attached to towing vehicle 115 . the second step of lowering trailer 101 is to disengage the axles 122 . this is achieved by removing axle pin ( s ) 128 and actuating suspension winch 130 such that the cable 131 would be released , which allows detachable front point 127 of the suspension component 129 to move upwards , and , in turn , trailer 100 moves downward toward the surface below it under trailer &# 39 ; s 100 own weight . once this procedure is complete , trailer 100 is once again level and ready for use . as previously mentioned , trailer 100 can be used in various activities . in operation as a ground blind , trailer 100 would first be positioned in the desired spot . if desired , trailer may be lowered by disengaging hitch 104 and axle 122 . railing 118 can then be installed , if not fixed , and concealing mesh 119 may be arranged to provide optimal coverage . user may then engage in the desired activity , such as predator calling , observation , hunting or the like . in operation as an elevated stand , again , trailer 100 will be positioned where desired , and can then be lowered using axle 122 and hitch 104 . alternately , stabilizers 110 can be used if the user does not wish to lower trailer 100 . lift 105 may then be employed to raise platform 102 . in order to do this , an upward force must be applied to platform 102 . on such method of accomplishing this would be to utilize winch 140 , which can be either manual or motorized , to draw in cable 141 or other strand - like material which is attached to second leg 138 by way of pulley 142 . pulley 142 can also be attached to lifting bar 143 , which consists of a bar 144 and roller 145 . winch 140 is actuated , which causes lifting bar 143 to rotate , and as this occurs , whereby roller 145 moves along first leg 137 of linkage 133 . as lifting bar 143 rotates the vertical position of roller 145 moves upward , taking with it first leg 137 . once lifting bar 143 is in a substantially vertical position lifting bar 143 is mechanically prohibited from further torquing , thus the pulling force from cable 141 on pulley 142 transfers to second leg 138 of lift 105 . this force slides second leg 138 along channel 139 toward the end of trailer 100 , in turn causing lift 105 to further elevate platform 102 . to aid in the elevating action , compressible mounts 146 may be employed to assist in providing the requisite upward force by attaching them to the lift 105 and to chassis 101 . once elevated to the desired height , user may then perform the desired activity , such as hunt , practice shoot , paint or the like . in operation as an ice fishing hut , trailer 100 will likely be located on a frozen body of water where fishing is desired . axle 122 and hitch 104 may then be lowered , thus putting chassis 101 in direct contact with the ground below . doors 120 to openings 114 may then be opened to access the ice below in order to fish . in operation as a utility trailer , ramp 121 may be used to load wheeled or other mobile devices onto trailer 100 , or items can be stored behind railing 118 . trailer 100 could then be towed normally , used to lift or lower loaded items , or various other activities as previously described . although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims .
1
embodiments of a unique clay stabilizer comprise a mixture of constituents applicable for use in heterogeneous shale / clay formations to minimize swelling and migration of fines within in the formation . more particularly , the clay stabilizer is an aqueous - based composition which can be used as an additive in other wellbore fluids or can be used alone as a treatment for the wellbore , typically in a soaking operation . the clay stabilizer comprises effective amounts of two or more amine salts which are capable of cation exchange within one or more clay types that exist in heterogeneous formations . each of the amine salts are selected to have a different molecular weight molecular configuration and ionic strength relative to each of the other of the two or more amine salts so as to permit transport into different size pore spaces within the formation for effecting the cation exchange therein . embodiments of the clay stabilizer are particularly useful because the types of clays which exist in a heterogeneous formation are typically not known and in many cases , treatment of a wellbore to improve production is done without any knowledge of the specific clays present . due to the different molecular sizes present in the formulation and the ability of each to exchange cations , embodiments of the clay stabilizer provide a substantially universal clay stabilizer for use in a wide variety of homogeneous and heterogeneous clay / shale formations . in one embodiment of the invention , the clay stabilizer comprises one or more low molecular weight amine salts in a range from c 1 to about c 18 which are capable of transport and cation exchange within small ( micropore ) and intermediate ( mesopore ) pore spaces in the formation . the low molecular weight amine salts may comprise at least one small molecular weight amine salt having from 1 to 2 carbon atoms . further , the clay stabilizer typically has at least one low molecular weight amine having a molecular size being up to about one order of magnitude greater than that of the 1 - 2 carbon amine salt . typically embodiments which incorporate two or more small molecular weight amine salts can be used in any aqueous wellbore fluid , including drilling mud . in one embodiment , the formulation may comprise a low molecular weight cationic amine , typically having a small number of carbon atoms , preferably c 1 or c 2 , but which can include any of the following and mixtures thereof and which readily migrate into at least small ( micropore ) to intermediate ( mesopore ) pore spaces : choline bicarbonate or choline chloride , potassium chloride , ammonium chloride , various metal halides , aliphatic hydroxyl acids , low molecular weight alkyl ammonium chlorides and tetramethyl ammonium chloride ( tmac ) and the like . preferably , choline bicarbonate or choline chloride are used . further , the formulation may comprise a protonated amine , preferably having from one to about seven available amine groups . more particularly the protonated amine is an alkylamine or alkylpolyamine preferably hexamethylenediamine ( hmd ) which is particularly useful as it is readily mobile in the micropore spaces due to its relatively linear configuration . the protonated amine is typically from about the same order of magnitude to one order of magnitude greater in molecular weight than the cationic amine . optionally , methylamine , butylamine , n - methyl - n -( propyl or isopropyl ) amine ; n , n - diethyl amine ; n - methyl - n - ethylamine ; and n , n - dimethylamine , n , n - dimethyl - n - ethylamine and the homologous series of alkyldiamines ranging from ethylenediamine to octamethylenediamine may be used . further , alkylpolyamines ranging from triamines to heptamines may also be used . an organic acid , preferably formic acid , is added for ph adjustment of the formulation and is particularly useful in providing ph adjustment for the protonated amine , such as hmd , which are ph sensitive . the protonated amines are capable of cationic exchange only when in the protonated state . a ph of greater than 9 . 0 was most beneficial in ensuring protonation and in preventing clay hydration , however formulations have been prepared in a range of from about ph 4 to about ph 11 by adjusting the concentration of the protonated amine in the formulation . mineral acids may be used as well , although the ph is more difficult to control . other acids which may be used include , but are not limited to , acetic acid , glycolic acid , propionic acid , malic acid , citric acid , phosphoric acid , sulphamic acid and hydrochloric acid . additionally , the formulation may comprise substantially any long chain poly quaternary amine having high to very high cationic charge density and having a molecular weight of less than about 5000 atomic mass units and which is easily soluble in aqueous fluids . the poly quaternary amine typically has a molecular weight of at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than that of the cationic amine . the long chain cationic polymers provide migration into relatively larger or macro pore spaces . the structure of the poly quaternary amines are such that there are a plurality of cationic sites available which are adsorbed simultaneously to the clay surface . in order for the poly quaternary amine to desorb from the clay , all of the cationic sites must simultaneously be displaced . the probability of these occurring is negligible , hence creating a substantially permanent cation exchange at the clay surface . the cationic polymers could include , but are not limited to , polydimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride or more generally any cationic poly quaternary amine formed by the condensation of dimethylamine with epichlorohydrin or any cationic poly quaternary amines that contain a large number (& gt ; 200 ) of quaternerized nitrogen atoms . in one embodiment , the long chain polymer is a poly quaternary amine such as callaway 4015 ™, obtained from vulcan performance chemicals . typically clay stabilizers according to embodiments of the invention to be used in drilling fluids will not contain the poly quaternary amines as drilling mud often contains highly anionic species which are not compatible therewith . instead a protonated polyamine , such as tetraethylene pentamine which has multiple cationic sites , a relatively large structure and limited mobility , is used to achieve relatively the same function as the poly quaternary amine , but which is compatible with the highly anionic species present in most drilling fluids . embodiments of the clay stabilizer which include the poly quaternary amines are particularly useful in treating existing wellbores such as with fracturing fluids , acidizing fluids or in a soaking of the formation about the wellbore . contrary to the general knowledge in the industry , applicant has noted that when embodiments of the clay stabilizer formulation which comprise the long chain poly quaternary amine are used to treat a wellbore which has already suffered damage as a result of clay swelling , significant improvement in production is achieved . applicant believes that the significant and substantially permanent restoration of permeability is due to modification of clay swelling which is responsible for the improvement in performance water 43 . 0 - 51 . 0 % ethylene glycol * 0 - 8 . 0 % formic acid , 85 % 10 . 0 % hexamethylenediamine , 90 % 19 . 0 % choline bicarbonate ( low molecular weight cationic 10 . 0 % species ) cationic polyquaternaryamine 10 . 0 % all percentages are percent by weight . * ethylene glycol may be added for winterization . use of an embodiment of the invention as described above was compared to simple cation exchange using kcl as a method for preventing swelling of clay or shale or reversing damage as a result of using untreated water in a formation . a capillary suction timer test was performed by mixing formation materials with water , both untreated and treated with either an embodiment of the invention or with kcl . the longer the drainage time that was observed , the more swelling and fines migration or formation damage that has occurred . the results of the following tests are found in table 1 . synthetic clay was treated with a 3 % solution of kcl and with an embodiment of the invention at a rate of 4 l / m 3 to illustrate the effect of both on prevention of swelling in the formation . the same test was performed as in test a however the synthetic clay had already been exposed to untreated water to show restoration in drainage using both kcl and an embodiment of the invention . following test b fresh water was washed through the synthetic clay which had been treated with either kcl or an embodiment of the invention to illustrate the permanence of the restoration of permeability and the potential protective effect of treating a formation with an embodiment of the invention . table i treated with untreated treated with formulation clay ( sec ) kcl ( 3 %) ( sec ) 4 l / m 3 ( sec ) test a drainage rates 64 13 . 9 11 . 2 test b drainage rates 64 27 11 . 5 test c drainage rates 64 38 13 . 1 it is clear that the formulation according to an embodiment of the invention was more successful in preventing swelling than kcl . further , the formulation was capable of reversing damage caused by earlier exposure to untreated water to a greater degree than kcl and the reversing of the damage was substantially permanent compared to kcl , which “ washes out ” of the formation when presented with additional fresh water . an embodiment of the invention was compared to simple cation exchange using kcl as a method for preventing swelling of clay or shale or reversing damage as a result of using untreated water in a formation . a capillary shale stabilizer test was performed by mixing formation materials with water , both untreated and treated with either an embodiment of the invention or with kcl . the longer the drainage time observed , the more swelling and fines migration or formation damage that has occurred . treatment of formation materials using water alone illustrates a large drainage time consistant with swelling and fines migration seen with formation damage . treatment using an embodiment of the invention alone illustrates significant reduction in the drainage times and therefore a significant reduction in clay swelling both at a high and a low treatment rate . formation materials which were already exposed to water and which had significant swelling were exposed to the formulation alone . a significant decrease in drainage times was observed indicating a restoration of permeability , likely due to a reversal of swelling . a variety of foamers were added to the formulation prior to treatment of the formation materials . the addition of anionic foamers generally reduces the permeability , however the addition of a cationic foamer does not affect the restoration of permeability . silica flour and bentonite were finely ground to less than 100 microns . a slurry was prepared using 5 g ground silica flour , 1 . 0 g bentonite and 50 ml fluid , the fluid being those listed in table 3 . a capillary shale stabilizer test was performed to determine drainage rates as discussed in the previous examples . it was evident that treatment with acid could displace the clay stabilizer from the clay . applicant believes that it may be the large excess of hydronium ion which overwhelms the equilibrium . thus , it is thought that the large volumes of acid used in an acid stimulation might reverse the effects of the clay stabilizer however treatment with clay stabilizer following treatment with acid is capable of restoring permeability , likely by reversing swelling .
2
a preferred embodiment of an apparatus 10 utilized for controlling power to an electrically powered device is shown in fig1 - 3 , in the form of an extension cord . the apparatus 10 comprises of at least one controlled socket 11 , a casing 12 , a plug 13 , a switch 14 , and a cord 15 . in fig4 , the interior components of the apparatus 10 are shown and in fig6 a circuit block diagram for the apparatus 10 is shown . the apparatus 10 further comprises at least a radio transceiver 50 a , a microprocessor 41 , a switch 61 , and a power converter . additionally , light - emitting diodes ( led ) 16 provide status indication . the plug 13 is used to receive alternating current ( ac ) power , and the switch 61 is connected in between the socket 11 and the plug 13 . the microprocessor 41 receives direct current ( dc ) power , decodes a control signal from a remote control , such as a handheld device , via the radio transceiver 50 a , and then controls the switch 61 based on the decoded control signal . the switch 61 is preferably a latching relay controlled by the microprocessor 41 , according to the control signal received from the remote control device . the latching relay minimizes the power usage of the electrical device connected to the apparatus 10 , independent of the state of the switch 61 . further embodiments of the present invention include additional onboard energy storage , with sensing or measuring capabilities , in various form factors embedded or interfaced with various electrical components such as , but not limited to ; cords , outlets , converters , circuit breakers and surge protectors . additional embodiments of the present invention include combining a single or multiple energy harvesting sources to provide power to control the relay . in the preferred embodiment , the radio transceiver 50 a preferably includes an antenna 50 positioned within the cord 15 in order to increase the reception power of transceiver . in addition to the antenna , the cord 15 also comprises of three wires 42 - 44 ( hot , neutral and ground ), which are further detailed in fig5 . the antenna runs parallel in the power cord for increased performance . fig5 shows the internal components of the cord 15 . there are conductors for the three wires 42 - 44 for the socket and a fourth encased conductor 55 for the antenna 50 , all preferably molded within insulating material 51 . the antenna 50 preferably comprises of a protective sleeve 52 , a shielding copper braid 53 , foam 54 , and a copper conductor 55 ; or other such materials typically used to protect the antenna 50 from interference of the other wires 42 - 44 . further , the antenna 50 is preferably positioned as far as possible from the three other wires 42 - 44 to minimize the interference from the wires 42 - 44 . the apparatus 10 of this embodiment preferably has two controlled sockets 11 located on the front of the module . the casing 12 is preferably injection molded insulating material . both sockets 11 are controlled with the same on / off command . the apparatus 10 is comparable in function and usability to standard extension cords and plugs . the mechanical interactions for the user using the apparatus 10 does not compromise safety or functionality compared to standard extension cords and plugs . the apparatus 10 plugs securely into a single outlet of a standard duplex wall receptacle and the plug 13 is configured in such a way that the other outlet is not impeded . each socket 11 of the apparatus 10 preferably has a current rating of 15 amperes ( a ) at 120 volts in alternating current ( v ac ). a pushbutton switch 14 on the apparatus 10 , when activated , preferably resets the apparatus 10 to the factory default conditions for the configuration settings . the apparatus 10 has a led indicator 16 that is on when the apparatus 10 obtains and maintains a wireless connection to the lan ( local area network ) and off when the apparatus 10 does not have a wireless connection to the lan . the led indicator 16 also preferably represents the state of the outlet power for the apparatus 10 as well , which is preferably accomplished by blinking in a set pattern . alternatively , the led indicator 16 flashes accordingly to indicate the status of the wireless connection . in the event of a power failure , the apparatus 10 automatically returns managed sockets 11 to the previous state , prior to power interruption . in the event of a dropped wireless connection , the apparatus 10 maintains port settings last set by the user , prior to the loss of wireless connectivity , until the wireless connectivity is restored or until the user disconnects the apparatus 10 . a procedure for initializing an apparatus is shown in fig1 . at block 183 , after a power loss or when the apparatus 10 is plugged in , the microcontroller 41 executes a program 160 for initializing the apparatus 10 . at block 184 , the power on timer is reset . at decision 185 , if the wi - fi is not initialized , the leds for all of the relays are set to on and the apparatus is the wi - fi timer is reset at block 189 , which times the seconds passed since the last ping . if the wi - fi is initialized at decision block 185 and there is no ping timeout at decision block 187 , then the relays are set to the last command value before the loss of power 188 . if there is a ping timeout at decision block 187 then the relays are set to on a block 186 , and then the wi - fi timer is reset at block 189 . after resetting the wi - fi timer at block 189 , the program 160 checks for any pending wi - fi commands at decision block 191 . if there are no pending wi - fi commands at decision block 191 and no ping timeouts at decision block 192 , then the program 160 returns to check for a wi - fi command at decision block 191 . if there is a ping timeout at decision block 192 then the wi - fi led indicator 16 is set to off at block 193 and the timeout flag is set at block 194 . then the program 160 returns to the wi - fi initialization step at decision block 185 . if there are pending wi - fi commands at block 191 and there is a relay command at decision block 195 , then the new data from the command is written into the “ last ” command values block 196 and the program 160 returns to setting the relays and led to the “ last ” command value at block 188 . if there is no relay command at decision block 195 then the program 160 checks for a config command at decision block 197 . if there is a config command at decision block 197 , then the configuration information is updated at block 198 and the program 160 returns to checking for ping timeouts at decision block 192 . if there is no config command at decision block 197 , then error status bits are set and the program 160 returns to checking for ping timeouts at decision block 192 . an alternative embodiment of an apparatus 20 utilized for controlling power to an electrically powered device is shown in fig7 - 9 , in the form of a compact box style receptacle . yet another alternative embodiment of an apparatus 30 utilized for controlling power to an electrically powered device is shown in fig1 - 13 , in the form of a compact box style receptacle . the alternative embodiments are similar to the preferred embodiment , the distinction being in the physical type , and / or shape . the apparatus 20 / 30 is preferably shaped as a rectangle and is approximately 2 inches × 2 inches × 1 . 5 inches . the apparatus 20 / 30 preferably has two controlled sockets 11 located on the sides of the module . the casing 12 is preferably injection molded insulating material . both sockets 11 are controlled with the same on / off command . the apparatus 20 / 30 is comparable in function and usability to standard extension cords and plugs . the mechanical interactions for the user using the apparatus 20 / 30 does not compromise safety or functionality compared to standard extension cords and plugs . the apparatus 20 / 30 plugs securely into a single outlet of a standard duplex wall receptacle and the plug 13 is configured in such a way that the other outlet is not impeded . each socket 11 of the apparatus 20 / 30 has a current rating of 15 a at 120v ac . the apparatus 20 / 30 has a led indicator 16 that is on when the apparatus 20 / 30 obtains and maintains a wireless connection to the lan ( local area network ) and off when the apparatus 20 / 30 does not have a wireless connection to the lan . in the event of a power failure , the apparatus 20 / 30 automatically returns managed sockets 11 to the previous state , prior to power interruption . in the event of a dropped wireless connection , the apparatus 20 / 30 maintains port settings last set by the user , prior to the loss of wireless connectivity , until the wireless connectivity is restored or the user disconnects the apparatus 20 / 30 . a pushbutton switch 14 on the apparatus 20 / 30 , when activated , preferably resets the apparatus 20 / 30 to the factory default conditions for the configuration settings . yet another embodiment of an apparatus 40 utilized for controlling power to an electrically powered device is shown in fig1 - 15 , in the form of a power strip . the embodiment of fig1 - 15 is another variation of the apparatus 10 in the form of a power strip . the apparatus 40 is shaped similarly to currently available power strips . the casing 12 is preferably injection molded insulating material . the apparatus 40 preferably has six independently controlled sockets 110 and two sockets which remain constantly on 111 . the device is comparable in function and usability to standard power strips and plugs . the mechanical interactions for the user using the apparatus 40 does not compromise safety or functionality compared to standard extension cords and plugs . the apparatus 40 plugs securely into a single outlet of a standard duplex wall receptacle and the plug 13 is configured in such a way that the other outlet is not impeded . each socket 110 - 111 of the apparatus 40 preferably has a current rating of 15 a at 120v ac . the apparatus 40 has a led indicator 112 that is on when the device obtains and maintains a wireless connection to the lan ( local area network ) and off when the device does not have a wireless connection to the lan . in the event of a power failure , the apparatus 40 automatically returns managed sockets 110 to the previous state , prior to power interruption . in the event of a dropped wireless connection , the apparatus 40 maintains port settings last set by the user , prior to the loss of wireless connectivity , until the wireless connectivity is restored or the user disconnects the apparatus 40 . a pushbutton switch 114 on the device 40 , when activated , preferably resets the device 40 to the factory default conditions for the configuration settings . a system 100 of the preferred embodiment is shown in fig1 . a table lamp 32 is plugged into one of the sockets 11 of the apparatus 10 , and the plug 13 at the other end of the cord 15 of the apparatus 10 is plugged into a typical wall outlet 31 . a user controls the lamp 32 from a distance using the touch screen commands 215 on a smartphone 210 . a wifi signal is sent from the smartphone 210 and received at the antenna 50 , not shown in fig1 , of the transceiver of the cord 15 . the wifi signal instructs the microprocessor 41 of the apparatus 10 to deactivate the electrical power to the table lamp 32 . when the apparatus 10 is connected to electrical power from the wall outlet at block 161 , the microcontroller 41 executes a program 150 , which is shown in fig1 . if the deployment configuration is not set up at decision block 162 on the apparatus 10 , then the switch 61 and the led are turned on at block 163 . if there is a no wi - fi command received at decision block 164 , then the program 150 returns to check for the deployment configuration at decision block 162 . if there is a wi - fi command received at decision block 164 but there is no configuration command at decision block 165 , then the program 150 returns to check the deployment configuration at decision block 162 . if there is a configuration command at decision block 165 , then the configuration command is processed block 166 and the program 150 returns to check the deployment configuration at decision block 162 . if the deployment configuration is set up at decision block 162 and there are ping timeouts at decision block 167 , then the switch 61 is set to on at block 168 and the led 16 is set to blink at block 169 . if there are no ping timeouts at decision block 167 , then the program 150 checks if the pushbutton 14 was triggered at decision block 171 . if the pushbutton 14 was held for more than 3 seconds at decision block 172 but less than 20 seconds at decision block 173 , then the switch 61 is set to on at block 175 . if the pushbutton 14 was held for more than 20 seconds at decision block 173 , then the factory default configuration is set at block 174 and the switch 61 is set to on at block 175 . if the pushbutton 14 was held for less than 3 seconds at decision block 172 then the program 150 moves on to the next step at decision block 176 . if a wi - fi command is received at decision block 176 then the ping timeout is reset block 177 and the command received is processed at block 178 . then the program 150 moves on to the next step block 179 . if a wi - fi command is not received at decision block 176 , then the program 150 tests for scheduled events block 179 . if there is a scheduled event pending at decision block 181 then the switch 61 and led 16 statuses are updated block 182 and the program 150 returns to check for ping timeouts decision block 167 . if there are no scheduled events pending decision block 181 then the program 150 returns to check for ping timeouts decision block 167 . in fig2 , a program 170 is executed when the microcontroller 41 receives an interrupt signal at block 201 from the radio 50 ; i . e ., when the apparatus 10 receives a command , as in fig1 . if the ssid and the ip ( internet protocol ) address are valid t decision block 202 , and there is a wi - fi ping at decision block 203 , then a ping response at block 204 is set up . the radio command is set to transmit a response packet at block 205 , and then the interrupt service routine ( isr ) returns at block 213 . if there is no wi - fi ping decision block 203 and the command is not valid decision block 206 , then the command error flag is set block 207 and the isr returns at block 213 . if the command is valid decision block 206 and the read command is executed at decision block 208 , the new data is written into the transmit ( tx ) buffer at block 209 and the radio command is set to transmit a response packet at block 205 , and the isr returns at block 213 . if the read command is not executed at decision block 208 , then data is retrieved from the receive ( rx ) buffer at block 211 , the command pending flag is set at block 212 , and the isr returns at block 213 . the apparatus 10 permits the user to configure the apparatus 10 out of the box using a web user interface ( webui ), a personal computer (“ pc ”) program or a wifi enabled hand held device ( smartphone ) via ad - hoc wireless , allowing the user to program in home network information , such as the wireless router ssid ( service set identifier ) and security keys , as necessary for web connectivity . a networked system 140 of the preferred embodiment is shown in fig1 . the webui is preferably hosted on the apparatus 10 and is accessible via interconnected network devices . the webui , pc program or wifi enabled hand held is addressable via the assigned ip address of the apparatus 10 . the apparatus 10 can be controlled from various devices such as , but not limited to , computers 143 or mobile handhelds 210 . in a typical network , the router 144 and the access point 145 provide the wireless connectivity between the apparatus 10 and the remote , such as a smart phone 210 . an alternative embodiment of the system 140 is illustrated in fig1 a . in this embodiment , the mobile handheld device 210 wireless communicates directly with the antenna 50 of the apparatus 10 preferably using a wifi communication protocol . fig2 shows a smart phone 210 displaying touch screen commands 215 of an application for controlling power to electrically powered devices plugged into the apparatus 10 . in fig1 , a system 141 shows a television 146 plugged into the first installed apparatus 10 , which is plugged into a wall outlet 31 . another system 142 shows a printer 146 a and a monitor 146 b plugged into a secondary apparatus 10 b , which is plugged into a wall outlet 31 b . the first installed apparatus 10 is the master apparatus 10 and monitors the network for any additional apparatus 10 b . when a new apparatus 10 b is detected on the network , the first apparatus 10 remotely manages other apparatus 10 b using a single webui , pc program or wifi enabled hand held . the user will either : a ) logon to the original apparatus 10 and have selectable tabs and additional options to manage all of the apparatus 10 b on the network ; or b ) manage each apparatus 10 b discretely using individual ip addresses . local user settings to the individual apparatus 10 b supersede commands and / or timers from the master apparatus 10 . the apparatus 10 is compatible with various web browsers such as , but not limited to , mozilla firefox , microsoft explorer and google chrome . a simple webui home page allows individual management and supervision of each socket 11 such as , but not limited to , setting multiple timers and toggling on / off selections of individual sockets 11 . an example of a web page , of a status window 190 , is shown in fig2 . the status page 190 displays the status of the devices and users can turn devices off or on from this page . fig2 shows another example of a web page , a report window 200 that a user can access to generate a report in order to analyze or compare the consumption of energy by devices or activities or dates . yet another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig2 . in this embodiment , the apparatus 10 is a junction box with a cord 15 having the three wires 42 - 44 and the antenna 50 . the junction box contains a high power relay 49 and most of the circuitry 48 shown in reference to fig6 . the loose wires 42 - 44 can be hard wired to various electrical powered devices and a fixed ( household ) power source or a mobile ( generator ) power source . the junction box is preferably a 4 inch × 4 inch non - metallic box . the junction box embodiment can be utilized with 115 volt applications , 220 volt applications and three - phase applications . yet another embodiment is shown in fig2 a . in this embodiment , the apparatus 10 is a junction box with a cord 15 connected to plug 13 on one end and a socket on the other end . the junction box contains a high power relay 49 and most of the circuitry 48 shown in reference to fig6 . the junction box is preferably a 4 inch × 4 inch non - metallic box . the junction box embodiment can be utilized with 115 volt applications , 220 volt applications and three - phase applications . yet another embodiment is illustrated in fig2 . in this embodiment , the apparatus has a cord 15 with the circuitry is in a central region of the cord 15 and shown as a bulge 12 in the cord 15 . the cord has a plug 13 on one end and a socket 11 on the other end . a pushbutton switch 14 on the apparatus 10 , when activated , preferably resets the apparatus 10 to the factory default conditions for the configuration settings . the apparatus 10 has a pair of led indicators 16 and 17 that are on when the apparatus 10 obtains and maintains a wireless connection to the lan ( local area network ) and off when the apparatus 10 does not have a wireless connection to the lan . the led indicators 16 and 17 also preferably represent the state of the outlet power for the apparatus 10 as well , which is preferably accomplished by blinking in a set pattern . alternatively , the led indicators 16 and 17 flashes accordingly to indicate the status of the wireless connection . yet another embodiment is illustrated in fig2 a . in this embodiment , the apparatus has a cord 15 with the circuitry is in a central region of the cord 15 and shown as a bulge 12 in the cord 15 . the cord has the three wires 42 - 44 and the antenna 50 . the loose wires 42 - 44 can be hard wired to various electrical powered devices and a fixed ( household ) power source or a mobile ( generator ) power source . a pushbutton switch 14 on the apparatus 10 , when activated , preferably resets the apparatus 10 to the factory default conditions for the configuration settings . the apparatus 10 has a pair of led indicators 16 and 17 that are on when the apparatus 10 obtains and maintains a wireless connection to the lan ( local area network ) and off when the apparatus 10 does not have a wireless connection to the lan . the led indicators 16 and 17 also preferably represent the state of the outlet power for the apparatus 10 as well , which is preferably accomplished by blinking in a set pattern . alternatively , the led indicators 16 and 17 flashes accordingly to indicate the status of the wireless connection . from the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readily understand that while the present invention has been described in association with a preferred embodiment thereof , and other embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings , numerous changes modification and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claim . therefore , the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following appended claims .
8
the spray - on - and - wipe - off hard surface cleaning compositions of the present invention comprise an organic solvent ; a surfactant or surfactant mixture ; a colorant , most typically a water soluble dye ; a colorant stabilizer , and water . the compositions have an acidic ph , and may further include as optional ingredients one or more of the following : acidifying agents , perfumes , builders , hydrotropes , chelating or sequestering agents , viscosity modifiers , and the like . organic solvents suitable for inclusion in hard surface cleaning compositions of the type under consideration herein include monohydric alcohols having 2 to 8 carbons ; polyhydric alcohols , especially glycols having 2 to about 10 carbons ; and c 1 to c 4 alkyl ethers of alkylene glycols and polyalkylene glycols , said glycol ethers having a total of from 3 to about 12 carbons . in many instances , it is preferred to incorporate a mixture of the lower boiling monohydric alcohols , especially such alcohols having from 2 to 6 carbons , and the higher boiling polyhydric alcohols or glycol ethers , to achieve a desired rate of evaporation of the composition from the work surface . in other instances a higher boiling solvent may be used singly or in combination with one or more other higher boiling solvents . preferably , the higher boiling polyhydric alcohol or glycol ether solvents have a boiling point between about 120 ° to about 250 ° c . suitable monohydric ( lower boiling ) solvents include methyl alcohol , ethyl alcohol , n - propyl and isopropyl alcohols , n - butyl alcohol , etc . typically , such solvents are not incorporated singly or in admixture one with the other , but rather are admixed with one or more higher boiling solvents as previously indicated . suitable polyhydric alcohol solvents include ethylene glycol ; propylene glycol ; 1 , 2 - butanediol ; 1 , 3 - butanediol ; tetramethylene glycol , 1 , 2 - pentanediol , pentamethylene glycol ; and 1 , 6 - hexanediol , while of the glycol ether solvents mention may be made of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether ; ethylene glycol monoethyl ether ; ethylene glycol monobutyl ether ; propylene glycol monoethyl ether propylene glycol tertiary butyl ether ; diethylene glycol monoethyl ether ; diethylene glycol monobutyl ether ; tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether ; tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; β , β - dihydroxydiethyl ether ( i . e ., diethylene glycol ); ethylene glycol di -( β - hydroxyethyl ) ether ( i . e ., triethylene glycol ); ethylene glycol monophenyl ether ; and cyclohexyl ethyl ether . especially suitable are glycol ethers having from 5 to 8 carbons in the molecule . preferred are ethylene glycol monobutyl ether ; propylene glycol monobutyl ether ; propylene glycol tertiary butyl ether , and tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether . the solvent in ready - to - use compositions may be present in an amount of up to about 30 % by weight of the composition , although solvent concentrations more typically range from about 2 to about 15 % by weight of the composition , preferably from about 5 to about 15 %, most preferably from about 7 to 12 % in concentrate composition intended to be diluted with water prior to use , the solvent may be present in an amount of up to about 50 % by weight , the composition after dilution having a solvent concentration similar to that of the ready - to - use version . the concentrate compositions may be applied full strength for problem soils . the ready - to - use or the concentrate compositions subsequent to dilution should not contain in excess of the solubility limit of the solvent in the composition as a whole , as shaking of the composition is then necessary during use by the consumer . by blending of the low boiling , more water - soluble solvents , concentrations of the higher boiling solvents in excess of their water solubility may be achieved . observations of compositions containing a glycol ether as the solvent or one solvent in a solvent system have shown that colorants , e . g ., dyes , included in the compositions have a tendency to fade over time , which fading tendency is aggravated as the concentration of the glycol ether in the compositions increases . moreover , this fading problem is more manifest at elevated temperature conditions , such as may be encountered during warehouse storage at summer temperatures . consideration of possible causative factors for dye decolorization led to the belief that there might be impurities associated with the glycol ether type solvents which would react or otherwise interact with chromophore sites present in the dyes . such mechanism is supported by the observation of more rapid fading of the dye as the concentration of the glycol ether solvents increased and by the fading rate increase as temperature increased . analysis of a commercial sample of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether indicated that various impurities were present , namely , butanol , butyl butal , 2 - ethylhexene - 2 - ol , diethylene glycol monobutyl ether , 2 - hydroxyethyl butyrate , and butoxyacetic acid . these materials are attributable to reactants in the manufacture of the solvent by reaction of butanol with ethylene oxide ; to by - products of the reaction , and to easily formed air degradation impurities . treatment of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether with air at 100 ° c . to accelerate aging resulted in the formation of n - butyraldehyde , butylformate , 2 - butoxy - acetaldehyde , 2 - isobutoxyethanol and butyl butyrate . it is also believed that highly reactive peroxide species are also formed , most likely as a result of air degradation of the solvent . the peroxides may undergo further reaction to form other oxidizing species . likely peroxide species include 1 -( 1 - hydroperoxy - 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) butane ; 1 - butoxy - 2 - hydroxy - 1 - ethyl peroxide ; 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy )- 1 - hydroperoxy butane ; and 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy )- 1 - butyl peroxide . in addition it is believed that similar classes of impurities may be present in the polyhydric alcohol solvent , especially such impurities formed by air degradation . finally , additional solvent - associated impurities may be formed subsequent to composition manufacture , for example , upon exposure of the composition to the catalyzing effect of uv light , interaction with other components and impurities thereof , and at temperatures encountered during long - term summer storage . such impurities can be present in an amount of up to about 0 . 5 % by weight of the solvent . thus , the compositions of the present invention unavoidably include up to about 0 . 25 % of these impurities , usually from about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 1 %, by total weight of the composition , one or more of which are believed to be reactive or otherwise interactive with chromophores present in dyes commonly used in the compositions of the present invention . quite clearly , the concentration of the impurities reactive with the dye to occasion color loss does not need to be great , in view of the low concentration of the dye included generally in the composition , and the potentially protracted period of time between manufacture and use by the consumer . by way of example , the initial tinctorial value of the compositions of the present invention is preferably not reduced by more than about 50 % within about three months &# 39 ; storage at 100 ° f ., most preferably , by not more than about 25 % within about three months at 100 ° f . it is also desirable that the compositions of the present invention retain at least about 50 % of their original tinctorial value for about one month at 125 ° f . the dyes included in the composition of the present invention are those which are subject to fading in the compositions of the present invention and which may be stabilized by the inclusion of the stabilizer of the present invention , as hereinafter considered . the dye is present in the composition in an amount effective to provide the composition with a desired color intensity or tinctorial value . typically , the compositions of the present invention will have a dye concentration of from about 0 . 0001 to about 0 . 1 %, preferably from about 0 . 0005 to about 0 . 01 %, and most preferably from about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 005 %, on an active dye basis . generally , the dye level would be greater in the concentrate composition , or when the tinctorial value of the dye molecule is low . dyes found to fade in compositions of the present invention in the absence of the stabilizer constituent are fd & amp ; c yellow no . 5 ( acid yellow 23 ; colour index no . 19 , 140 ); sandolan yellow p5g ( acid yellow 40 : 1 ; colour index no . 18 , 950 : 1 ); hidacid fast light yellow 2g ( acid yellow 17 ; colour index no . 18 , 965 ); nylosan yellow n - 7gl ( acid yellow 218 ); drimarene brilliant green x3g ( reactive green 12 ); cibacron yellow ga ( reactive yellow no . 6 ); pyrazol fast turquiose gll ( direct blue 86 ; colour index no . 74 , 180 ), and basantol green 910 ( acid green 26 ). dyes fadable in the compositions of the present invention but not specifically mentioned herein may easily be screened for stabilization suitability in the compositions of the present invention . other suitable dyes include fd & amp ; c blue no . 1 ( colour index no . 42 , 090 ) and hidacid aqua blue ( colour index no . 52 , 035 ). it has been found that the inclusion of a small yet effective amount generally less than 1 , 000 ppm , especially less than 100 ppm , of oxalic acid reduces the aforementioned tendency of dyes present in the composition to fade and eventually decolorize at acidic ph levels , typically from about 2 to about 6 . 5 . in addition to the inclusion of oxalic acid , oxalate salts may be incorporated which salts will form oxalic acid as an equilibrium species in the acidic compositions of the present invention . suitable are the oxalates of sodium , potassium , lithium , ammonium , magnesium , iron ( iii ), manganese , and zinc . preferably , the stabilizer is added in the form of the salt , especially sodium or potassium oxalate because of their high water solubility . when added in the salt form , somewhat more oxalate might be needed as compared to the acid , inasmuch as a minor portion of the oxalate anion may remain unprofonated . in addition to its utility as a dye stabilizer , it has also been found that the oxalic acid stabilizer of the present invention also reduces the development of off - odors . it is believed that the off - odors are due to interaction between the solvent and the polyvinyl chloride container for said composition or with a pvc additive such as a heat stabilizer , and secondarily to perfume degradation . secondly , it has been found that the oxalic acid stabilizer also provides an improvement in cleaning performance on certain surfaces including glass and baked enamel , although the reason for the improved performance is not fully understood . it is believed that the oxalic acid stabilizer affects the surface activity of the surfactant by altering its solubility . between about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 1 %, preferably from about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 01 %, is effective for this utility . if too much oxalic acid is present , a residue can occur on the surface being cleaned . anionic , nonionic , cationic , amphoteric , and zwitterionic surfactants are suitable in the composition of the present invention , and are present in an effective cleaning amount , typically from about 0 . 001 to about 5 %, preferably in an amount of from about 0 . 01 to about 1 . 0 %, most preferably from about 0 . 01 to about 0 . 1 % by weight of the composition . anionic and nonionic surfactants are especially preferred . broadly , the anionic surfactants are water - soluble alkyl or alkylaryl compounds , the alkyl having from about 8 to about 22 carbons , including a sulfate or sulfonate substituent group that has been base - neutralized , typically to provide an alkali metal , e . g ., sodium or potassium , or an ammonium cation , including , for example : ( 1 ) alkyl and alkylaryl sulfates and sulfonates having preferably 8 to 18 carbons in the alkyl group , which may be straight or branched chain , e . g ., sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate ; ( 2 ) alpha - olefin aryl sulfonates preferably having from about 10 to 18 carbons in the olefin , e . g ., sodium c 14 - 16 olefin sulfonate , which is a mixture of long - chain sulfonate salts prepared by sulfonation of c 14 - 16 alpha - olefins and chiefly comprising sodium alkene sulfonates and sodium hydroxyalkane sulfonates ; ( 3 ) sulfated and sulfonated monoglycerides , especially those derived from coconut oil fatty acids ; ( 4 ) sulfate esters of ethoxylated fatty alcohols having 1 - 10 mols ethylene oxide , e . g ., sodium polyoxyethylene ( 7 mol eo ) lauryl ether sulfate , and of ethoxylated alkyl phenols having 10 mols ethylene oxide and 8 to 12 carbons in the alkyl , e . g ., ammonium polyoxyethylene ( 4 mol eo ) nonyl phenyl ether sulfate ; ( 5 ) base - neutralized esters of fatty acids and isethionic acid , e . g ., sodium lauroyl isethionate ; ( 6 ) fatty acid amides of a methyl tauride , e . g ., sodium methyl cocoyl taurate ; ( 7 ) β - acetoxy - or β - acetamido - alkane sulfonates , and ( 8 ) sarcosinates having from 8 to 22 carbons , e . g ., sodium lauroyl sarcosinate . the nonionics include ( 1 ) fatty alcohol alkoxylates , especially the ethoxylates , wherein the alkyl group has from 8 to 22 , preferably 12 to 18 , carbons , and typically 6 to 15 mol alkoxide per molecule , e . g ., coconut alcohol condensed with about nine mols ethylene oxide ; ( 2 ) fatty acid alkoxylate having from about 6 to about 15 mols alkoxylate , especially the ethoxylate ; ( 3 ) alkylphenoxy alkoxylates , especially the ethoxylates , containing 6 to 12 carbons , preferably octyl or nonyl , in the alkyl , and having about 5 to 25 , preferably 5 to 15 mols alkylene oxide per molecule , e . g ., nonyl phenol ethoxylated with about 9 . 5 mols ethylene oxide ( igepal co - 630 ); ( 4 ) condensates of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base formed by condensation of propylene oxide with propylene glycol , e . g ., nonionic surfactants of the pluronic series manufactured by basf wyandotte , ( 5 ) condensates of ethylene oxide with an amine or amide ; ( 6 ) fatty amine oxides , e . g ., stearyl dimethyl amine oxide , and ( 7 ) alkylolamides . also suitable , alone or in combination with one or more other surfactants , are the specialty surfactants , e . g ., silicone surfactants and fluorocarbon surfactants . of the latter , mention may be made of the fluorad fc series manufactured by 3m company and the zonyl series manufactured by e . i . dupont . these surfactants are available in anionic , nonionic , cationic , and amphoteric form . a further discussion of these surfactants appears in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 302 , 348 and 4 , 511 , 489 , both to requejo , incorporated herein by reference thereto . however , these surfactants are typically incorporated at low concentrations in the composition , usually at a level of less than about 0 . 1 % by weight of the composition , in view of their powerful surface - active effect . preferred in fluorad fc - 171 , a nonionic fluorosurfactant . of the silicone surfactants , mention may be made of masil 280 manufactured by mazer chemicals and the silwet series manufactured by union carbide , e . g ., silwets l - 720 and l - 7607 , the silicone surfactants being incorporated at about the same levels as conventional surfactants . preferred anionics are the alkyl and alkylaryl sulfates and the alpha - olefin aryl sulfonates , while preferred nonionics are the fatty alcohol ethoxylates as previously mentioned , optional adjuvants may be incorporated in the compositions of the present invention in an amount effective to obtain the intended function , typically in an amount of less than about 1 %. such adjuvants include acidifying agents such as acetic acid , citric acid , and other monoand dicarboxylic acids , and mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid , preferably in an amount to provide a ph between about 2 . 5 and 5 . 5 ; builders such as low molecular weight polyacrylic acid and salts thereof ; sequestering agents such as edta and nta ; hydrotropes , for example , sodium xylene sulfonate and c 21 dicarboxylic acids sold under the diacid tm trade name by westvaco , and viscosity modifiers such as cellulose derivatives , clays and gums . the compositions of the present invention are made by a mixture of the various ingredients . however , it is preferred to dissolve the stabilizer in the aqueous portion prior to addition of the organic solvent . the present invention is further illustrated by the examples which follow . the following compositions a to h and aa to hh were prepared : table i______________________________________ concentration , wt . % constituent a to h aa to hh______________________________________ethylene glycol n - butyl ether . sup . ( 1 ) 10 . 0 10 . 0sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate 0 . 047 0 . 047fluorad fc - 171 . sup . ( 2 ) 0 . 01 0 . 01acetic acid 0 . 05 0 . 05dye per table iisodium oxalate 0 . 0025 0perfume 0 . 01 0 . 01water q . s . q . s . ______________________________________ . sup . ( 1 ) ektasolve eb manufactured by eastman chemicals company . . sup . ( 2 ) 100 % active nonionic fluorocarbon surfactant manufactured by 3m company . the dyes included in the compositions of table i are identified below in table ii . the ph of these compositions was about 4 . table ii______________________________________composition dye i . d . no . concentration , wt . % ______________________________________a , aa 1 0 . 00083b , bb 2 0 . 002c , cc 3 0 . 002d , dd 4 0 . 00026e , ee 5 0 . 0043f , ff 6 0 . 0008g , gg 7 0 . 002h , hh 8 0 . 002______________________________________ 1 hidacid fast light yellow 2g manufactured by hiltondavis company ( c . i . no . 18 , 965 ; acid yellow 17 ). 2 nylosan yellow n7gl manufactured by sandoz chemicals , inc . ( acid yellow 218 ). 3 sandolan yellow p5g manufactured by sandoz chemicals , inc . ( acid yellow 40 : 1 ). 4 fd & amp ; c yellow no . 5 manufactured by hiltondavis company ( c . i . no . 19 , 140 ; acid yellow 23 ). 5 drimarene brilliant green x3g manufacured by sandoz chemicals , inc . ( reactive green 12 ). 6 pyrazol fast turquoise gll manufactured by sandoz chemicals , inc . ( c . i . no . 74 , 180 ; direct blue 86 ). 7 basantol green 910 manufacturcd by basf wyandotte corp . ( acid green 26 ) 8 cibacron yellow ga manufactured by cibageigy corp . ( reactive yellow no . 6 ). from tables i and ii , it is seen that compositions a , aa ; b , bb , c , cc ; etc ., are paired sets , each composition in a set incorporating the same dye at the same concentration , the compositions a to h within the scope of the present invention including 25 ppm of the sodium oxalate and the compositions aa to hh outside the scope of the present invention being sodium oxalate free formulae . the paired compositions a , aa ; b , bb ; c , cc ; etc ., were evaluated for dye stability . samples of each composition were placed in polyvinyl chloride bottles , two samples of each composition being stored at 100 ° f . for 90 days and two of each composition being stored at 125 ° f . for 28 days . absorbance measurements were made initially and at the end of the storage period . the results of these evaluations are reported in table iii , as an average of the two samples for each test composition . table iii______________________________________storage in pvc initial percent absorbance remainingcomposition absorbance * after 90 days after 28 days______________________________________a 0 . 305 81 . 6 85 . 2aa 0 . 305 1 . 31 14 . 4b 0 . 309 80 . 9 85 . 4bb 0 . 310 1 . 29 14 . 2c 0 . 412 85 . 4 88 . 6cc 0 . 412 5 . 83 11 . 9d 0 . 165 67 . 3 69 . 7dd 0 . 173 27 . 7 14 . 5e 1 . 217 88 . 6 89 . 0ee 1 . 185 0 . 25 1 . 43f 0 . 195 56 . 4 53 . 3ff 0 . 161 0 . 62 3 . 73g 0 . 496 86 . 3 83 . 5gg 0 . 435 2 . 76 3 . 91h 0 . 374 88 . 2 89 . 3hh 0 . 376 1 . 33 4 . 52______________________________________ * absorbance measurements were made at 410 nm for compositions a to d ; aa to dd ; h and hh . absorbance measurements for compositions e to g and ee t gg were made at 660 nm . similar evaluations of dye stability were conducted in glass containers , the results being set forth in table iv below . table iv______________________________________storage in glass percent absorbance remainingcomposition absorbance * after 90 days after 28 days______________________________________a 0 . 305 86 . 6 86 . 2aa 0 . 305 69 . 5 10 . 8b 0 . 309 81 . 9 86 . 7bb 0 . 310 68 . 4 10 . 6c 0 . 412 85 . 0 87 . 9cc 0 . 412 67 . 2 8 . 98d 0 . 165 72 . 1 82 . 4dd 0 . 173 20 . 8 17 . 3e 1 . 217 87 . 3 88 . 9ee 1 . 185 1 . 7 2 . 53f 0 . 195 56 . 4 52 . 8ff 0 . 161 12 . 4 18 . 6g 0 . 496 87 . 7 85 . 5gg 0 . 435 6 . 44 9 . 2h 0 . 374 99 . 2 90 . 4hh 0 . 376 11 . 1 10 . 4______________________________________ * absorbance measurements were made at the same wavelengths as in table iii . the compositions of the present invention were evaluated for their ability to contorl the formation of off - odors when contained in a pvc container . the following compositions * were prepared : table v______________________________________ concentration , wt . % constituent j to l jj to ll______________________________________ethylene glycol n - butyl ether . sup . ( 1 ) 10 . 0 10 . 0sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate 0 . 047 0 . 047fluorad fc - 171 0 . 01 0 . 01acetic acid 0 . 05 0 . 05dye : drimarene brilliant green x - 3g 0 . 0043 0 . 0043hidacid azure blue 0 . 0001 0 . 0001sodium oxalate 0 . 0025 0perfume per table viwater q . s . q . s . ______________________________________ . sup . ( 1 ) ektasolve eb table vi______________________________________composition perfume concentration , wt . % ______________________________________j , jj -- -- k , kk perfume no . 1 0 . 01l , ll perfume no . 2 0 . 01______________________________________ the compositions j to l and jj to ll were placed in pvc containers and stored at 140 ° f . for one week , after which panelists were required , in blind comparisons , to select the paired test container with the most off - odor . the results are set forth in table vii . table vii______________________________________ most off - odorscomposition no . of judgements______________________________________j 16jj 24k 16kk 24l 13ll 27______________________________________ the compositions m , mm and n , nn were prepared , which compositions were identical to those of table 1 , except as indicated below : table viii______________________________________ concentration . wt . % constituent m mm n nn______________________________________dye : fd & amp ; c yellow no . 5 0 . 000275 0 . 000275 -- -- hidacid azure blue 0 . 00044 0 . 00044 0 . 0001 0 . 0001drimarene brilliant -- -- 0 . 0043 0 . 0043green x - 3perfume 0 . 04 0 . 04 0 . 01 0 . 01______________________________________ per table i , the compositions m and n contained 25 ppm sodium oxalate , while the compositions mm and nn contained no stabilizer . the cleaning performance of the paired sets m , mm and n , nn was determined . a test surface to be cleaned was soiled uniformly and thereafter divided into equal sections . one section was cleaned with the composition of the present invention ; the other section with the composition outside the scope of the present invention . cleaning was conducted by applying a uniform spray of the cleaner to the section , allowing the cleaner to contact the soil for 30 seconds , and then wiping the section with a lint free cloth for 10 cycles and changing to a dry cloth for 10 additional cycles on a gardener washbbility machine . panelists were then required to select the cleaner section of the pair in a blind comparison . the results are tabulated in table ix . table ix______________________________________com - cleaner sideposition surface soil no . of judgements______________________________________m glass fed . spec . soil 54mm p - g - 406d * 24m glass beef fat 53mm 25m baked enamel fed . spec . soil 56mm p - g 406d 28n glass fed . spec . soil 38nn p - g - 406d 25n glass beef fat 35nn 25______________________________________ * csma designation ddc09 , may 1983 . the above detailed descrption is not intended to be limiting of the scope of the invention as provided in the claims appended below , wherein all recited concentrations are on an active constituent basis .
2
the present disclosure relates in general to a method , apparatus , and system to predict college readiness , manage profiles , provide selection services ( e . g ., a tutor selection service ), and validate translations . briefly , in an example embodiment , a system and method is provided that manages profiles . in another example embodiment , a system and method is provided that validates translations . in yet another example embodiment , a system and method is provided that manages , plans , and evaluates student profiles . in another example embodiment , a system and method is provided that predicts college athlete readiness . these systems may include a network interface , a user device having a processor , and a memory coupled to the processor . the memory may comprise instructions for execution on the processor configured for executing steps related to managing profiles , validating translations , planning and evaluating student profiles , and / or predicting college readiness . additionally , throughout the disclosure , reference is made to user devices , which can include any cellphone , smartphone , personal digital assistant (“ pda ”), mobile device , tablet computer , computer , laptop , server , processor , console , gaming system , multimedia receiver , or any other computing device . while this disclosure refers to connection between a single user device and a server , the example method , apparatus , and system disclosed herein can be applied to multiple client devices connected to one or more servers . examples in this disclosure describe user devices and servers performing evaluation and college recommendation processes . however , the example method , apparatus , and system disclosed herein can be applied to any type of evaluation and recommendation process between a server and a user device including , but not limited to , home purchasing or neighborhood planning , job searching , vacation planning , etc . the present system may be readily realized in a network communications system . a diagram of an example network communications system 100 is illustrated in fig1 . the illustrated system 100 includes one or more user devices 102 , one or more application servers 104 , and one or more database servers 106 connected to one or more databases 108 . each user device 102 may include a desktop computer ( 102 a ), a laptop computer ( 102 b ), or a smartphone ( 102 c ). the user device 102 may also include , for example , a server , a tablet , a workstation , a pda , etc . the user device 102 may include an interface for receiving or otherwise communication with the one or more databases 108 ( or storage device ). each of these devices may communicate with each other via a connection to one or more communication channels in a network 110 . the network 110 can include , for example the internet or some other data network , including , but not limited to , any suitable wide area network or local area network . it should be appreciated that any of the devices described herein may be directly connected to each other and / or connected through the network 110 . the network 110 may also support wireless communication with wireless client devices 102 . the user devices 102 access data , services , media content , and any other type of information located on the servers 104 and 106 . the user devices 102 may include any type of operating system and perform any function capable of being performed by a processor . for example , a user may access and transmit the relevant data via a web browser displayed on the user device 102 . in another example embodiment , the relevant data may be transmitted via a cell phone or tablet application or any other general display platform or the like . the web browser is adapted for accessing the application server 104 . for instance , the user devices 102 may access , read , write information , and / or host a website that enables users to select a tutor based on subject specific qualifications . in an example embodiment , the servers 104 and 106 may host a website that enables tutors to input their skills in a target language , which can be translated into the base language for the users . for each translation that takes place through the website , the database servers 106 store the translations in a database to build a library of verified translations . typically , servers 104 and 106 process one or more of a plurality of files , programs , data structures , databases , and / or web pages in one or more memories for use by the user devices 102 , and / or other servers 104 and 106 . the application servers 104 may provide services accessible to the user devices 102 while the database servers 106 provide a framework for the user devices 102 to access data stored in the database 108 . the servers 104 and 106 may be configured according to their particular operating system , applications , memory , hardware , etc ., and may provide various options for managing the execution of the programs and applications , as well as various administrative tasks . a server 104 , 106 may interact via one or more networks with one or more other servers 104 and 106 , which may be operated independently . the example servers 104 and 106 provide data and services to the user devices 102 . the servers 104 and 106 may be managed by one or more service providers , which control the information and types of services offered . these services providers also determine qualifications as to which user devices 102 are authorized to access the servers 104 and 106 . the servers 104 and 106 can provide , for example , banking services , online retain services , social media content , multimedia services , government services , educational services , etc . while the servers 104 and 106 are shown as individual entities , each server 104 and 106 may be partitioned or distributed within a network . for instance , each server 104 and 106 may be implemented within a cloud - computing network with different processes and data stored at different servers or processors . additionally , multiple servers or processors located at different geographic locations may be grouped together as server 104 and 106 . in this instance , network routers determine which user device 102 connects to which processor within the application server 104 . a detailed block diagram of an example profile manager and translator 200 is illustrated in fig2 a . the profile manager may be used to manage profiles . in this example , the profile manager and translator 200 includes a main unit 202 , which preferably includes at least one data processors 204 and an interface 206 . the data processors 204 may be communicatively coupled by an address / data bus to at least one memory device 208 . the processor 204 may be any suitable processor , such as a microprocessor from the intel pentium ®, core ™, or xeon ®; advanced micro devices ( amd ) fx , a , athlon ®, or opteron ®; broadcom ; nvidia ; qualcomm ; ibm ; marvell ; sun ; cyrix ; via ; freescale ; apple , or texas instruments &# 39 ; family of microprocessors . the memory 208 preferably includes volatile memory and non - volatile memory . preferably , the memory 208 stores a software program that interacts with the other devices in the system 100 , as described below . this program may be executed by the data processor 204 in any suitable manner . the memory 208 may also store digital data indicative of documents , files , programs , web pages , etc . retrieved from the profile manager and translator 200 . the example memory device 208 stores software instructions , webpages , user interface features , permissions , protocols , profile information , and / or translations . it will be appreciated that many other data fields and records may be stored in the memory device 208 to facilitate implementation of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein . in addition , it will be appreciated that any type of suitable data structure ( e . g ., a flat file data structure , a relational database , a tree data structure , a non - relational database , etc .) may be used to facilitate implementation of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein . in an example embodiment , the profile manager and translator 200 may also include a specialized table generator 210 . the specialized table generator 210 creates correlation tables of tutor expertise areas in a plurality of target languages . for example , each expertise area , target language , and / or translation may be assigned a variable and compared in a correlation table . the correlation tables advantageously allow the profile manager and translator 200 to provide tutor profile information to foreign speaking users . for example , if an english - speaking student has chinese - speaking parents , the parents may find it difficult to search for and select a tutor that speaks and advertises in english . the profile manager and translator 200 may also include a specialized translator 212 . the specialized translator 212 receives information by a selection or input by the user through the interface 206 of the main unit 202 in a base language . then , the specialized translator formats the user input and obtains several sample translations in a target language from a plurality of translation services . for example , the specialized translator 212 may format the user input so that it can be sent and properly recognized by services such as google translate , dragon ®, babylon , etc . after the plurality of translations are received , the specialized translator 212 formats the received translations so that they can be compared . the specialized translator 212 then verifies that a satisfactory translation has taken place ( i . e ., all the sample translations in the target language match ). if the translation is unsatisfactory , the specialized translator 212 sends instruction to modify the translation , and the modified translation is stored in a translation database for future users . this advantageously allows the translation database to build an extensive translation library for tutor specific language . in an example embodiment , the specialized translator 212 may receive information from a user input through the interface 206 and may send a translation request to an administrative user . the translation request may include an e - mail notification to the administrative user and may include several translations of the user input from various translation sources ( e . g ., google translate , etc .). the translation request may also include several web - links to various translation services in the e - mail notification to the administrative user . the administrative user may then confirm a proper translation , which can be stored in the translation database by the specialized translator 212 , and updated in the user &# 39 ; s profile . in an example embodiment , a system is provided that manages profiles such as tutor profiles , professional profiles , real estate profiles , restaurant profiles , or the like . for illustrative purposes , the profile management system is described using tutor profiles as an example , however , the profile management system can be used to manage and sort a wide variety of profile information . the management system includes a network interface , a user device having a processor , and a memory coupled to the processor . the memory comprises instructions for execution on the processor configured for executing steps of receiving a tutor registration request from a user device operated by a tutor user . additionally , the instructions provide a registration interface to the user device for display to the tutor user . the user may select at least one expertise area selection and input a tutor identifier , such as his or her name , into the registration interface . the selections and inputs may be entered in a base language , such as english , from the user device . then , the processor translates or converts the at least one expertise area selection from the base language to a target language , such as chinese from a translation database . an expertise area selection may be a general subject that a user specializes in such as math , science , writing , etc . additionally , the expertise area selection may be more specific and include subject specific selections such as calculus , thermal physics , spanish , biochemistry , etc . furthermore , in other example embodiments , the expertise area selection may be the type of cuisine a restaurant serves for a restaurant profile manager ; the price , location , and / or square footage of a house on a real estate profile manager ; work experience and / or technical background for a professional profile manager ; or any other sortable profile . in another example embodiment , the expertise are selection may include a brief description such as “ multi - variable calculus and derivatives ”, “ geometry proof solving ”, “ advanced spanish reading and writing ”, etc . if a selection is not available , then a validated translation must be created . the validated translation may be created by comparing a plurality of translations provided from a translation service . if the plurality of translations match , then the translation is validated . however , if the plurality of translations do not match , then manual adjustment to the translation may be made and then saved in the translation database . in another example embodiment , the translation is validated by an administrative user that selects the best translation based on a plurality of translations generated from a translation request . once the expertise area selection is completed , the processor sorts the tutor users by expertise area selection and credentials into a list . the tutor users may also be sorted by other factors include geography , race , age , gender , cost , past reviews , etc . then processor also displays the list of tutor users in the target language to a target user on the user device . this system allows a chinese ( target language ) speaking / reading parent to help select a tutor for their english ( base language ) speaking children . fig3 a and 3b are a flow diagram showing example procedure 300 to manage profiles and perform translations , according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure . in another example embodiment , example procedure 300 may use a profile translation validation ( procedure 350 ) as shown in fig3 c . although the procedure 300 is described with reference to the flow diagram illustrated in fig3 a and 3b , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the procedure 300 may be used . for example , the order of many of the blocks may be changed , certain blocks may be combined with other blocks , and many of the blocks described are optional . the example procedure 300 operates on , for example , the user device 102 of fig1 . the procedure 300 begins when the user device 102 receives a tutor registration request from a user ( block 302 ). the registration request can include a website address or ip address that is routed by the network 110 to the appropriate server 104 . for example , a user ( e . g ., a tutor ) may access the tutor registration website displayed the user device 102 . once the registration request is received , the tutor selects his or her expertise area from the proper correlation table ( block 304 ) if the expertise area is available for selection ( block 306 ). if the correlation table does not include the user &# 39 ; s ( e . g ., tutor &# 39 ; s ) expertise area , then the user may enter expertise area text in the designated field on the interface of the user device 102 ( block 332 ). then , a translation is generated in a target language ( block 334 ). for example , a translation may be obtained from a translation database or a translation service such as google translate . additionally , an e - mail may be sent to the user with a web - link that includes several methods of translation that can be selected by the user . in another example embodiment , after the user enters expertise area text , a translation is generated from a translation request . the translation request may result in a plurality of translations being obtained from various translation services . additionally , the translation request may send an e - mail notification to an administrative user with the plurality of translations . the administrative user may then select the best translation . then , the selected translation is saved to the translation database so that it will be available in the correlation table for future users to select ( block 336 ). in another example embodiment , the translation validation process described in fig3 c may be used . for example , if the correlation table does not include the user &# 39 ; s ( e . g ., tutor &# 39 ; s ) expertise area , then the user device 102 receives expertise area description sentences for translation ( block 308 ). the user device 102 accesses the translation system ( block 310 ) and then the translation system generates multiple translations from various translation services ( block 312 ). for example , the translation system or specialized translator 212 formats the description sentences to ensure that they can be properly received by a plurality of translation services . once the description sentences are formatted , the translation system sends the sentences to a plurality of translation services such as google translate , dragon ®, babylon , etc . the translation system formats the plurality of translations so that each translation can be interpreted by the system . then , the translation results are compared against the results stored in the database and to each other to determine if the translation is satisfactory ( block 314 ). if the translation results do not match , the translation will be manually adjusted ( block 318 ) to achieve a satisfactory translation . once a satisfactory translation is achieved , the translation is saved to the translation database ( block 320 ). then , the user &# 39 ; s ( e . g ., tutor ) selected expertise area selections are translated into a target language ( block 324 ). for example , if the tutor enters information in english , but the site is being accessed by a parent that speaks / reads in chinese , then the expertise area information is translated into chinese so that it can be reviewed by the chinese parent . once the tutor &# 39 ; s information is included in the database , each of the tutor &# 39 ; s are sorted by expertise and credentials ( block 326 ). then , the system lists the sorted order of the tutors in the target language ( block 328 ) and customers search for and select a tutor from the list ( block 330 ). additionally , the search and selection may be done in the target language ( e . g ., chinese ). for example , a user ( e . g ., a customer ) may search for tutors by searching for specific expertise areas in the target language . additionally , the translation system may generate a sorted list of tutors that is displayed to the users ( e . g ., customers ) via the user device . in an example embodiment , the list is displayed in the target language . then , the user ( e . g ., a customer ) may select a tutor from the sorted list of tutors in the target language based on the customer &# 39 ; s search criteria . in another example embodiment , the user ( e . g ., customer ) may also search and select in the base language . in an example embodiment , a system is provided that provides translation verification . the translation verification system includes a network interface , a user device having a processor , and a memory coupled to the processor . the memory comprises instructions for execution on the processor configured for executing steps of receiving a tutor registration request from a user device operated by a tutor user . fig3 c is a flow diagram shows an example procedure 350 to validate and / or verify translations , according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure . although the procedure 350 is described with reference to the flow diagram illustrated in fig3 c , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the procedure 350 may be used . for example , the order of many of the blocks may be changed , certain blocks may be combined with other blocks , and many of the blocks described are optional . the example procedure 350 operates on , for example , the user device 102 of fig1 . the procedure 350 begins when the user device 102 receives sentences for translation ( block 308 ). for example , the sentences may be a paragraph describing a user , such as a profile “ bio ” section . the user device 102 accesses the translation system ( block 310 ) and then the translation system generates multiple translations from various translation services ( block 312 ). for example , the translation system or specialized translator 212 formats the description sentences to ensure that they can be properly received by a plurality of translation services . once the description sentences are formatted , the translation system sends the sentences to a plurality of translation services such as google translate , dragon ®, babylon , etc . the translation system formats the plurality of translations so that each translation can be interpreted by the system . then , the translation results are automatically compared against the results stored in the database and to each other to determine if the translation is satisfactory ( block 314 ). for example , the translation results may be automatically compared using a regression analysis that determines the best translation from the plurality of translations . in an example embodiment , the translation system may provide a rating for each translation , so that the top translations can reviewed and compared . if the translation results do not match , the translation will be manually adjusted ( block 318 ) to achieve a satisfactory translation . once a satisfactory translation is achieved , the translation may be saved to a translation database ( block 320 ). the satisfactory translation may be displayed on the user device . in an example embodiment , the satisfactory translation is displayed in the target language on the user device for the user . this example procedure advantageously allows large amounts of text to be translated accurately and validated for the user whereas current translation services often contain errors for translation requests that include long strings of text or several sentences of text . a detailed block diagram of an example student profile manager and planner 240 is illustrated in fig2 b . in this example , the student profile manager and planner 240 includes a main unit 242 , which preferably includes one or more data processors 244 and an interface 246 . the data processors 244 may be communicatively coupled by an address / data bus to at least one memory device 248 . the processor 244 may be any suitable processor , such as a microprocessor from the intel pentium ®, core ™, or xeon ®, advanced micro devices ( amd ) fx , a , athlon ®, or opteron ®, broadcom ; nvidia ; qualcomm ; ibm ; marvell ; sun ; cyrix ; via ; freescale ; apple , or texas instruments &# 39 ; family of microprocessors . the memory 248 preferably includes volatile memory and non - volatile memory . preferably , the memory 248 stores a software program that interacts with the other devices in the system 100 , as described below . this program may be executed by the data processor 244 in any suitable manner . the memory 248 may also store digital data indicative of documents , files , programs , web pages , etc . retrieved from the student profile manager and planner 240 . the example memory device 248 stores software instructions , webpages , user interface features , permissions , protocols , profile information , and / or goal recommendations . it will be appreciated that many other data fields and records may be stored in the memory device 208 to facilitate implementation of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein . in addition , it will be appreciated that any type of suitable data structure ( e . g ., a flat file data structure , a relational database , a tree data structure , a non - relation database , etc .) may be used to facilitate implementation of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein . in an example embodiment , the student profile manager and planner 240 may also include a specialized profile evaluator 250 . the specialized profile evaluator 250 evaluates goals input by the user against the user &# 39 ; s profile information . the user may specify both short term and long - term goals , which may be evaluated against the students profile information . in an example embodiment , the goals are interactive with a calendar functionality of the profile manager and planner 240 . for example , the user may input a short - term goal such as improving his or her math grade from a c + to an a − by the end of the second semester of school , making the varsity basketball team , winning the high - school bridge competition , or improving their mile - run time to 6 minutes within the next 5 months . it should be noted that the user may specify a plurality of goals that the system can evaluate simultaneously . for example , the user may have ongoing short and long term goals related to school , sports , and other activities . in an example embodiment , the user &# 39 ; s profile information may include personal information , academic records , extracurricular activities , sports records , and other character information . the personal information includes information related to the user &# 39 ; s age , school , graduation class , etc . the academic record information may include course selections , gpa , standardized test results , as well as honors and awards . furthermore , the personal profile information includes extracurricular activities such as volunteer work , leadership , service , and involvement in other clubs and organizations . the sports records may include sport performance , tournament information , awards , etc . the sports records may include video clips or stats that can be imported from other databases such as the school &# 39 ; s website or other record reporting entities . lastly , the character information may include personal qualities , recommendations , and essay samples . the information that is not graded or rated on a standard scale like gpa may be provided a rating of 1 - 10 by a rating system specific to the student profile manager and planner 240 . for example , if a student has a long term goal of becoming a mechanical engineer , the specialized profile evaluator 250 may evaluate the user &# 39 ; s profile information related to his or her gpa and involvement in both math and science and compare that information to historic averages for mechanical engineers . additionally , the specialized profile evaluator 250 may also compare the student &# 39 ; s progress to other users who have had the same goals . the specialized profile evaluator 250 may compare the student &# 39 ; s progress to other users of the same age and / or skill set , or the specialized profile evaluator 250 may compare the student &# 39 ; s progress to an average of selected students that have completed or are pursuing the same goa . the specialized profile evaluator 250 may be used to create a comparison report that details how close or how far a user is away from his or her goals . additionally , the comparison report may show how a user is progressing in relation to other users with the same goals . for example , the specialized profile evaluator 250 may gather benchmarks for the chosen goal and the average time it took other users to reach those benchmarks . then , the specialized profile evaluator 250 may generate a comparison report to show the user if they are progressing faster than the average , are on track , or are progressing slower than the average user . for example , if the user set a goal to run a 6 minute mile , and they can currently run an 8 minute mile , the specialized profile evaluator may set benchmarks of a 7 . 5 minute mile , a 7 minute mile , and a 6 . 5 minute mile and gather data from other users who started at the same 8 minute mile pace to determine how many days of training it took them to reach mile times of 7 . 5 minutes , 7 minutes , and 6 . 5 minutes . when the user reached each of those milestones , the specialized profile evaluator 250 could compare the time it took the user to complete the milestone with the average of other users . additional examples are illustrated in fig6 . in an example embodiment , the profile manager and planner 240 may also include a specialized game plan generator 252 , which may be used to generate a game plan for the user based on the comparison report created by the specialized profile evaluator 250 . the game plan generator 252 creates a game plan from analyzing large sources of data and performing data mining operations . for example , if the user has a goal of being drafted by a professional sports team as a wide receiver , the game plan generator 252 may gather information about which colleges tend to send the most wide - receivers to the nfl and may also determine the average or distribution of data related to the height and weight of newly drafted wide receivers . then , the specialized game plan generator 252 may develop a strategy into getting into the proper college and provide a workout program so that the user can achieve the desired weight . in an example embodiment , a printer and / or other output devices may also be connected to the main unit 242 . for example , the printers may be used to print resumes , progress reports , and / or profile information ( described in more detail below in relation to fig4 ). fig4 is a flow diagram showing example procedure 400 to manage student profiles , track progress , and generate recommendations and resume reports , according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure . although the procedure 400 is described with reference to the flow diagram illustrated in fig4 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the procedure 400 may be used . for example , the order of many of the blocks may be changed , certain blocks may be combined with other blocks , and many of the blocks described are optional . the example procedure 400 operates on , for example , the user device 102 of fig1 . the procedure 400 begins when the user device 102 receives profile information from a user ( e . g ., student ) ( block 402 ). the profile information may be input through a website interface and may include the user &# 39 ; s name , age , school , graduation class , etc . an example of the website logic and flow chart is shown in fig6 . additionally , the profile may include academic records such as course selections and gpa , standardized test results , honors and awards , etc . the profile information may also include extracurricular and leadership involvement , and sport achievements and records . the user may also include information about character and any personal qualities , work and / or writing samples , and recommendation letters on their profile . the profile information may be manually inputted by the user using the user device 102 , or the user may upload records and documents into the profile . the user may also set profile authorizations to allow other users to access and / or edit the profile ( block 404 ). for example , a student user may authorize his parents the ability to edit his profile so that they can upload relevant documents into the profile . once the profile is created , the system invites the user to input goals ( block 406 ). the user may input both short term and long - term goals related to profile information ( e . g ., education , extracurricular activities , etc .). in an example embodiment , the system includes an integrated calendar to specify target dates to achieve the short term and long - term goals . then , the system evaluates the user &# 39 ; s profile information against the established goals to create a comparison report ( block 408 ). for example , the system may generate a comparison report for score based parameters such as gpa and standardized test results . additionally , the system may create a report for extracurricular activities , leadership , and service . in an example embodiment , the system may generate a comparison report for academic achievements to show how far the user is from his / her goal of being an attractive candidate for sport recruitment and scholarships . then , the system generates a game plan for achieving the goals created by the user ( block 410 ). the system analyzes the profile information , goals , and performs data mining to generate a game plan to achieve the goals . once the game plan is adopted , the system creates recommendations for the adopted plans ( block 412 ). for example , if the user &# 39 ; s goals are to improve his act math score , the system may suggest a list of local math tutors ( see fig3 a and 3b ), may provide links to purchase act math prep books , or may provide other detailed plans such as a study schedule . after a user starts participating in an adopted game plan , the system tracks the user &# 39 ; s performance within the adopted game plan ( block 414 ). in an example embodiment , the system is able to create progress reports , “ to do ” lists , reminders , alerts , etc . when tracking the user &# 39 ; s progress to help the user stay on task and achieve his or her goals . once a goal is achieved or new tasks are completed , the system may automatically update the user &# 39 ; s profile information to reflect the achievements ( block 416 ). after the profile information is updated and / or after the profile information is initially completed , the system can generate a professional resume ( block 418 ). the resume can be selected from various formats and versions to highlight specific areas of achievement and / or to meet specific length requirements . the resume can also be stored in the user &# 39 ; s profile to be used and / or accessed for various purposes such as school or job applications . during the process 400 , the system provides a platform to review tools and resources ( block 420 ). for example , the system may enable group formations so that students can connect based on interest , goals , schools , graduation class , etc . and may allow additional users to provide input on the user &# 39 ; s goals and game plan . a detailed block diagram of an example college athlete readiness predictor 280 is illustrated in fig2 c . in this example , the college athlete readiness predictor 280 includes a main unit 282 , which preferably includes at least one data processors 284 and an interface 286 . the data processors 284 may be any suitable processor and may be communicatively coupled by an address / data bus to at least one memory device 288 . the memory 248 preferably includes volatile memory and non - volatile memory . preferably , the memory 248 stores a software program that interacts with the other devices in the system 100 , as described below . this program may be executed by the data processor 284 in any suitable manner . the memory 288 may also store digital data indicative of documents , files , programs , web pages , etc . retrieved from the college athlete readiness predictor 280 . in an example embodiment , the college athlete readiness predictor 280 may also include a specialized predictor 290 , which may utilize information and ranking data to predict where the student will be when they are ready to apply for college . for example , the specialized predictor 290 may use a first year high school student &# 39 ; s profile information to make a projection of where the student will be in relation to grades and sport achievements by the time they are a senior in high school . this projection can then be used to determine if the student is on the right path to being college ready . in an example embodiment , the specialized predictor 290 automatically updates the projection in real time based on updates to the user &# 39 ; s profile information and changes in the user &# 39 ; s age . the college athlete readiness predictor 280 may also include a specialized plot renderer 292 , which is used to display a college direction coordinate graph ( or college prediction graph ). the college direction coordinate graph includes academic achievements plotted along the x - axis and athletic achievements plotted along the y - axis . all college - sport combinations lie on a quarter circle on the graph and different college - sport combinations results in a different direction in the college direction coordinates . for example , a student with a grade school academic gpa and grade school athletic ranking will result in a first point plotted on the graph . in another example embodiment , the first point plotted on the graph may be the student &# 39 ; s first year of high school rankings . the students first set of data ( for the first point plotted ) may be used to make predictions with fellow student athletes in the same year of school as the student . from the first set of data , the college athlete readiness predictor 280 may make a projection of where the student will be in terms of academic and athletic rating at different stages of their high school career , or upon completion of high school . additionally , a student with a high school gpa and a ranking among all high school athletes will result in a second point plotted on the graph . in another example embodiment , the second data point may be created during the student &# 39 ; s second year of high school and a third data point may be made at the conclusion of the student &# 39 ; s senior year . once the final set of data related to the students academic and athletic rating is obtained , the college athlete readiness predictor 280 may rank the student to the entire class population . then , college athlete readiness is calculated from a normalization of gpa in relation to athletic achievements by a factor n . the factor n may be different depending on the sport selection . if the normalization results in a data point outside of the college - sport quarter circle and in the same direction of his or her dream school , then the user is likely to be college ready . data may be collected for each school so that each college - sport combination of sports and academics results in a point on the circle . when the student &# 39 ; s normalized athletic and academic rankings are plotted on the graph , the student can see if he or she needs to adjust his or her focus on athletics or academics . for example , if the student &# 39 ; s normalized rankings result in plotted points , projections , or directions that result in the student not approaching his or her dream school , then the user can determine if they need to increase their athletic ranking or academic ranking . fig5 is a flow diagram showing example procedure 500 to predict college readiness of a user , according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure . although the procedure 500 is described with reference to the flow diagram illustrated in fig5 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the procedure 500 may be used . for example , the order of many of the blocks may be changed , certain blocks may be combined with other blocks , and many of the blocks described are optional . the example procedure 500 operates on , for example , the network communication device 100 of fig1 . first , student identity and ranking data is collected ( block 502 ). in an example embodiment , the identity and ranking data may be obtained from a user profile discussed above in fig4 . the ranking data includes both academic and athletic data such as gpa , sports involvement , and sport rankings . the identity data includes first and last name , date , and graduation year . then , athletic and academic requirements for schools are determined ( block 504 ). the school requirements are determined using statistical methods and big data for all the relevant college - sport combinations with the most recent data given the heaviest weight . then , the user may update his or her ranking data by inputting the most current academic and athletic data ( block 506 ). in an example embodiment , the user &# 39 ; s ranking data may be automatically updated if it is linked to the user &# 39 ; s profile ( see fig4 ). next , the system generates a projected ranking to indicate college readiness ( block 508 ). for example , the system may project where the user may end up at the end of high school based on their current rankings and year in school . once the student is ready to apply to schools , the system displays college - sport combinations on a college prediction graph ( block 510 ). the college prediction graph is displayed in college direction coordinates . the college direction coordinates includes academic achievements plotted along the x coordinate and athletic achievements plotted along the y coordinate . all of the colleges lie on a quarter circle and different college - sport combinations result in a different direction in the college direction coordinates . for example , a user with grade school academic and athletic ranking will be a point as a projection of his college direction . when the user &# 39 ; s ranking data is updated with his high school academic and athletic ranking data , will provide another point in the college direction coordinate . a point outside of the college - sport quarter circle and in the same direction of his or her dream school is likely to be college ready . it will be appreciated that all of the disclosed methods and procedures described herein can be implemented using one or more computer programs or components . these components may be provided as a series of computer instructions on any conventional computer - readable medium , including ram , rom , flash memory , magnetic or optical disks , optical memory , or other storage media . the instructions may be configured to be executed by a processor , which when executing the series of computer instructions performs or facilitates the performance of all or part of the disclosed methods and procedures . it should be understood that various changes and modifications to the example embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages . it is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims .
6
now referring to the drawing fig1 - 4 , a vertical section through a typical small safe deposit vault , generally designated v is shown , just inside of its heavy secure vault door , but showing its reinforced concrete floor cf , walls w and ceiling c . an array of modules m , each having a rectangular array of safe deposit boxes b of which only the front door may be seen . the modules m and the boxes b are all of different sizes to accommodate the needs of different customers . the modules m are stacked on top of each other . they have generally the same depth , of usually 26 inches and generally the same width , e . g ., 32 5 / 8 inches , with flat bottom and top to stack easily . although not too apparent in fig1 the modules m , when stacked , often have slightly different overall heights . the modules m are usually just stacked within the vault . surprisingly , because of their fairly heavy construction , each stack of modules easily weighs in the order of 2000 pounds . under normal conditions , the modules m remain in place once that they have been moved into the vault v and never move during their useful life . as the bank customers needs change , the bank may have to add modules or change its mix of box sizes . this is usually done by adding more rows of modules , such as the right hand row in fig1 . often , in larger vaults than is shown in fig1 a free standing stack of modules is present as is described below and illustrated in fig6 . under lateral forces , as illustrated by the arrow force in fig1 the modules m may tip and fall with the full force of their weight , the weight of the enclosed boxes , and contents . as is illustrated in fig1 - 6 , the aisles are fairly small and anyone in the aisle during seismic activity might be severely injured by a falling module . even if the modules were located in an enclosure similar to a file cabinet , their security would not be assured as illustrated by the fact many locked file drawers of filing cabinets which have fallen disgorging their contents in recent earthquakes or nearby explosions . this invention is intended to prevent that occurrence for bank safe deposit boxes . now referring to fig2 - 4 , a module anchoring system , generally designated 10 may be seen , including a compression beam 11 which preferably is a square or rectangular tube of 1018 steel having an elastomer pad 12 on the under side of the tube and resting on the top of all the modules m . at the top side of beam 11 is a captured nut 13 which is welded to the top surface 14 of the beam 11 . the nut 13 is internally threaded to receive a threaded rod 15 which extends upward and is welded to a ceiling plate 20 . a lock nut 16 engages threaded rod 15 . the threaded rod 15 is cut to be approximately 1 inch shorter than the distance between the top surface 14 of the beam 11 and the underside of the ceiling plate 20 . this distance allows for a tightening of the rod 15 by turning plate 20 and slightly compressing an elastomer pad 21 located on top of the plate 20 in the process . tightening and locking screw 15 results in the application of a compressive force on the beam 14 and the top of the module array m . the beam 11 is located approximately at the middle of the depth ( front to rear ) of the module array m as indicated by the equal distance d and is so located by a rear bar 22 and wall plate 23 of fig2 . the length of the rear bar 22 is approximately one half of the depth of the modules m , e . g ., 13 inches less one half the dimension a of the beam 11 . the rear end of the bar 22 is secured , as by welding to the wall plate 23 which has a number of openings op therein to receive seismic fasteners such as hardened expansion bolts which are placed in the adjacent wall w in accordance with well known seismic protection practice . in certain situations , the modules m are not of the same or similar height and the ceiling to floor distance is not constant . employing this invention , such variations are easily accommodated . the solution is shown in fig5 . in this embodiment , the compression beam 11 is used , however , the difference in height of the first module stack m1 and the second stack m2 is compensated for by the addition of a welded spacer bar 43 to the underside of beam 11 . since the beam 11 is a standard 21 / 2 inches by 21 / 2 inches hollow square tube , it is ideal for the addition of a rectangular 21 / 2 inches tube 43 of the appropriate height . such tubes come in increments of 1 / 2 inches so that the height of one section can be adjusted in 1 / 2 inches increments ready to receive the resilient spacer or pad 12 . if more precise positioning is needed , an additional plate may be welded to the underside of the spacer bar 43 . this will allow adjustments to within 1 / 16 inches , if necessary . note , in fig5 that the threaded rods 15 are each of different lengths to accommodate the difference in heights of the ceiling from a lower ceiling height at c1 to a higher height at c2 . another variation of this invention is illustrated in fig6 . in that embodiment , a pair of freestanding stacks of modules m3 and m4 are located back to back in a larger safe deposit vault . in this case , a single seismic assembly employing a pair of compression beams 11a and 11b are used . instead of rear bars and wall plates , a pair of cross bars 44 are welded between the parallel beams 11a and 11b . four threaded rods 15 each engage a respective captured nut 13 and resilient pads 12 are positioned beneath the beams 11a and 11b . ceiling plates 20 with their resilient pads 21 are each secured to the ceiling , unshown in fig6 by appropriate seismic fasteners similar to the case for the single stack of fig2 . for long rows of modules , the lengths of beams 11a and 11b are merely extended and one captured nut 13 , rod 15 and ceiling plate 20 - 21 assembly is added for each 10 feet of length of the row . we have found that either of two forms of ceiling mounting arrangements may be used in this invention and they are illustrated in fig7 and 8 . in fig7 the beam 11 may be seen resting on resilient pad 12 which may be a 3 / 8 inch thick elastomer having a 60 shore to accommodate any slight variations in the tops of the modules m . captured nut 13 is preferably a 3 inch length of 2 inch hexagonal bar stock which is internally tapped for a 1 inch rod with number 8 nc threads . a similarly threaded jam or lock nut 16 is also threaded on rod 15 and is used to lock the vertical assembly when the upper end of the threaded rod 15 and the ceiling plate 20 are unscrewed to engage the ceiling c through the top elastomer pad 21 . the rod 15 is welded to the ceiling plate at welds w . this embodiment will allow a minimum height difference between the top of the module m and the ceiling to be 71 / 2 inches and allows for an adjustment of approximately 1 inch . the embodiment of fig8 is identical with that of fig7 except for the presence of a second captured nut 13 which is welded to the ceiling plate 20 and a second jam or lock nut 17 which engages the second captured nut 13 at the ceiling plate 20 . the embodiment of fig8 has a minimum length of 97 / 8 inches and has an adjustment range of 11 / 2 inches . the foregoing embodiments illustrate the best mode with which we are familiar for carrying out this invention . the embodiments are , however , illustrative only and not to be considered as limiting . rather , this invention is defined by the following claims including the protection afforded by the doctrine of equivalents .
4
in the following detailed description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments . however it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments . a person using a first wireless portable electronic device with limited memory resources may face a dilemma when the memory of the first device becomes too full . should user data items be erased from the first device to make room for new data ? should additional memory for the first device be purchased ? should an external storage unit be purchased ? however , the person may also have in his or her possession a second wireless portable electronic device that is often within range of the first device . for example , it is not uncommon for a person to carry a personal digital assistant ( pda ) and a portable digital audio / video player , or a cellphone and a pda , or a smartphone and a gaming device . some people even carry three or more wireless portable electronic devices . a non - exhaustive list of examples for the devices includes any of the following : personal digital assistants ( pdas ), electronic organizers , handheld computers , cellular telephones , smart phones , gaming devices , digital audio players , digital video players , mobile managers , wireless smart card readers and the like . the first device and the second device may be able to conduct secure wireless communications therebetween using cryptographic techniques and authentication algorithms . a non - exhaustive list of examples of wireless communication protocols with which the first device and the second device may be compatible includes bluetooth ® ( bt ), zigbee ™, ultra wideband ( uwb ), wireless usb , ieee 802 . 11 , radio frequency identification ( rfid ) protocols , and proprietary communication protocols . the first device and the second device may each have an address by which it can be addressed in the wireless communication protocol . for example , if the devices are bt devices , the first device has a unique bt address and the second device has a unique bt address . if the second device has unused storage capacity , then data items or portions thereof from the first device may be transmitted via the secure wireless communications to the second device for storage therein . the first device will replace the data item or portion thereof with information that will be used to retrieve the data item or portion thereof from the second device when desired . since the information occupies less memory than the data item or portion thereof itself , the unused storage capacity of the memory of the first device is increased . although this description focuses on a first device and a second device , there may be in fact more than one “ second device ” to which data items are transmitted from the first device for storage therein . a centralized book - keeping application may be used to keep track of where all of the externally stored data items have been moved to . this provides a method for sorting data items by device . in the case where the user wishes to make one of the second devices obsolete , all of the data items stored on that device may be retrieved to the first device and / or re - stored in other locations . the transfer of data items from the first device to the second device may be initiated by the user of the devices , or may occur automatically when the unused storage capacity of the first device &# 39 ; s memory decreases below a threshold , or may occur automatically because a rule applies . rules may be applied automatically by the first device in order to determine which data items are transferred to the second device , and in order to determine when , if at all , to transfer the data items back to the first device . the rules may also be applied even if the unused storage capacity of the first device &# 39 ; s memory is above the threshold , as a preventative measure . a non - exhaustive list of examples for such rules is given below . the data items transmitted from the first device to the second device for storage therein could be user data items and / or large system data items that are used infrequently by the first device . fig1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communications system 100 , according to some embodiments . system 100 comprises a first wireless portable electronic device 102 and at least one second wireless portable electronic device 104 . when within range of each other , devices 102 and 104 are able to communicate securely over a wireless communication link 106 using cryptographic techniques . device 102 comprises an antenna 110 , a wireless communication interface 112 , a processor 114 coupled to wireless communication interface 112 , and a memory 116 coupled to processor 114 . memory 116 may be fixed in or removable from device 102 . memory 116 may be embedded or partially embedded in processor 114 . processor 114 and memory 116 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits . wireless communication interface 112 , compatible with a short - range wireless communication protocol , comprises a radio 117 coupled to antenna 110 , and a processor 118 coupled to radio 117 . radio 117 may be a software - defined radio . wireless communication interface 112 and processor 114 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits . device 102 also comprises a cache 119 coupled to processor 114 . cache 119 may be internal or external to processor 114 . similarly , device 104 comprises an antenna 120 , a wireless communication interface 122 , a processor 124 coupled to wireless communication interface 122 , and a memory 126 coupled to processor 124 . memory 126 may be fixed in or removable from device 104 . memory 126 may be embedded or partially embedded in processor 124 . processor 124 and memory 126 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits . wireless communication interface 122 , compatible with the same short - range wireless communication protocol as wireless communication interface 112 , comprises a radio 127 coupled to antenna 120 , and a processor 128 coupled to radio 127 . radio 127 may be a software - defined radio . wireless communication interface 122 and processor 124 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits . a non - exhaustive list of examples for antennae 110 and 120 includes dipole antennae , monopole antennae , multilayer ceramic antennae , planar inverted - f antennae , loop antennae , shot antennae , dual antennae , omnidirectional antennae and any other suitable antennae . a non - exhaustive list of examples for processors 114 , 118 , 124 and 128 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ), a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a reduced instruction set computer ( risc ), a complex instruction set computer ( cisc ) and the like . furthermore , processors 114 , 118 , 124 and 128 may be part of application specific integrated circuits ( asics ) or may be a part of application specific standard products ( assps ). a non - exhaustive list of examples for memories 116 and 126 includes any combination of the following : a ) semiconductor devices such as registers , latches , read only memory ( rom ), mask rom , electrically erasable programmable read only memory devices ( eeprom ), flash memory devices , non - volatile random access memory devices ( nvram ), synchronous dynamic random access memory ( sdram ) devices , rambus dynamic random access memory ( rdram ) devices , double data rate ( ddr ) memory devices , static random access memory ( sram ), universal serial bus ( usb ) removable memory , and the like ; b ) optical devices , such as compact disk read only memory ( cd rom ), and the like ; and c ) magnetic devices , such as a hard disk , a floppy disk , a magnetic tape , and the like . device 102 may comprise a user input component 130 and a user output component 132 , both coupled to processor 114 . a non - exhaustive list of examples for user input component 130 includes a keyboard , a microphone , a thumbwheel , a trackball , a joystick , a touch sensitive display and the like . a non - exhaustive list of examples for user output component 132 includes a display , a speaker , and the like . memory 116 may store applications 133 and code 134 to be executed by processor 114 , rules 136 to be implemented by code 134 , information 138 about data items or portions thereof that have been stored in device 104 , and data items 135 . devices 102 and 104 may comprise additional components which are not shown in fig1 and which , for clarity , are not described herein . fig2 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for transferring data items or portions thereof to a wireless portable electronic device having unused storage capacity , according to some embodiments . code 134 stored in memory 116 may implement the method of fig2 in device 102 . the method of fig2 may occur in the background . alternatively , the user of device 102 may be prompted for permission to perform the method of fig2 . alternatively , the user of device 102 may initiate performance of the method of fig2 . at 200 , device 102 determines to transfer at least one data item 135 or portion thereof to another device . this determination may be initiated by the user of device 102 , or may occur automatically when the unused storage capacity of memory 116 decreases below a threshold , or may occur automatically because one or more of rules 136 apply . at 202 , device 102 asks device 104 how much unused storage capacity is in memory 126 . at 204 , upon receiving the storage capacity information from device 104 , device 102 determines the maximum amount of data it can send to device 104 for storage in memory 126 . the request and reply may be sent over wireless communication link 106 , possibly securely . alternatively , device 104 could send its unused storage capacity information to device 102 periodically or upon connection with device 102 over the wireless communication link 106 . at 206 , device 102 determines which data items 135 or portions thereof that are currently stored in memory 116 to transmit to device 104 . for example , rules 136 stored in memory 116 may be applied automatically by code 134 in order to determine which data items 135 or portions thereof to transmit to device 104 . a non - exhaustive list of examples for such rules is given below . at 208 , device 102 writes information 138 in memory 116 . information 138 is to be used in the future to retrieve from device 104 each data item 135 or portion thereof to be transmitted . information 138 may include , for example , an address or other indication of device 104 . for example , the address may be the media access control address of device 104 or the unique bt address of device 104 , if device 104 is a bt device . information 138 may include , for example , a short summary of data item 135 or portion thereof . information 138 , or a portion thereof , may be stored using a centralized book - keeping application in order to keep track of where all of the externally stored data items have been moved to . at 210 , device 102 securely transmits data items 135 or portions thereof , as determined at 206 , to device 104 over wireless communication link 106 using cryptographic techniques and authentication algorithms . upon receipt , device 104 stores data items 135 or portions thereof in memory 126 . devices 102 and 104 may have similar file systems and store data items 135 or portions thereof in the same way . alternatively , device 102 and 104 may have different file systems and store data items 135 or portions thereof in different ways . since data items 135 or portions thereof are serialized prior to transmission over link 106 , the file systems of device 102 and device 104 need not be the same or similar . at 212 , once device 102 has received confirmation from device 104 that data items 135 or portions thereof were successfully received , device 102 erases from memory 116 the data items 135 or portions thereof that were transmitted to device 104 . instead of asking device 104 how much unused storage capacity it has in memory 126 , device 102 may begin the method of fig2 at 206 and risk that device 104 will refuse to store all or some of the data items 135 or portions thereof that are transmitted at 210 . in this embodiment , device 102 only erases the data items 135 for which it receives a confirmation of successful receipt from device 104 . in this manner , the data items 135 that device 104 refuses to store will not be inadvertently erased from device 102 . fig3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for retrieving data items or portions thereof from the wireless portable electronic device , according to some embodiments . code 134 stored in memory 116 may implement the method of fig3 in device 102 . at 302 , device 102 identifies a need to retrieve a particular data item 135 or portion thereof from device 104 . for example , this need may be identified from user input received via user input component 130 . in another example , user data items of applications 133 of device 102 may be synchronized with one or more applications on another device , for example , a personal computer ( not shown ). if a particular user data item or a portion thereof is stored on device 104 , and the synchronization application requests that particular user data item or portion thereof , then device 102 will identify a need to retrieve the particular user data item or portion thereof from device 104 . at 304 , device 102 securely requests the particular data item 135 or portion thereof from device 104 over wireless communication link 106 . the request is based , at least in part , on the information 138 related to the particular data item 135 or portion thereof . if no wireless communication link is established with device 104 , or if the link is lost , for example , in the case where device 104 is out of the wireless communication range of device 102 , the operation of retrieving the data item fails , and an error message may be displayed on device 102 . at 306 , device 102 securely receives the particular data item 135 or portion thereof from device 104 over wireless communication link 106 . at 308 , device 102 may store the particular data item 135 or portion thereof in cache 119 . applications 133 on device 102 may access the particular data item 135 or portion thereof until it is overwritten in cache 119 . memory 116 retains information 138 related to the particular data item 135 or portion thereof and memory 126 retains its copy of the particular data item 135 or portion thereof . alternatively , device 102 may store at 310 the particular data item 135 or portion thereof in memory 116 , instruct device 104 at 312 to delete its copy of the particular data item 135 or portion thereof in memory 126 , and at 314 , erase from memory 116 information 138 related to the particular data item 135 or portion thereof . the following is a non - exhaustive list of examples for rules that affect which data items or portions thereof are to be transmitted from the first device to the second device , and that affect when the first device identifies a need to retrieve a particular data item or portion thereof . if the first device has at least one messaging application to handle e - mail messages , instant messages , peer - to - peer messages , and the like , then any or a combination of the following rules , presented below in no particular order , may apply . ( 1 ) the first device may automatically store old messages on the second device . this may take effect periodically , or when a memory manager of the first device requires more memory . the received time , sender and subject may be retained on the first device , so that the user is able to identify the message in a list of messages on the first device , and the body of the message may be stored on the second device . when the user attempts to access the message on the first device , for example , by opening the message to view it or by searching for the message , the body of the message may be retrieved from the second device . ( 2 ) the first device may retain a first portion of a message body , for example , of a predetermined size such as 2 kb , and may store the remaining portion of the message body on the second device . the user may view the first portion of the message body on the first device , but as the user scrolls down past the first portion , the remaining portion or a next portion of the message will have to be retrieved from the second device in order for the user to view it . the first device will have stored information in its memory to enable the first device to retrieve the next portion or the remaining portion from the second device . the message displayed to the user , for example , via user output component 132 , may have an indication that there are additional portions of the message body . the messaging application may automatically retrieve the next portion or the remaining portion from the second device when the user scrolls to the indication . alternatively , the messaging application may wait for the user to provide input , for example , via user input component 130 , that the user wants to have the next portion or the remaining portion of the message body retrieved from the second device . ( 3 ) messages may be marked with a timestamp indicating the time at which the message was last accessed by the user of the first device . messages with a timestamp older than a predefined duration , for example , 30 days , may be automatically transmitted to the second device for storage therein . ( 4 ) message attachments may be automatically stored on the second device , rather than on the first device , and retrieved only when required , for example , when a message is being forwarded to another recipient . a threshold attachment size may be specified , wherein attachments larger than a threshold size may be automatically stored on the second device , and smaller attachments remain on the first device . if the first device has a calendar application , then any or a combination of the following rules , presented below in no particular order , may apply . calendar appointments include calendar meetings . ( 1 ) calendar appointments for dates prior to a cut - off date may be automatically stored on the second device , since they are unlikely to be accessed frequently by the user . the cut - off date might be the current date , for example , such that all calendar appointments from past dates may be automatically stored . ( 2 ) calendar appointments for dates that are more than a predetermined time in the future , for example , more than 30 days , may be automatically stored on the second device . as the date of the calendar appointment approaches and is less than the predetermined time in the future , the calendar appointment may be automatically retrieved from the second device and stored solely on the first device . ( 3 ) notes of calendar appointments may be automatically stored on the second device , and retrieved from the second device only when the user attempts to access them . similar rules may be applied to user data items of other types . fig4 is an illustration of an exemplary communication system 400 , according to some embodiments . system 400 is similar to system 100 of fig1 , where device 102 is a mobile device 402 , and device 104 is a wireless smart card reader 404 . mobile device 402 and smart card reader 404 are able to communicate securely over wireless communication link 106 . in the example shown in fig4 , wireless smart card reader 404 has a user input component that is an electromechanical device 406 , however , other and / or additional user input components are possible . similarly , in the example shown in fig4 , mobile device 402 has user input components 130 that include a thumbwheel 430 , a keyboard 431 and a microphone 432 , and user output components 132 that include a display 441 , a speaker 442 , and a light emitting diode ( led ) 443 . a smart card 408 is shown inserted into smart card reader 404 . smart cards are personalized security devices , defined by the iso7816 standard and its derivatives , as published by the international organization for standardization . a smart card may have a form factor of a credit card and may include a semiconductor device . the semiconductor device may include a memory that can be programmed with security information ( e . g ., a private decryption key , a private signing key , biometrics , etc .) and may include a processor and / or dedicated logic , for example , dedicated decryption logic and / or dedicated signing logic . a smart card may include a connector for powering the semiconductor device and performing serial communication with an external device . alternatively , smart card functionality may be embedded in a device having a different form factor and different communication protocol , for example a universal serial bus ( usb ) device . the person whose security information is stored on smart card 408 may use smart card reader 404 for identification , to unlock mobile device 402 , and to digitally sign and / or decrypt messages sent by mobile device 402 . smart card 408 may also include a random number generator . for example , mobile device 402 may be able to send and receive e - mail messages via an e - mail server ( not shown ). if , for example , the secure multipurpose internet mail extensions ( s / mime ) protocol is used , e - mail messages received at mobile device 402 are encrypted using a symmetric algorithm with a random session key generated by the sender of the e - mail message . the e - mail message also includes the session key , encrypted using the public key of the recipient . upon receipt of an encrypted e - mail message , mobile device 402 may extract the encrypted session key and send it to smart card reader 404 via communication link 106 . smart card reader 404 may send the encrypted session key to smart card 408 , and the decryption engine of smart card 408 may decrypt the encrypted session key using the recipient &# 39 ; s private decryption key , which is stored in smart card 408 . smart card reader 404 may retrieve the decrypted session key from smart card 408 and forward it to mobile device 402 via communication link 106 so that mobile device 402 can decrypt the received e - mail message . the smart card 408 may prevent unauthorized use of the recipient &# 39 ; s private decryption key by requiring that a password or personal identification number ( pin ) be supplied before allowing the decryption operation to proceed . similarly , to add a digital signature to an e - mail message being sent by mobile device 402 , mobile device 402 may send a hash of the contents of the e - mail message to smart card reader 404 over communication link 106 . smart card reader 404 may pass the hash to smart card 408 , which may produce a digital signature from the hash and the sender &# 39 ; s private signing key , which is stored in smart card 408 . smart card 408 may then pass the digital signature to smart card reader 404 , which may forward it to mobile device 402 via communication link 106 so that mobile device 402 can transmit it along with the e - mail message to the e - mail server . again , smart card 408 may prevent unauthorized use of the recipient &# 39 ; s private signing key by requiring that a password or pin be supplied before allowing the signing operation to proceed . the unencrypted message key should be sent securely over communication link 106 from smart card reader 404 to mobile device 402 to prevent a third party from retrieving the message key from communication link 106 . similarly , the hash to be signed should be sent authentically over communication link 106 from smart card reader 404 to mobile device 402 to prevent a third party from modifying the hash and thereby causing smart card 408 to produce a signature using a hash different from the hash of the intended message . therefore communication link 106 may need to be secured using cryptographic techniques . to secure communication link 106 , smart card reader 404 may need to generate various cryptographic keys . for example , if smart card reader 404 and mobile device 102 are bt devices , then a relatively short ( up to 16 - digits ) key may be used for a pairing procedure . an additional layer of security for communication link 106 may involve encryption with one or more additional keys . these additional keys may be generated from a shared secret between smart card reader 404 and mobile device 402 , and one or more symmetric keys based on this shared secret may be generated using known diffie - hellman and simple password exponential key exchange ( speke ) methods and variants thereof . moreover , random session keys may be generated for each individual communication session over communication link 106 . although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts , it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above . rather , the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims .
7
the pnaf etchant for thin films of aluminum , aluminum - silicon alloy and silicon provided by this invention is an aqueous mixture having from about 10 to about 50 parts by volume of concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid ( h 3 po 4 ), from about 0 . 1 to about 5 parts by volume of concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid ( hno 3 ) from about 2 to about 12 parts by volume of glacial acetic acid ( hoac or ch 3 cooh ), from about 0 . 3 to about 3 parts by volume of concentrated ( 48 %) tetrafluoroboric acid ( hbf 4 ), between about 2 and about 1500 parts per million by volume of a surfactant , and from zero to about 10 parts by volume of water . the nitric acid is an oxidizing agent for silicon . if the nitric acid concentration in the etchant is made too high , the photoresist maskant on the semiconductor wafers for defining the areas to be etched will be attacked and the maskant may be lifted . if the nitric acid concentration in the etchant is too diluted , the oxidation and etch rate for silicon will be too small . alternative oxidizing agents which may be substituted for nitric acid in the etchant include permanganate anion containing salts , bismate anion containing salts and chromic acid . the phosphoric acid reacts with and dissolves aluminum . also , the phosphoric acid and the acetic acid together act as diluting agents and leveling agents for reducing the reactive power of the nitric acid and the fluoride containing constituent and for bringing the active species to some common form and concentration . if the amounts of phosphoric acid and acetic acid in the etchant mixture are insufficient , photoresist maskant will be attacked and tend to be lifted from the surfaces it is intended to protect . an alternative to the acetic acid for a diluting and leveling agent in the etchant is fluoroacetic acid . the fluoroboric acid in the etchant provides fluoride anions for dissolving the oxides of silicon obtained from the reaction between silicon and the nitric acid , as desired , and also for undesired dissolving of silicon oxide and silicon nitride from the dielectric layers already formed on the semiconductor wafer as part of the integrated circuit devices . an insufficient concentration of fluoride anion containing species causes the etch rate for silicon to be too low . an excess concentration of fluoride anion containing species causes the etch rate for a silicon oxide or silicon nitride dielectric layer underlying the metallization film to be too high . in the etchant solution , the preponderance of fluoride anions are bound or complexed wih cations of boron in fluoroborate anions and are unavailable for causing dissolution of silicon oxide . the ionization constants for the fluoroborate anion are such that a controlled or metered disassociation of the fluoride anions from the fluoroborate anions occurs in the etchant solution . it is this relatively constant rate of release of fluoride anions which gives the etchant of the invention its quality of providing relatively constant etch rates for silicon and silicon oxide over a relatively long interval of time such as , for example , an eight - hour shift . this controlled release of fluoride anions also gives the etchant of the invention its quality of providing an etch rate for silicon oxide which is relatively low relative to its etch rate for silicon . as has been indicated , the preferred fluoroborate anion containing compound is fluoroboric acid . however , other sources of the fluoroborate anion such as , for example , ammonium fluoroborate or the fluoroborate salt of an alkali metal such as sodium fluoroborate may be used for this purpose . suitable surfactants for use in this invention are , for example , the anionic perfluorocarboxylic acid surfactants . of these , the preferred surfactant is made and sold under the trademark fc - 93 by the 3m company of minneapolis . minn . as alternatives , a polyethoxylated alcohol surfactant such as , for example , triton x - 100 made and sold by rohm and haas company of philadelphia , pa ., is suitable . a surfactant such as these reduces the surface tension of the etchant . wetting of the surfaces of the parts to be etched is thereby facilitated . as a consequence , bubbles of gas which tend to form during etching are less likely to adhere to the surfaces . thus , more uniform etching and a reduction in the probability of forming short - circuiting bridges results . a preferred composition for the pnaf etchant in accordance with this invention is the mixture including about 24 parts ( from 20 to 28 parts ) by volume of concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid , about 1 part ( from 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 parts ) by volume of concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid , about 5 parts ( from 4 to 6 parts ) of glacial acetic acid , about 1 part ( from 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 parts ) by volume of concentrated ( 48 %) tetrafluoroboric acid , about one hundred parts ( from 50 to 150 parts ) per million by volume of anionic perfluorocarboxylic acid surfactant , and about 2 parts ( 1 to 3 parts ) by volume of water . this etchant is preferably used at 40 ° c . for etching silicon . the wafers being etched are preferably agitated while in the etchant to aid in the release of bubbles from their surfaces . for comparison purposes , etching rate tests were conducted using a prior - art pnaf etchant in which the sources of fluoride ions were ammonium fluoride and hydrofluoric acid . the etchant included concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid , concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid , glacial acetic acid , concentrated ( 40 %) ammonium fluoride , concentrated ( 49 %) hydrofluoric acid , fc - 93 surfactant , and water in the following proportions by volume , respectively : 24 , 1 , 5 , 0 . 28 , 0 . 05 , 100 ppm , and 2 . the relative proportions of the constituents of this etchant are the same as in the preferred etchant of the invention except for the fluoride anion providing compounds . the concentration of fluoride anion containing species in this mixture is less than is disclosed for the etchants discussed in the patents issued to kikuchi et al and to fraser as referenced hereinabove . the following etch rates were obtained at a temperature of 45 ° c . and without any agitation . ______________________________________ ratio of polysilicon etchmaterial etch rate rate to material etch rate______________________________________polysilicon 140 a / minute 1dry thermal 100 a / minute 1 . 4silicon oxidesilicon nitride 4 a / minute 356 - 8 % phosphorus 329 a / minute 0 . 43doped , densifiedsilox______________________________________ as has been indicated , the higher the ratio of the etch rate for the polysilicon to the etch rate for another of the materials , the more suitable is the etchant for use in producing integrated circuits . in another test , the preferred etchant according to the invention was tested at 45 ° c . without any agitation . the etchant included concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid , concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid , glacial acetic acid , concentrated ( 48 %) tetrafluoroboric acid , fc - 93 surfactant , and water in the following proportions by volume , respectively : 24 , 1 , 5 , 1 , 100 ppm , and 2 . the following etch rates were observed : ______________________________________ ratio of polysilicon etchmaterial etch rate rate to material etch rate______________________________________polysilicon 280 a / minute 1dry thermal 34 a / minute 8 . 2silicon oxidesilicon nitride 3 . 4 a / minute 826 - 8 % phosphorus 545 a / minute 0 . 51doped , densified silox______________________________________ the performance of this etchant is appreciably improved over the prior - art etchant of example 1 with respect to the polysilicon etch rate relative to the etch rates for the silicon oxide , silicon nitride and the silox . the absolute etch rate for polysilicon provided by this etchant is regarded as more favorable than etch rates for polysilicon obtained with lower proportions of fluoroboric acid . in a similar test of this etchant on pure aluminum , an etch rate of about 1 micron in 3 . 5 minutes , or about 2900 angstroms per minute , was obtained . in factory tests of this preferred etchant , no evidence of resist lifting was observed . the metal line definition remained sharp . the etch rate obtained for pure aluminum , as stated above , is faster than is desirable for use in a production mode . this fast etch rate makes a production process difficult for an operator to control . it is anticipated that the preferred etchant will be more suitable for production mode etching of aluminum at lower temperatures , e . g ., in the range from about 30 ° c . to about 35 ° c . provided the etching bath is held at a pressure below atmospheric pressure to reduce bubble formation . to date , the preferred etchant has been used by the inventors herein in a production mode defreckle operation . a defreckle operation is typically used to remove residual silicon and aluminum left behind after etching aluminum - silicon alloy in an etchant designed primarily for the dissolution of pure aluminum . in the defreckle operations , the parts are typically in contact with the preferred etchant for a period of time in the range from about 30 seconds to about one minute . in still another test , another etchant according to the invention was tested at 45 ° c . and without any agitation . the proportion of fluoroboric acid in this etchant was one - third of that in the preferred etchant of example 2 . the following etch rates were observed : ______________________________________ ratio of polysilicon etchmaterial etch rate rate to material etch rate______________________________________polysilicon 117 a / minute 1dry thermal 30 a / minute 3 . 9silicon oxidesilicon nitride 1 a / minute 1176 . 8 % phosphorus 383 a / minute 0 . 31doped , densifiedsilox______________________________________ the performance of this etchant is improved over the preferred etchant of example 2 with respect to the polysilicon etch rate relative to the etch rate for the silicon nitride only . in factory tests of this etchant , no evidence of resist lifting was observed . the metal line definition remained sharp . the preferred pnaf etchant of example 2 was tested again . four sets of tests were conducted at temperatures in the range from about 42 ° c . to about 45 . 5 ° c . the primary difference in this example is that the parts being etched were agitated . ______________________________________ ratio of polysilicon average etch rate tomaterial etch rate material etch rate______________________________________set 1polysilicon 1571 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 1064 a / minute 1 . 48doped , densifiedsiloxset 2polysilicon 763 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 1318 a / minute 0 . 58doped , densifiedsiloxset 3polysilicon 836 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 1122 a / minute 0 . 75doped , densifiedsiloxset 4polysilicon 883 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 1548 a / minute 0 . 57doped , densifiedsilox______________________________________ the first set of data appears anomalous . the remaining data indicate that agitation increases the absolute etch rates while the etch rate of polysilicon relative to the etch rate for silox remains relatively constant . the preferred etchant was tested again on polysilicon at temperatures between 43 ° c . and 44 ° c . and without agitation . an etching rate of 351 a / minute was obtained . this is approximately the same etch rate on polysilicon as was obtained in example 2 . thus , examples 2 and 5 corroborate each other . still another pnaf etchant according to the invention was tested which included concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid , concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid , glacial acetic acid , concentrated ( 48 %) tetrafluoroboric acid , and water . these are the same constituents as in the preferred etchant of example 2 except for the surfactant which was omitted . the above - listed constituents were present in this etchant in the following proportions by volume , respectively : 14 , 1 , 5 , 0 . 32 , and 2 . the phosphoric acid and fluoroboric acid here are reduced below their proportions in the preferred etchant of example 2 . a set of tests was conducted at temperatures in the range from about 42 ° c . to 45 ° c . the parts being etched were agitated . no appreciable etching of silicon occurred in 30 seconds . ______________________________________ average ratio of polysilicon etchmaterial etch rate rate to material etch rate______________________________________polysilicon 0 16 - 8 % phosphorus 293 a / minute 0doped , densified silox______________________________________ an additional etchant according to the invention was tested which included concentrated ( 85 %) orthophosphoric acid , concentrated ( 70 %) nitric acid , glacial acetic acid , concentrated ( 48 %) tetrafluoroboric acid , and water . these are the same constituents as in the preferred etchant of example 2 except for the surfactant which was omitted . the above - listed constituents were present in this etchant in the following proportions by volume , respectively : 29 , 5 , 5 , 0 . 32 , and 2 . the phosphoric acid and nitric acid here are increased above their proportions in the preferred etchant of example 2 . the fluoroboric acid is reduced below its proportion in the preferred etchant of example 2 . three sets of tests were conducted at temperatures in the range from about 42 ° c . to 45 . 5 ° c . the parts being etched were agitated . ______________________________________ ratio of polysilicon average etch rate tomaterial etch rate material etch rate______________________________________set 1polysilicon 335 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 137 a / minute 2 . 45doped , densifiedsiloxset 2polysilicon 263 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 330 a / minute 0 . 80doped , densifiedsiloxset 3polysilicon 182 a / minute 16 - 8 % phosphorus 145 a / minute 1 . 26doped , densifiedsilox______________________________________ the indications in data sets 1 and 3 that silox is etching slower than polysilicon is contrary to the general experience with these etchant types . therefore , the data of this example is believed to be inconclusive . a simulated production mode test of the preferred etchant of example 2 was conducted at 43 ° c . and without agitation . a total of ten wafers were etched in a 250 milliliter etchant bath over a period of six and one - half hours . this is roughly equivalent to etching a total of about 150 wafers in a two - gallon etchant bath . in actual practice , this preferred etchant has been used and has performed satisfactorily in a two - gallon etchant bath for defreckle operations operating in a production mode and processing about 500 wafers per hour for an eight - hour shift without requiring a change in the etchant or etching conditions . the following etch rates were observed : ______________________________________initial finaletch etch etch etch etchrate rate rate rate ratea / minute ratio a / minute ratio reduction______________________________________poly - 288 1 226 1 22 % silicondoped , 407 0 . 71 364 0 . 62 11 % densifiedsiloxalum - 2500 0 . 12 -- -- -- inum______________________________________ the initial etch rates obtained are about the same as were obtained for this etchant in example 2 . the final etch rates were obtained after the etchant was allowed to stand for the six and one - half hour period and after etching the two - gallon equivalent of about 150 wafers . the preferred etchant according to the invention tested here showed greater stability in its etch rate for silox than was exhibited by the prior - art etchant tested in example 9 and greater stability in both its etch rate for polysilicon and for silox than was exhibited by the prior - art etchant tested in example 10 . the wafers processed in the tests of examples 8 , 9 and 10 had patterns of photoresist maskant thereon . the wafers processed in this preferred etchant test exhibited about 15 microinches of maskant undercut per side after etching for about two minutes . this is considerably less than the maskant undercut experienced in the tests of the two prior - art etchants for which test results are given in examples 9 and 10 below . a simulated production mode test , as in example 8 , was conducted using one of the prior - art pnaf etchants disclosed in the above - referenced patent issued to kikuchi et al . the etchant used comprised a mixture of concentrated phosphoric acid ( 85 %), glacial acetic acid , water , concentrated ammonium fluoride ( 40 %) and concentrated nitric acid ( 70 %) in the proportions of 76 : 15 : 5 : 2 : 3 , respectively . the following etch rates were observed : ______________________________________initial finaletch etchrate etch rate etch etcha / rate a / rate rateminute ratio minute ratio reduction______________________________________polysilicon 144 1 126 1 13 % doped , densified 309 0 . 47 214 0 . 59 31 % siloxaluminum 3500 0 . 04 -- -- -- ______________________________________ the wafers processed in this prior - art etchant exhibited about 50 microinches of maskant undercut per side after etching for about two minutes . still another simulated production mode test , as in example 8 , was conducted using another of the prior - art pnaf etchants disclosed in the above - referenced patent issued to kikuchi et al . the etchant used comprised a mixture of concentrated phosphoric acid ( 85 %), glacial acetic acid , water , concentrated ammonium fluoride ( 40 %), and concentrated nitric acid ( 70 %) in the proportions of 76 : 15 : 5 : 4 : 3 , respectively . this is twice the proportion of ammonium fluoride as was used in the etchant test in example 9 . the following etch rates were observed : ______________________________________initial finaletch etchrate etch rate etch etcha / rate a / rate rateminute ratio minute ratio reduction______________________________________polysilicon 413 1 271 1 34 % doped , densified 726 0 . 57 530 0 . 51 27 % siloxaluminum 3000 0 . 14 -- -- -- ______________________________________ the wafers processed in this prior - art etchant exhibited about 75 microinches of maskant undercut per side after etching for about two minutes . while the invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
7
as shown in fig1 and 2 , a glove 10 of the present invention has a top thermoplastic layer 12 and a bottom thermoplastic layer 14 . the top layer 12 is advantageously shorter than the bottom layer 14 to provide a bare inner surface 15 of the bottom layer 14 along which a hand may be slid easily into a glove opening 20 . the two layers are superimposed and are preferably fabricated from tear - resistant plastic film , such as polyethylene film . the top and bottom layers 12 , 14 are joined together along their peripheries 16 , 17 ( respectively ) to form an abutted portion 18 , and the layers in the wrist region of the glove are not joined together in order to provide a glove opening 20 where the fingers of a hand are inserted between the layers 12 , 14 . the top and bottom layers may be joined by heat welding or a similar process . the glove opening 20 is designed to allow the entire hand to be inserted quickly and easily between the two layers of plastic film . in particular , an extended region 19 of the bottom layer 14 is not overlayed by the top layer 12 , providing the bare inner surface 15 of the bottom layer 14 for permitting the easy donning of a glove . moreover , each plastic layer is preferably fabricated from a material having little elasticity , such as polyethylene , causing the glove opening 20 to open immediately with little effort by a user upon donning the glove . the top 12 and bottom 14 layers of the glove are preferably shaped to form a separate pocket for each finger , where each pocket is sufficiently large to permit a finger to be slid easily thereinto . alternately , the glove may be shaped to form a mitt having a thumb region and a separate pocket for covering all other fingers . the bottom layer 14 of the glove has a mounting section 28 attached to its extended region 19 by a transversely oriented line of weakness 33 , i . e ., a perforated line in the plastic film substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 29 of the glove . the mounting section 28 is preferably integrally formed with the bottom layer 14 . the mounting section 28 includes at least one hole 32 ( or “ key - hole 32 ”) for receiving an arm or other type of fastener of a glove rack . the mounting section 28 preferably has two key - holes 32 , wherein each keyhole is positioned approximately 1 inch from the rearmost edge 21 of the mounting section and approximately 1 inch from the respective side edge 22 , 23 of the mounting section . an embodiment of a disposable glove system , including a stacked unit of gloves 30 and a flat glove rack that rests on top of a substantially horizontal surface , is shown in fig3 . the stacked unit of gloves may comprise an integral stack of individual gloves heat welded together in one or more regions of their mounting sections 28 , e . g ., by hot - punches which create small holes 26 through the mounting sections 28 . alternately , the individual gloves may be fastened to each other by tie straps extending through their mounting holes , which tie straps may also be fastened to a flat section of paperboard immediately beneath the stacked unit of gloves in order to hold the gloves securely thereto . the tie straps may be removed , and the gloves separated from the paperboard , before mounting the gloves to a glove rack . any number of gloves , between roughly ten and two - hundred , may be included in a stacked unit . a stacked unit generally has a narrow region 45 proximate the mounting sections 28 of the gloves 10 because the mounting section of each glove comprises a single layer of plastic film , in contrast to the dual layers of the hand portion . the glove rack 37 in fig3 comprises a support structure 38 with at least one fastener 40 mounted thereto ( two fasteners shown ). the fasteners 40 may be in the form of straight wicket posts 44 , or arms , affixed to a flat surface 39 of the support structure 38 , which surface also provides the mounting surface 42 for the gloves . it is intended that other types of fasteners can also be used . the gloves 10 are mounted to the glove rack 37 by directing the fasteners 40 through the key - holes 32 of the mounting section 28 of the stacked unit of gloves 30 and then laying the gloves on top of the mounting surface 42 of the rack . the mounting section of a glove may have longitudinal lines of weakness 34 extending from each mounting hole 32 to the rearmost edge 21 of the mounting section 28 . such lines of weakness , substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the glove 10 , provide an alternate means for removing a glove from the glove rack . longitudinal lines of weakness 34 replace the single transverse line of weakness ( reference numeral 33 in fig1 ), thus eliminating any residual mounting portion that might otherwise remain on the glove rack after a glove is removed . as shown in fig4 and 5 , the preferred dispensing system of the present invention includes a stacked unit of gloves 30 mounted on a glove rack 50 specially configured for dispensing the gloves quickly , safely , and easily . the glove rack has a top mounting surface 52 , a bottom surface 54 , a front surface 56 , and a rear surface 58 . the front surface 56 has two fasteners 60 protruding therefrom . the fasteners 60 preferably comprise j - shaped arms 62 which point toward the bottom surface 54 of the glove rack . the two fasteners shown may be joined to each other by an intermediate member 57 ( shown in phantom ) to provide a single c - shaped structure that may be easily mounted to the front surface 56 , e . g ., by an adhesive . the gloves 10 are mounted to the glove rack 50 by directing the fasteners 60 through the mounting holes 32 of the mounting sections 28 of the gloves 10 . the gloves are then draped over the top surface 54 of the glove rack . as an important aspect of the preferred embodiment of a glove rack of the present invention , the j - shaped fasteners 62 are positioned on the front surface 56 of the glove rack 50 , instead of on the glove mounting surface 52 , to allow the safe and easy donning of a glove . to don a glove , a user inserts a hand into the opening 20 of the top glove — advantageously while the glove is attached to the glove rack — and urges the glove forward toward the abutted ( finger ) portion 18 of the glove . fasteners mounted on the top mounting surface of a glove rack may otherwise interfere with and / or injure the hand or the wrist while donning a glove . in contrast , the front - mounted fasteners 62 point forward and downward in order to avoid the hand or wrist entirely as the top glove is donned . therefore , in the preferred glove rack , there are no encumbrances that interfere with the hand or wrist of a user , as there are in the embodiment of fig3 . once a hand is safely inside the glove , the sliding motion by the hand causes the transverse line of weakness 33 to separate , releasing the glove from the glove rack . as shown in fig6 an alternate preferred embodiment 80 of the glove rack has additional advantageous features . the top surface 54 is between 1 and 3 inches above the bottom surface , and the width 59 of the front surface 56 is preferably greater than that of the rear surface 58 . thus the top mounting surface is angularly displaced from the front surface of the rack by an obtuse angle , providing a more ergonomic design whereby the path of donning the glove points downward to permit a hand to slide more easily into the glove . because the top surface is elevated , one &# 39 ; s fingers do not hit the surface on top which the glove rack rests as a glove is donned . the glove rack is preferably composed of a material that is portable yet sufficiently heavy to prevent the rack from moving as a glove is donned and removed , such as a metal or a rigid plastic . the glove rack may also have rubber feet ( not shown ) mounted on its bottom surface in order to grip a surface more securely , and may have permanent securing means for securing the glove rack permanently to a horizontal or vertical surface . plastic and / or rubber covers 65 may be attached to the fasteners for further reducing any possibility that a user might be injured by the glove rack . the glove rack advantageously has no side walls to permit simple and economical construction thereof . the stacked unit of gloves also has several advantageous features . as shown in fig5 the bend 70 in the gloves is preferably positioned above the edge 72 where the top mounting surface 52 and the front surface 56 of the glove rack intersect , causing the gloves to separate more easily from the rack because their tear lines ( lines of weakness ) are creased above the edge 72 . the bend 70 also causes the glove opening of the top glove to spread apart slightly , thus increasing the ease of donning the gloves and eliminating the need to handle the gloves when donning them . the angular displacement between the front and top surfaces of the rack also relieves the region 75 of plastic film immediately surrounding the key - holes of each glove of magnified stress as the glove is removed , thus causing the glove to tear along its tear line and preventing the region 75 proximate the keyholes from otherwise ripping . the stacked unit of gloves may be sold either together with the glove rack or separately as a replacement saddle of gloves . although the glove in fig5 may be worn on either the right or left hand , it is more easily donned by the right hand . ( the glove may also be donned by the left hand by rotating turning one &# 39 ; s left hand palm - up while donning the glove .) a stacked unit of left - handed gloves that are the mirror image of the glove of fig5 but otherwise identical , may also be manufactured to allow a user to don gloves onto both hands in the more ergonomic palm - down manner . it will be appreciated that , when longitudinal lines of weakness are used instead of a single transverse line of weakness , the entire glove 10 is released from the glove rack and no portion of the gloves 10 remains behind . also , it will be appreciated that the strength of the material forming the mounting section 28 and the reduction in such strength caused by the lines of weakness 34 can be adjusted to create an optimal design . it should be understood , of course , that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are 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
referring to the drawings , wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures , and particularly to the embodiments shown in fig1 to 4 , the roller cotton gin of the present invention is indicated generally by the reference character 10 , and in customary fashion , may be preceded by a distributor , indicated generally at 12 in the diagrammatic elevational view of fig1 with a feeder , indicated generally at 14 , interposed between the distributor 12 and the roller cotton gin 10 . the cotton to be ginned is fed into the machine by way of feeder 14 , in one suitable example , and the lint fibers that are separated from the seed are discharged into a lint duct or flue 18 for transporting the fibers to the subsequent processing station , such as a battery condenser , lint cleaner or other known lint processing equipment . the gin may be provided with any of a number of arrangements for reprocessing or reclaiming unginned locks . as one example , a comb or rib structure as shown in fig6 a , 6b , and as hereinafter described , may be provided to return unginned locks around the rotary blade device to the pinch point for reprocessing . as another example , there may be associated with the gin , as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , a reclaiming station as indicated diagrammatically at 20 , where the unginned seeds that may pass the ginning station are separated from the ginned seeds and conveyed by a suitable return duct back to the distributor or other suitable point in the plant . the structure of the roller gin , and the associated feeder 14 and the optional reclaiming unit 18 is illustrated in the vertical section view of fig2 . the roller gin stand comprises , in accordance with usual practice , a frame 22 , made up of sheet metal and suitable bracing members to support the various operating components of the gin and also provide support for the associated seed cotton feeder 14 which mounts on top of the frame 22 . the seed cotton feeder 14 includes a housing 24 , also typically formed of sheet metal and bracing members , having shaped interior sheet metal partitions 26 transversely spanning the width of the feeder and extending through the total height thereof defining a generally vertically arranged passage 28 for transfer of the seed cotton from the lower outlet of the feeder 14 to the gin stand . movement of the seed cotton through the passage 28 of the feeder is controlled by a pair of feed rollers 30 , which are usually driven by an automatically controlled variable drive mechanism , in accordance with conventional practice , in correlated relationship to the feed requirements of the gin , and transfer the cotton to the zone of action of the large feed wheel 32 delivering the seed cotton to the downwardly inclined slide 34 within the upper portion of the gin stand 10 . the cotton being delivered at a controlled rate from the lower discharge end of the feeder 14 and downwardly along the inclined slide or feed chute 34 is deposited by gravity onto the top of the ginning roller 36 which has a friction surface or cover 38 of leather or rubber - like material of such a nature that the fibers of the cottom tend to adhere thereto so that the cotton is carried around the ginning roller in the direction of the arrow 36 &# 39 ; toward the stationary ginning knife 40 . to cooperate with the ginning roller 36 and stationary ginning knife 40 in removing seed from the seed cotton , a rotating blade seed stripper member , which i refer to as a rotobar blade assembly 42 is provided immediately adjacent the leading or upstream edge 40a of the ginning knife , for example , with its center axis laying substantially in the radial plane extending from the center axis of the ginning roller 36 through the leading edge 40a of the ginning knife . the rotobar blade assembly 42 of the present invention is formed of a 11 / 2 inch by 11 / 2 inch square cross section bar for upland cotton , and a 2 inch by 2 inch square cross section for extra long staple , having for example , cylindrical outer ends of the same or slightly smaller diameter than the thickness of the bar journaled in suitable bearings ( not shown ) in the side wall of the gin stand . the square cross section portion 44 of the bar extends substantially the full width of the gin stand and is machined to a configuration to provide 4 blade formations 46 at the 4 corners of the square bar portion by providing a v - cut vein or groove 48 spanning the axial length of the square bar portion 44 immediately adjacent each of the 4 corners on the side thereof in the direction of rotation of the rotating blade assembly , whereby one of the sides 48a of the v - cut forms a blade surface facing forwardly relative to the direction of rotation of the rotorbar 42 to engage and move the seeds over the leading edge of the stationary knife 40 . in one specific example , the 11 / 2 inch by 11 / 2 inch square cross section bar is machined to provide cylindrical end portions having a diameter of about 1 7 / 16 inch to be journaled in the bearings at the sides of the gin stand and the v - cuts 48 adjacent the 4 corners 46a of the square cross section bar portion 44 are cut to provide sides 48a and 48b which are each at approximately 45 ° angles to the surface of the bar in which they are cut with each of the sides 48a , 48b having a width of about 5 / 16 inch , the edge of the v - cut side 48a intersecting the surface of the bar portion 44 in which it is cut approximately 1 / 16 inch from the adjacent corner 46a and the other side 48b of the v - cut intersecting the bar surface approximately 1 / 2 inch from the adjacent corner 46a . the diagonal dimension of this square bar is therefore approximately 2 . 12 inches , providing the small diameter rotating blade assembly which can be conveniently operated at speeds appropriate to release the seed after about 1 / 2 inch to 5 / 8 inch movement , or about half the staple length , after the seed is moved over the edge 40a of the stationary knife 40 at the pinch point p . while the use of such a rotobar or rotary blade assembly 42 as above described provides capacities much superior to those obtainable with prior roller gins , the number of unginned locks which may pass over the point of contact of the stationary knife with the ginning roller surface , which would have to be reclaimed or reprocessed in some manner , can be further reduced by providing on each of the flat faces of the square cross section portion 44 of the rotobar 42 which form the surfaces which extend inwardly from the cylindrical paths swept by the edges or corners 46a of the blade formations 46 , a pad of flexible material in strip form , as indicated at 50 in fig4 and 5 , substantially centered on the associated side of the rotobar and extending the axial length of the square cross section portion 44 . for example , the flexible pad strip 50 may be formed of felt or sponge rubber , having a cross - sectional dimension of about 1 / 4 inch by 5 / 8 inch , bonded to the center of the flat surface of the associated side of the rotobar and extending the length of the square cross section portion thereof . the pad 50 should be flexible or soft enough to avoid crushing of the seed against the ginning roller , and serves to press the seed locks against the ginning point as the blade formations 46 engage and move the seeds across the top of the pinch point and the edge of the stationary knife 40 . i have also found that the small diameter of the rotobar blade device 42 may sometimes cause an uneven flow of cotton between it and the ginning roller , when for example , some of the cotton approaches the rotobar above its center line . a smoother , more uniform feed of the seed cotton to the rotobar device and the knife can be obtained by the arrangement of fig5 where there is provided an auxiliary feed control roller 52 spaced slightly upstream from the rotobar blade assembly 42 and located between the latter and the discharge end of the slide or feed chute 34 . the auxiliary feed control roller 52 , as shown in fig5 is formed of a cylindrical smooth surfaced roller member 54 , having , for example , a diameter of about 2 15 / 16 inches ( for the 11 / 2 inch by 11 / 2 inch rotobar ) and reduced diameter ends journaled in bearings in the side walls of the frame 22 and positioned so that the cylindrical surface 54 passes very close to the surface of the ginning roller 36 during rotation of the auxiliary feed control roller 52 . by suitable means known to those skilled in the art , such as pulleys and motor drive belts , not shown , the ginning roller 36 , rotobar blade assembly 42 , and auxiliary feed control roller 52 are driven by drive means diagrammatically indicated at 36x and 42x in fig1 in the directions indicated by the arrows and at appropriate speeds to sweep the outer free edges of the blade formations 46 of the rotobar 42 in the direction indicated by the arrow 42a , to move them inwardly toward the friction surface 38 of the ginning roller 36 and into the closest proximity to the surface 48 at the pinch point p just in advance of the leading or forward edge of the stationary knife 40 . the stationary ginning knife 40 bears on the friction surface 38 of the ginning roller 36 adjacent the rotobar blade assembly 42 , and the fibers or lint of the cotton locks are drawn beneath the stationary ginning knife 40 while the seeds are prevented from passing beneath the knife because there is not sufficient clearance for the seeds . the fibers are thus pulled from the seeds by the friction surface 38 of the ginning roller as the ginning knife 40 restrains the seeds against movement and the seeds are discharged above the ginning knife in the direction of the arrow 56 . the fibers or lint pulled under the ginning knife 40 by the friction surface of the ginning roller 36 pass into the outlet chamber 66 which communicates with the lint duct or lint flue 18 , while those fibers which remain adhered to the friction surface 38 of the ginning roller 36 may be stripped therefrom , in accordance with conventional practice , by providing a doffing roller 68 having flexible rubber - like blades 70 which serve to strip the fibers from the friction surface . it will be apparent that the use of the pads of flexible material spanning the axial length of the working portion of the rotobar between the blade formations is , in effect , located in the base or bottom surface of the channel - like pockets formed between successive circumferentially spaced blade formations , serving to resiliently push the seed locks into the pinch point . this use of flexible material attached to the base surface portion of these channel - like formations also would serve a similar purpose in rotating blade assemblies of the type shown in my earlier u . s . pat . no . 3 , 251 , 094 , for example , wherein blades are provided as a plurality of radial flat blade members fixed in a cylindrical center shaft forming channel - like pockets between the successive blades as illustrated in fig5 a , where the pads 50 &# 39 ; are provided between the blades 48 &# 39 ; of the blade assembly 42 &# 39 ;. in either case , the flexible filler or pad between the successive blades resiliently urging the seeds in the channel - like pocket formations against the friction surface of the ginning roller further increases the assurance that at least a few fibers of each seed lock will be caught between the knife 40 and the ginning roller surface 38 as the seed cotton is moved to the pinch point . once a few fibers of the seed lock are caught between the stationary knife and the ginning roller surface , usually all of the fibers are then pulled from the seed before the seed is finally released to be discharged from the gin stand , since the seed is released from the blade which just carried it over the pinch point after travel for about 1 / 2 the staple length of its fibers and thus is drawn back to the pinch point and engaged and moved by the next successive blade advancing to the pinch point so long as fibers remain on the seed and some fibers are caught between the knife and the ginning roller surface . in the event the reclaiming device indicated generally at 20 in fig1 is associated with the roller gin , seeds that are discharged along the path indicated by the arrow 56 above the ginning knife 40 , after the lint has been removed from them , pass down a seed chute 72 and are subjected to reclaiming processing by delivering them into the working zone of a rotary saw 74 , for example , where the lint fibers still adhered to the seed that have not been completely cleaned of lint are caught by the seed of the saw and carried past stationary bars 76 through which the cleaned seeds pass and are removed through outlet passages 78 . seeds which still have sufficient lint on them to remain caught on the saw teeth are carried to the doffing zone where the doffing brush 80 removes them from the saw teeth and the incompletely ginned seeds with adhering lint fibers are then delivered by a return duct 82 back to the inlet side of the cleaner and extractor 12 . alternatively , an arrangement such as that illustrated in fig6 a , 6b may be provided , where , instead of providing the reclaiming mechanism described above , a simple wire comb or rib - like structure 84 is provided adjacent the rotobar blade assembly 42 , formed of a plurality or arcuately curved wire fingers 86 supported in downwardly extending relation from a supporting block 88 and extending in a concave , substantially semi - cylindrical path facing toward and substantially concentric with the axis of the rotobar 42 . the curved wire fingers 86 lie in parallel vertical planes perpendicular to the axis of the rotobar with the curved portions thereof spaced just outwardly of but close to the free edges or corners of the blade formations 46 , and are spaced transversely apart a proper distance to permit passage of seeds therebetween but to return unginned cotton to the ginning process by causing them to be carried back across the top of the rotobar and down again to the pinch point p . the ginning knife 40 is rigidly mounted in the supporting frame 90 fixed in the housing of the gin stand , while the ginning roller 36 may be movably supported so that it can be adjusted toward and away from the stationary knife 40 and be caused to engage the knife 40 under varying degrees of pressure . the roller gin of the present invention operates to provide for highly efficient ginning because of the action of the altered square cross section rotobar 42 with its blade formations 46 and the stationary knife 40 and friction surfaced ginning roller 36 , and the correlation of sizes and surface speeds thereof . it will be appreciated that the blade formations 46 of the rotobar 42 rotate in such a path that the outer tips or free edges of the blades described a circular or cylindrical path whose diameter is a small fraction , less than about one - fifth , of the diameter of the ginning roller 36 , and the blade formations 46 define between them a series of resilient - pad - bottomed pockets or channels which receive the unginned seed cotton discharging from the feed chute 34 onto the upwardly facing surface portion of the ginning roller 36 and carried thereby into the zone of action of the rotobar 42 . assuming a 15 inch diameter ginning roller 36 operating in the range of about 135 r . p . m . with upland cotton , the rotobar surface speed should be of the order of about 10 percent less than the speed of the ginning roller , or about 860 r . p . m ., with a rotobar of the size described to provide the proper high capacity and effective ginning of the upland cotton cotton . when the seed cotton enters the channels or pockets formed between the blade formations of the rotobar 42 , and reaches the pinch point p , the fibers are drawn under the stationary knife 40 by their adherence to the friction surface of the ginning roller 36 while the seed is restrained against movement thereunder by the working edge of the stationary knife . the diameter of the rotobar 42 and its surface speed relative to the surface speed of the ginning roller are such that the seed carried through and beyond the pinch point while the fibers are being drawn therefrom beneath the knife 40 are released by the blade surface 48a of the rotobar which advanced then , after a travel of about 1 / 2 the staple length from the pinch point , so that the seed is allowed to return to the knife edge before the next blade surface 48a hits the seed . the travel of the ginning roller 38 , of course , is enough to pull the seed back to the knife 40 before the next blade surface 48a reaches the knife edge 40a , and thus the ginning roller 36 and stationary knife 40 coact to withdraw substantially all of the fibers from the seed so long as sufficient fibers remain attached to the seed to continue drawing the seed back to the pinch point after each release by the traveling blade surfaces . tests of this construction have shown capacities which are much superior to any obtainable on prior roller gins , particularly where a reasonably low residual lint on the seed is maintained . for example , ginning upland cotton with as low as 6 . 6 percent residual lint with a 4 blade rotobar producing 2 bales per hour have been attained , whereas about 12 percent residual lint occurs when the same cotton is ginned on a conventional saw gin .
3
referring now to the drawing fig1 - 5 , wherein like reference numerals refer to like components throughout the several views , there appears an exemplary flashlight apparatus 110 , which includes a flashlight 112 , a weapon mount assembly 114 , and an end cap switch assembly 116 . as best seen in fig1 and 5 , the flashlight 112 may be a conventional flashlight having an illumination element 118 ( e . g ., incandescent , halogen , led , etc .) and a body 120 housing one or more batteries 121 as a source of electrical power . the apparatus will be described herein by way of reference to the depicted embodiment 110 wherein the flashlight 112 is of a type having a generally elongate and tubular body 120 having a removable end cap . the body 120 may be formed of a conductive material which forms a part of the illumination circuit , or may include a conductive portion or component therefor . however , it will be recognized that the present development can be adapted for all manner of flashlight sizes , shapes , and designs . the weapon mount assembly 114 includes a mounting base 122 which is removably attachable to a firearm and one or more bands or clamping elements 124 for removably securing the flashlight to the base 122 . in the depicted preferred embodiment the mounting base 122 is of a type adapted to be selectively positioned on a picatinny rail interface ( e . g ., as specified in mil - std - 1913 ). however , it will be recognized that the mounting base 122 may be adapted for use with all manner firearms , including without limitation rifles , handguns , machine guns , mortars , etc ., and that the mounting system may be modified to accommodate other rail interface systems or weapon accessory mounting systems . the end cap assembly 116 is best seen in fig2 and includes an external housing 126 and is adapted to replace a pre - existing , removable end cap ( not shown ) of the flashlight 112 . commonly , such end caps are removable to allow access to the battery compartment for battery replacement and include a terminal or contact for the battery or batteries and constitute , along with a metallic or conductive housing , a portion of the conductive pathway between the flashlight power source 121 and the illumination element 118 . the end cap assembly 116 is adapted for removable attachment to the flashlight body 120 in the same manner as the pre - existing end cap that it replaces , and may be a threaded connection wherein internal helical threads ( not shown ) in the end cap housing 126 engage complimentary external helical threads 128 on the flashlight body 120 . in this manner , the present development can be adapted for use with commercially available flashlights including , without limitation , flashlights available from surefire , llc , of fountain valley , calif ., and mag instrument , inc ., of ontario , calif ., among others . an insulator sleeve 130 is received within the forward facing ( in the operable position ) end of the housing 126 and includes internal threads 132 . a contact ring 134 formed of brass or other conductive material includes a narrow male threaded portion 136 and a flange portion 138 . the enlarged diameter flange portion 138 includes external threads 140 . the threads 140 engage internal threads 142 within the rearward end of the end cap housing 126 . the male threads 136 engage the threads 132 of the insulator 130 to capture an inward flange ( not shown ) in the end cap housing 126 . an axially - extending spring 144 passes through the contact ring 134 and insulator sleeve 130 and the distal end of the spring 144 contacts the negative terminal of the battery or batteries 121 , not shown in fig1 - 4 . the insulator ring 130 keeps the spring centered and prevents the spring 144 from shorting out against the side of the side of the flashlight body 120 . the proximal end of the spring 144 is coupled to a first , main circuit board 148 of a circuit board subassembly 146 . as best seen in fig3 , 4 and 5 , the circuit board subassembly 146 includes the first circuit board 148 which includes a processor 150 , such as microcontroller , microprocessor , application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ), or the like and an electronically controlled switch 152 for actuating the flashlight 112 as detailed below . a battery 154 provides power to operate the processor 150 and is preferably a long - life lithium battery . the battery 154 is electrically coupled to a momentary contact switch 156 on a second circuit board 158 . the battery 154 is carried within a battery spacer / insulator 160 between the circuit boards 148 and 158 . a remote connector receptacle 161 provides terminals for electrically coupling a remotely located switch . conductive screws 162 and nuts 164 ( e . g ., which may formed of brass ) carry current between the first and second circuit boards 148 and 158 . a positive contact spring 166 and a ground contact spring 168 on the first circuit board 148 contact the positive and negative terminals of the processor power supply 154 and are electrically coupled to the processor 150 . the momentary switch 156 may be a normally open switch which closes when depressed by the user to provide a signal to the processor 150 . control logic in the processor 150 allows the switch 156 to selectively operate the flashlight momentarily or in continuously - on operation . in operation , if the user desires to use the switch 156 as a momentary on switch , the user simply depresses the switch 156 when it is desired to actuate the flashlight 112 and releases the switch 156 when it is desired to deactuate the flashlight . the processor 150 monitors the state of the switch 156 . when the processor 150 receives the signal from the momentary switch 156 , the processor 150 triggers the electronically controlled switch 152 . the switch 152 is preferably semiconductor switch and more preferably a fet or mosfet switch . for example , in the case of a fet or mosfet switch , when the momentary switch 156 is in the closed state , a voltage is applied to an output line 170 of the processor 150 which is connected to the control input or gate of the electronically controlled switch 152 and current in the main flashlight circuit is allowed to flow , thereby actuating the flashlight 112 . when the switch 156 is released , a return spring 172 returns the switch 156 to the open position . when the processor detects that the switch 156 is open , the processor 150 again triggers the electronically controlled switch 152 to deactuate the flashlight 112 . again , in the case of a fet or mosfet switch , the voltage at the processor output line 170 is removed and current in the main flashlight circuit is switched off . control logic in the processor 150 also allows the flashlight to be turned continuously on in response to a “ double tap ” of the switch 156 ( or some other sequence ). in operation , if the user desires to turn the flashlight on continuously the user simply depresses the switch 156 twice in succession ( or , if desired , according to another preprogrammed sequence ). when the processor 150 receives the “ double tap ” signal from the momentary switch 156 , the processor 150 triggers the electronically controlled switch to actuate the flashlight 112 , which remains on when the switch is released . when the user desires to deactivate the flashlight when it is in continuous on mode , the user again actuates the switch 156 . additionally or alternatively , a remote connector cable 174 may be employed to provide an electrical connection between the remote connector receptacle 161 on the switch circuit board 158 and a remotely located switch , such as a switch provided on a hand grip or other weapon - mounted accessory or module . such remotely located switch may then be used in the same manner as the switch 156 . a rear housing cover plate 180 is secured to the housing 126 via threaded fasteners 182 . a sealing ring or gasket may be provided to create a sealing interference therebetween . the switch 156 and the remote connector 161 extend through openings in the housing cover plate 180 . sealing rings or gaskets 184 may be provided to create a seal against moisture or other contamination . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description . therefore , it is not desired to limit the invention to the specific examples disclosed or the exact construction and operation shown and described . rather , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .
5
in fig1 of the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted an overall view of a printhead assembly . fig2 shows the core components of the assembly in an exploded configuration . the printhead assembly 10 of the preferred embodiment comprises eleven printhead modules 11 situated along a metal “ invar ” channel 16 . at the heart of each printhead module 11 is a “ memjet ” chip 23 ( fig3 ). the particular chip chosen in the preferred embodiment being a six - color configuration . the “ memjet ” printhead modules 11 are comprised of the “ memjet ” chip 23 , a fine pitch flex pcb 26 and two micromoldings 28 and 34 sandwiching a mid - package film 35 . each module 11 forms a sealed unit with independent ink chambers 63 ( fig9 ) which feed the chip 23 . the modules 11 plug directly onto a flexible elastomeric extrusion 15 which carries air , ink and fixitive . the upper surface of the extrusion 15 has repeated patterns of holes 21 which align with ink inlets 32 ( fig3 a ) on the underside of each module 11 . the extrusion 15 is bonded onto a flex pcb ( flexible printed circuit board ). the fine pitch flex pcb 26 wraps down the side of each printhead module 11 and makes contact with the flex pcb 17 ( fig9 ). the flex pcb 17 carries two busbars 19 ( positive ) and 20 ( negative ) for powering each module 11 , as well as all data connections . the flex pcb 17 is bonded onto the continuous metal “ invar ” channel 16 . the metal channel 16 serves to hold the modules 11 in place and is designed to have a similar coefficient of thermal expansion to that of silicon used in the modules . a capping device 12 is used to cover the “ memjet ” chips 23 when not in use . the capping device is typically made of spring steel with an onsert molded elastomeric pad 47 ( fig1 a ). the pad 47 serves to duct air into the “ memjet ” chip 23 when uncapped and cut off air and cover a nozzle guard 24 ( fig9 ) when capped . the capping device 12 is actuated by a camshaft 13 that typically rotates throughout 180 °. the overall thickness of the “ memjet ” chip is typically 0 . 6 mm which includes a 150 micron inlet backing layer 27 and a nozzle guard 24 of 150 micron thickness . these elements are assembled at the wafer scale . the nozzle guard 24 allows filtered air into an 80 micron cavity 64 ( fig1 ) above the “ memjet ” ink nozzles 62 . the pressurized air flows through microdroplet holes 45 in the nozzle guard 24 ( with the ink during a printing operation ) and serves to protect the delicate “ memjet ” nozzles 62 by repelling foreign particles . a silicon chip backing layer 27 ducts ink from the printhead module packaging directly into the rows of “ memjet ” nozzles 62 . the “ memjet ” chip 23 is wire bonded 25 from bond pads on the chip at 116 positions to the fine pitch flex pcb 26 . the wire bonds are on a 120 micron pitch and are cut as they are bonded onto the fine pitch flex pcb pads ( fig3 ). the fine pitch flex pcb 26 carries data and power from the flex pcb 17 via a series of gold contact pads 69 along the edge of the flex pcb . the wire bonding operation between chip and fine pitch flex pcb 26 may be done remotely , before transporting , placing and adhering the chip assembly into the printhead module assembly . alternatively , the “ memjet ” chips 23 can be adhered into the upper micromolding 28 first and then the fine pitch flex pcb 26 can be adhered into place . the wire bonding operation could then take place in situ , with no danger of distorting the moldings 28 and 34 . the upper micromolding 28 can be made of a liquid crystal polymer ( lcp ) blend . since the crystal structure of the upper micromolding 28 is minute , the heat distortion temperature ( 180 ° c .- 260 ° c . ), the continuous usage temperature ( 200 ° c .- 240 ° c .) and soldering heat durability ( 260 ° c . for 10 seconds to 310 ° c . for 10 seconds ) are high , regardless of the relatively low melting point . each printhead module 11 includes an upper micromolding 28 and a lower micromolding 34 separated by a mid - package film layer 35 shown in fig3 . the mid - package film layer 35 can be an inert polymer such as polyimide , which has good chemical resistance and dimensional stability . the mid - package film layer 35 can have laser ablated holes 65 and can comprise a double - sided adhesive ( ie . an adhesive layer on both faces ) providing adhesion between the upper micromolding , the mid - package film layer and the lower micromolding . the upper micromolding 28 has a pair of alignment pins 29 passing through corresponding apertures in the mid - package film layer 35 to be received within corresponding recesses 66 in the lower micromolding 34 . this serves to align the components when they are bonded together . once bonded together , the upper and lower micromoldings form a tortuous ink and air path in the complete “ memjet ” printhead module 11 . there are annular ink inlets 32 in the underside of the lower micromolding 34 . in a preferred embodiment , there are six such inlets 32 for various inks ( black , yellow , magenta , cyan , fixitive and infrared ). there is also provided an air inlet slot 67 . the air inlet slot 67 extends across the lower micromolding 34 to a secondary inlet which expels air through an exhaust hole 33 , through an aligned hole 68 in fine pitch flex pcb 26 . this serves to repel the print media from the printhead during printing . the ink inlets 32 continue in the undersurface of the upper micromolding 28 as does a path from the air inlet slot 67 . the ink inlets lead to 200 micron exit holes also indicated at 32 in fig3 . these holes correspond to the inlets on the silicon backing layer 27 of the “ memjet ” chip 23 . there is a pair of elastomeric pads 36 on an edge of the lower micromolding 34 . these serve to take up tolerance and positively located the printhead modules 11 into the metal channel 16 when the modules are micro - placed during assembly . a preferred material for the “ memjet ” micromoldings is a lcp . this has suitable flow characteristics for the fine detail in the moldings and has a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion . robot picker details are included in the upper micromolding 28 to enable accurate placement of the printhead modules 11 during assembly . the upper surface of the upper micromolding 28 as shown in fig3 has a series of alternating air inlets and outlets 31 . these act in conjunction with the capping device 12 and are either sealed off or grouped into air inlet / outlet chambers , depending upon the position of the capping device 12 . they connect air diverted from the inlet slot 67 to the chip 23 depending upon whether the unit is capped or uncapped . a capper cam detail 40 including a ramp for the capping device is shown at two locations in the upper surface of the upper micromolding 28 . this facilitates a desirable movement of the capping device 12 to cap or uncap the chip and the air chambers . that is , as the capping device is caused to move laterally across the print chip during a capping or uncapping operation , the ramp of the capper cam detail 40 serves to elastically distort and capping device as it is moved by operation of the camshaft 13 so as to prevent scraping of the device against the nozzle guard 24 . the “ memjet ” chip assembly 23 is picked and bonded into the upper micromolding 28 on the printhead module 11 . the fine pitch flex pcb 26 is bonded and wrapped around the side of the assembled printhead module 11 as shown in fig4 . after this initial bonding operation , the chip 23 has more sealant or adhesive 46 applied to its long edges . this serves to “ pot ” the bond wires 25 ( fig6 ), seal the “ memjet ” chip 23 to the molding 28 and form a sealed gallery into which filtered air can flow and exhaust through the nozzle guard 24 . the flex pcb 17 carries all data and power connections from the main pcb ( not shown ) to each “ memjet ” printhead module 11 . the flex pcb 17 has a series of gold plated , domed contacts 69 ( fig2 ) which interface with contact pads 41 , 42 and 43 on the fine pitch flex pcb 26 of each “ memjet ” printhead module 11 . two copper busbar strips 19 and 20 , typically of 200 micron thickness , are jigged and soldered into place on the flex pcb 17 . the busbars 19 and 20 connect to a flex termination which also carries data . the flex pcb 17 is approximately 340 mm in length and is formed from a 14 mm wide strip . it is bonded into the metal channel 16 during assembly and exits from one end of the printhead assembly only . the metal u - channel 16 into which the main components are place is of a special alloy called “ invar 36 ”. it is a 36 % nickel iron alloy possessing a coefficient of thermal expansion of 1 / 10 th that of carbon steel at temperatures up to 400 ° f . the invar is annealed for optimal dimensional stability . additionally , the invar is nickel plated to a 0 . 056 % thickness of the wall section . this helps to further match it to the coefficient of thermal expansion of silicon which is 2 × 10 − 6 per ° c . the invar channel 16 functions to capture the “ memjet ” printhead modules 11 in a precise alignment relative to each other and to impart enough force on the modules 11 so as to form a seal between the ink inlets 32 on each printhead module and the outlet holes 21 that are laser ablated into the elastomeric ink delivery extrusion 15 . the similar coefficient of thermal expansion of the invar channel to the silicon chips allows similar relative movement during temperature changes . the elastomeric pads 36 on one side of each printhead module 11 serve to “ lubricate ” them within the channel 16 to take up any further lateral coefficient of thermal expansion tolerances without losing alignment . the invar channel is a cold rolled , annealed and nickel plated strip . apart from two bends that are required in its formation , the channel has two square cutouts 80 at each end . these mate with snap fittings 81 on the printhead location moldings 14 ( fig1 ). the elastomeric ink delivery extrusion 15 is a non - hydrophobic , precision component . its function is to transport ink and air to the “ memjet ” printhead modules 11 . the extrusion is bonded onto the top of the flex pcb 17 during assembly and it has two types of molded end caps . one of these end caps is shown at 70 in fig1 a . a series of patterned holes 21 are present on the upper surface of the extrusion 15 . these are laser ablated into the upper surface . to this end , a mask is made and placed on the surface of the extrusion , which then has focused laser light applied to it . the holes 21 are evaporated from the upper surface , but the laser does not cut into the lower surface of extrusion 15 due to the focal length of the laser light . eleven repeated patterns of the laser ablated holes 21 form the ink and air outlets 21 of the extrusion 15 . these interface with the annular ring inlets 32 on the underside of the “ memjet ” printhead module lower micromolding 34 . a different pattern of larger holes ( not shown but concealed beneath the upper plate 71 of end cap 70 in fig1 a ) is ablated into one end of the extrusion 15 . these mate with apertures 75 having annular ribs formed in the same way as those on the underside of each lower micromolding 34 described earlier . ink and air delivery hoses 78 are connected to respective connectors 76 that extend from the upper plate 71 . due to the inherent flexibility of the extrusion 15 , it can contort into many ink connection mounting configurations without restricting ink and air flow . the molded end cap 70 has a spine 73 from which the upper and lower plates are integrally hinged . the spine 73 includes a row of plugs 74 that are received within the ends of the respective flow passages of the extrusion 15 . the other end of the extrusion 15 is capped with simple plugs which block the channels in a similar way as the plugs 74 on spine 17 . the end cap 70 clamps onto the ink extrusion 15 by way of snap engagement tabs 77 . once assembled with the delivery hoses 78 , ink and air can be received from ink reservoirs and an air pump , possibly with filtration means . the end cap 70 can be connected to either end of the extrusion , ie . at either end of the printhead . the plugs 74 are pushed into the channels of the extrusion 15 and the plates 71 and 72 are folded over . the snap engagement tabs 77 clamp the molding and prevent it from slipping off the extrusion . as the plates are snapped together , they form a sealed collar arrangement around the end of the extrusion . instead of providing individual hoses 78 pushed onto the connectors 76 , the molding 70 might interface directly with an ink cartridge . a sealing pin arrangement can also be applied to this molding 70 . for example , a perforated , hollow metal pin with an elastomeric collar can be fitted to the top of the inlet connectors 76 . this would allow the inlets to automatically seal with an ink cartridge when the cartridge is inserted . the air inlet and hose might be smaller than the other inlets in order to avoid accidental charging of the airways with ink . the capping device 12 for the “ memjet ” printhead would typically be formed of stainless spring steel . an elastomeric seal or onsert molding 47 is attached to the capping device as shown in fig1 a and 12 b . the metal part from which the capping device is made is punched as a blank and then inserted into an injection molding tool ready for the elastomeric onsert to be shot onto its underside . small holes 79 ( fig1 b ) are present on the upper surface of the metal capping device 12 and can be formed as burst holes . they serve to key the onsert molding 47 to the metal . after the molding 47 is applied , the blank is inserted into a press tool , where additional bending operations and forming of integral springs 48 takes place . the elastomeric onsert molding 47 has a series of rectangular recesses or air chambers 56 . these create chambers when uncapped . the chambers 56 are positioned over the air inlet and exhaust holes 30 of the upper micromolding 28 in the “ memjet ” printhead module 11 . these allow the air to flow from one inlet to the next outlet . when the capping device 12 is moved forward to the “ home ” capped position as depicted in fig1 , these airways 32 are sealed off with a blank section of the onsert molding 47 cutting off airflow to the “ memjet ” chip 23 . this prevents the filtered air from drying out and therefore blocking the delicate “ memjet ” nozzles . another function of the onsert molding 47 is to cover and clamp against the nozzle guard 24 on the “ memjet ” chip 23 . this protects against drying out , but primarily keeps foreign particles such as paper dust from entering the chip and damaging the nozzles . the chip is only exposed during a printing operation , when filtered air is also exiting along with the ink drops through the nozzle guard 24 . this positive air pressure repels foreign particles during the printing process and the capping device protects the chip in times of inactivity . the integral springs 48 bias the capping device 12 away from the side of the metal channel 16 . the capping device 12 applies a compressive force to the top of the printhead module 11 and the underside of the metal channel 16 . the lateral capping motion of the capping device 12 is governed by an eccentric camshaft 13 mounted against the side of the capping device . it pushes the device 12 against the metal channel 16 . during this movement , the bosses 57 beneath the upper surface of the capping device 12 ride over the respective ramps 40 formed in the upper micromolding 28 . this action flexes the capping device and raises its top surface to raise the onsert molding 47 as it is moved laterally into position onto the top of the nozzle guard 24 . the camshaft 13 , which is reversible , is held in position by two printhead location moldings 14 . the camshaft 11 can have a flat surface built in one end or be otherwise provided with a spline or keyway to accept gear 22 or another type of motion controller . the “ memjet ” chip and printhead module are assembled as follows : 1 . the “ memjet ” chip 23 is dry tested in flight by a pick and place robot , which also dices the wafer and transports individual chips to a fine pitch flex pcb bonding area . 2 . when accepted , the “ memjet ” chip 23 is placed 530 microns apart from the fine pitch flex pcb 26 and has wire bonds 25 applied between the bond pads on the chip and the conductive pads on the fine pitch flex pcb . this constitutes the “ memjet ” chip assembly . 3 . an alternative to step 2 is to apply adhesive to the internal walls of the chip cavity in the upper micromolding 28 of the printhead module and bond the chip into place first . the fine pitch flex pcb 26 can then be applied to the upper surface of the micromolding and wrapped over the side . wire bonds 25 are then applied between the bond pads on the chip and the fine pitch flex pcb . 4 . the “ memjet ” chip assembly is vacuum transported to a bonding area where the printhead modules are stored . 5 . adhesive is applied to the lower internal walls of the chip cavity and to the area where the fine pitch flex pcb is going to be located in the upper micromolding of the printhead module . 6 . the chip assembly ( and fine pitch flex pcb ) are bonded into place . the fine pitch flex pcb is carefully wrapped around the side of the upper micromolding so as not to strain the wire bonds . this may be considered as a two step gluing operation if it is deemed that the fine pitch flex pcb might stress the wire bonds . a line of adhesive running parallel to the chip can be applied at the same time as the internal chip cavity walls are coated . this allows the chip assembly and fine pitch flex pcb to be seated into the chip cavity and the fine pitch flex pcb allowed to bond to the micromolding without additional stress . after curing , a secondary gluing operation could apply adhesive to the short side wall of the upper micromolding in the fine pitch flex pcb area . this allows the fine pitch flex pcb to be wrapped around the micromolding and secured , while still being firmly bonded in place along on the top edge under the wire bonds . 7 . in the final bonding operation , the upper part of the nozzle guard is adhered to the upper micromolding , forming a sealed air chamber . adhesive is also applied to the opposite long edge of the “ memjet ” chip , where the bond wires become ‘ potted ’ during the process . 8 . the modules are ‘ wet ’ tested with pure water to ensure reliable performance and then dried out . 9 . the modules are transported to a clean storage area , prior to inclusion into a printhead assembly , or packaged as individual units . the completes the assembly of the “ memjet ” printhead module assembly . 10 . the metal invar channel 16 is picked and placed in a jig . 11 . the flex pcb 17 is picked and primed with adhesive on the busbar side , positioned and bonded into place on the floor and one side of the metal channel . 12 . the flexible ink extrusion 15 is picked and has adhesive applied to the underside . it is then positioned and bonded into place on top of the flex pcb 17 . one of the printhead location end caps is also fitted to the extrusion exit end . this constitutes the channel assembly . 13 . the channel assembly is transported to an eximir laser ablation area . 14 . the assembly is put into a jig , the extrusion positioned , masked and laser ablated . this forms the ink holes in the upper surface . 15 . the ink extrusion 15 has the ink and air connector molding 70 applied . pressurized air or pure water is flushed through the extrusion to clear any debris . 16 . the end cap molding 70 is applied to the extrusion 15 . it is then dried with hot air . 17 . the channel assembly is transported to the printhead module area for immediate module assembly . alternatively , a thin film can be applied over the ablated holes and the channel assembly can be stored until required . 18 . the channel assembly is picked , placed and clamped into place in a transverse stage in the printhead assembly area . 19 . as shown in fig1 , a robot tool 58 grips the sides of the metal channel and pivots at pivot point against the underside face to effectively flex the channel apart by 200 to 300 microns . the forces applied are shown generally as force vectors f in fig1 . this allows the first “ memjet ” printhead module to be robot picked and placed ( relative to the first contact pads on the flex pcb 17 and ink extrusion holes ) into the channel assembly . 20 . the tool 58 is relaxed , the printhead module captured by the resilience of the invar channel and the transverse stage moves the assembly forward by 19 . 81 mm . 21 . the tool 58 grips the sides of the channel again and flexes it apart ready for the next printhead module . 22 . a second printhead module 11 is picked and placed into the channel 50 microns from the previous module . 23 . an adjustment actuator arm locates the end of the second printhead module . the arm is guided by the optical alignment of fiducials on each strip . as the adjustment arm pushes the printhead module over , the gap between the fiducials is closed until they reach an exact pitch of 19 . 812 mm . 24 . the tool 58 is relaxed and the adjustment arm is removed , securing the second printhead module in place . 25 . this process is repeated until the channel assembly has been fully loaded with printhead modules . the unit is removed from the transverse stage and transported to the capping assembly area . alternatively , a thin film can be applied over the nozzle guards of the printhead modules to act as a cap and the unit can be stored as required . the capping device is assembled as follows : 26 . the printhead assembly is transported to a capping area . the capping device 12 is picked , flexed apart slightly and pushed over the first module 11 and the metal channel 16 in the printhead assembly . it automatically seats itself into the assembly by virtue of the bosses 57 in the steel locating in the recesses 83 in the upper micromolding in which a respective ramp 40 is located . 27 . subsequent capping devices are applied to all the printhead modules . 28 . when completed , the camshaft 13 is seated into the printhead location molding 14 of the assembly . it has the second printhead location molding seated onto the free end and this molding is snapped over the end of the metal channel , holding the camshaft and capping devices captive . 29 . a molded gear 22 or other motion control device can be added to either end of the camshaft 13 at this point . 30 . the capping assembly is mechanically tested . 31 . the printhead assembly 10 is moved to the testing area . inks are applied through the “ memjet ” modular printhead under pressure . air is expelled through the “ memjet ” nozzles during priming . when charged , the printhead can be electrically connected and tested . 32 . electrical connections are made and tested as follows : 33 . power and data connections are made to the pcb . final testing can commence , and when passed , the “ memjet ” modular printhead is capped and has a plastic sealing film applied over the underside that protects the printhead until product installation .
1
fig1 shows a transmitter / receiver assembly 11 . the transmitter / receiver assembly 11 , hereinafter referred to as transceiver 11 , is normally mounted within an inertial reference platform of the type used in spacecraft for determining position and attitude in space . the remote platform whose attitude is to be meaured has a ruled grating 12 of the ronchi type fixed thereto . the remote platform is generally located some distance from the inertial reference platform . it may be within the spacecraft such as a remote sensor platform or outside the spacecraft such as an antenna controlled from the spacecraft by means of a boom . in any event the remote platform is subject to variations in pitch , yaw and roll relative to the inertial reference system due to racking , vibrations and the like to which the spacecraft may be subject . the transceiver 11 comprises means for transmitting a beam of monochromatic light to the grating 12 where it is diffracted and reflected back to the transceiver as a fan of light bundles or beams of varying intensities and orders . in particular , the transceiver 11 comprises a laser source 13 , a beamsplitter 14 and a pair of mirrors 15 and 16 . the mirror 15 has a concave surface facing the convex surface of mirror 16 . as can be seen in fig1 mirror 15 has a central opening with mirror 16 disposed with its optical axis coincident with that of mirror 15 . the beamsplitter 14 is positioned relative to laser source 13 and mirrors 15 and 16 so that a laser beam from the laser source 13 reflects from beamsplitter 14 and mirrors 15 and 16 to be directed toward grating 12 . the optics for transmitting the beam are conventional and their function may be carried out by other conventional optics such as a refractive lens system . the transceiver 11 further comprises a pair of identical charge transfer device area arrays 17 and 18 disposed in the same plane one above the other for receiving the fan of light bundles or beams reflected from line grating 12 . the charge transfer device area arrays 17 and 18 are commercially available devices and are available , e . g ., from the general electric company . each of the arrays 17 and 18 may , e . g ., comprise up to five hundred pixels per side . the array of pixels is partially shown in the upper left hand corner of ctd array 18 shown in fig2 . each pixel area is an individual light sensor and provides an output voltage representative of the intensity of the light incident thereon . as seen in fig1 the laser beam shown by solid lines is transmitted to line grating 12 of the remote platform . the zero order reflected beam returns to the transceiver and passes through the optics of mirrors 15 and 16 and beamsplitter 14 to be focused at point p 1 on ctd area array 17 as shown in fig2 . fig1 also shows one of the diffracted orders of beams in dashed lines reflected by the line grating 12 . this order is reflected at an angle θ , with respect to the optical axis so that it is directed back through the optics to focus as point p 2 on ctd area array 18 shown in fig2 . of course , the fan of light bundles reflected from line gratings are numerous some of which are shown as dark dots in fig2 . the fan of light bundles are by definition orthogonal to the direction of lines on line grating 12 . this relationship remains true even though the remote platform may deviate in pitch , yaw and roll relative to the inertial reference platform which contains the transceiver 11 . thus , the angle that the line of images of the light bundles makes with the y axis of the ctd arrays 17 and 18 provides roll information . the position of the zero order image p 1 with respect to the center of ctd array 17 provides pitch and yaw information to better than one arcsecond of accuracy . the two extreme reflected bundles of light p 1 and p 2 in fig2 provide sufficient information to obtain roll to less than one arcsecond of accuracy . points p 1 and p 3 on ctd area array 17 are sufficient to give roll information to about 8 arcseconds permitting ctd area array 18 to be eliminated if roll accuracy of 8 arcseconds is adequate . this , accuracy in roll measurement is a function of the distance between ctd area arrays 17 and 18 with accuracy increasing as the distance therebetween is increased . in a practical embodiment each ctd area array is 0 . 4 inches square with the overall separation between the two arrays capable of being varied over a range of several inches . the ctd area arrays provide data inputs to a microprocessor , e . g ., a motorola mc 68000 which centroids all detected images to derive pitch and yaw information from the location of point p 1 and roll information from the angle between the line joining points p 1 and p 2 and the array coordinate system . as seen in fig3 each reflected bundle of light overlaps several pixel areas on the ctd area array 17 and 18 . this permits use of a standard center of mass algorithm programmed into the microprocessor to determine the centroid of the returning bundle of light relative to the coordinate system of the ctd area arrays 17 and 18 . as is well known , each pixel area of a ctd area array acts as a light collector . thus , when the pixels of a ctd area array are turned on for its integration period which may last , e . g . a tenth of a second , photons of the light falling on a pixel area are converted to electrons and accumulated in each pixel in proportion to the local light intensity . after the integration period when all the pixels of a ctd area array are turned off the accumulated charge is automatically transferred out to the utilization device which in the present invention is microprocessor 19 . considering the 3 × 3 pixel matrix of fig3 it is seen that a bundle of light reflected from line grating 12 may be imaged at a random location on either ctd 17 or 18 and each image may overlap up to nine pixels m 1 - m 9 . by comparing the light collected in each of the pixels relative to the others , the centroid given by coordinates x and y may be found . this calculation may be performed in a microprocessor by a single center of mass algorithm substituting the amount of light collected by each pixel ( and digitally encoded ) for mass . thus , the algorithm : ## equ1 ## where x and y are the image location coordinates of points p 1 m i are the signals integrated within each sampled pixel , and x i and y i are the coordinates of each sampled pixel &# 39 ; s center . may be used to determine the centroid of point p 1 which provides the pitch and yaw information of the remote platform . the centroids of points p 1 and p 2 which provide roll information of the remote platform . in particular to derive the relative pitch and yaw angles the microprocessor performs the following algorithm using point p 1 centroid coordinates ## equ2 ## where , y - y 0 is the distance of the p 1 image centroid from the center of ctd 17 measured in micrometer units along the y axis . x - x o is the distance of the p 1 image centroid from the center of ctd 17 measured in micrometer units along the x axis , f is the effective focal length of the transceiver optical system ( 15 and 16 ) measured in micrometer units . the location x o , y o is a data base item stored in the microprocessors memory along with other calibration data including the value of f . to obtain the relative role angle the microprocessor implements the following algorithm ## equ3 ## where , x 2 - x 1 is the separation between the centroid locations of images p 2 and p 1 measured along the x axis , y 2 - y 1 is the separation between the centroid locations of images p 2 and p 1 measured along the y axis the data collected by ctd area arrays is transferred to microprocessor 19 at the end of each integration period and may be updated at rates up to 30 hz . during the transfer process photoelectrons generated within each pixel during the previous integration period are transferred in bucket brigade fashion to an output preamplifier ( 20 ) shown in fig4 on each ctd area array . here each charge packet is amplified and is then filtered and encoded into one of 255 digital values ( 8 - bit quantization ) via off chip electronic circuitry ( 21 ). the digital values ( typically 9 from image p 1 and 9 from image p 2 ) are then passed to the microprocessor ( 19 ) for the computation of pitch , roll and yaw . along with these digitized signals , the address of each sampled pixel ( two 9 - bit words per pixel , one word denoting the x coordinate of the pixel and one word denoting the y coordinate of the pixel ) are forwarded to the microprocessor . time information in the form of a digital word provided by a clock circuit ( 22 ) completes the information needed for alignment computation . the present invention , of course , is not limited to spacecraft but may find use in other vehicles , e . g ., aircraft , land vehicles and where the remote object or platform is located internally or externally to the vehicle . other modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above description which should not be construed as placing limitation beyond those set forth in the claims which follow :
6
a preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in fig1 , here an approximately medium size being worn by a pregnant woman . the first layer or overlayer is formed to be against the body of the user in the upper abdomen area , providing support for the upper abdomen . the support panel 1 comprises the exposed upper portion of the first layer covering a substantial portion of the protruding abdomen . in other embodiments , the first layer may be modified to cover more or less of the protruding abdomen . here , the support panel 1 is bounded by an upper seam 2 that extends over and around the top portion of the protruding abdomen . the fabric of the upper seam 2 is preferably folded over to help keep the garment in place and to contain the elastic material . the upper seam is preferably formed of an elastic material similar to those used in conventional undergarments . thus the top edge of the exposed upper portion of the first layer provides additional anchoring for the garment to prevent slippage and keep the other functional components in proper alignment with the user &# 39 ; s body . the support panel 1 is preferably made of a material that is biaxially stretchable , with greater relative elasticity in the axial direction extending from the top edge to the crotch edge of the panel . the support panel 1 is shown here as being the panty 3 , but is positioned to provide the proper stretch . the panty 3 provides stretch in its width to comfortably receive the expansion of the hips and waist of the pregnant woman or overweight person . layering support panel 1 provides firm ergonomic support to the abdominal area while sacrificing only a minimal amount of relative elasticity in the direction extending from side - to - side . fig2 a shows the overlayer with support panel 1 having a stitched lateral support 4 . the lower portion of lateral support 4 has a stitched channel 5 stitched through the support panel fabric and the panty fabric to contain an elastic belt encircling the lower abdomen of the user . fig2 b shows the rear of the lateral support 4 and the continuation of the stitched channel 5 about the back of the user . fig2 a and 2 b show a preferred construction that places the channel 5 at the lower part of the opening for the belly . turning now to fig3 , a front view of the elastic band 6 for encircling the body of the user through the channel 5 is shown . fig3 b shows the back of the elastic band 6 . the elastic band 6 is preferably formed of an elastic material , and terminates in mating ends each fitted with a corresponding patch of material having hook and loop fasteners such as velcro ® so that the elastic band 6 is secured at closure 7 in the front of the user &# 39 ; s body for easy access , securing and detaching and adjustment . this is important because the purpose of the belt is to hold away the abdomen or belly from the incision site , rather than merely supporting the abdomen . the elastic band 6 is preferably about 3 inches in width , positioned proximate the incision site and above the crotch portion . alternatively , two elastic bands may be employed so as to avoid an overly wide elastic ( five inches or greater ), which would transfer stress to the edges of the band and cause discomfort for the user . the two elastic bands would be preferably disposed one above the other encircling the lower abdomen of the user , and may use separate channels ( not shown ) for independent adjustability of each band . continuing with fig3 , the fasteners are preferably made of corresponding patches of material different in length from one another , such that the loop patch is longer than the patch comprising the hooks , so that the elastic band 6 is adjustable over the length of the loop patch . the loop patch is preferably about three inches in length and extends the full width of the elastic band 6 . the hook patch is preferably about one inch in length and extends the full width of the elastic band 6 . both patches are preferably stitched to the respective ends of the elastic band , with the loop patch on the upper exposed surface of one end and the hook patch on the lower surface of the second end , such that when in the secured position 7 the hook and loop fasteners are in mating engagement to securely hold the ends of the elastic belt in the secured position . fig4 a shows a front view of the middle layer 8 of the garment , which is preferably stitched to the panty layer . preferably , the top edge 9 of the middle layer preferably has a curved portion 10 to conform to the middle to lower part of the abdomen to avoid unnecessary restriction or compression , and the top edge 9 of the middle layer , when in use , arches upwards and rearwards about the body of the user . fig4 b shows the rear or back portion of the middle layer 8 . this layer , however , may or may not circle around the body to include the back area of the user and can terminate without encircling the back of the body of the user . this configuration of the middle layer provides a form of sling for the abdominal region without causing any undue compression or discomfort . in other embodiments , the middle layer may be modified according to the relative size of the user and the need to provide additional support to the user . fig5 a shows the front of the panty portion 3 of the garment , comprising a crotch portion 11 with leg cutouts 12 for typical use . where necessary , stitching may be used to hold the cushioning unit in place along the leg cutouts . in other embodiments , where the cushioning unit may not extend from the leg cutouts , stitching may not be necessary . when stitched , the edge 12 of the crotch portion 11 is designed to help keep the panty in a fixed position . fig5 b shows the rear of the panty portion 3 . the upper edge 13 of the panty portion 3 is preferably stitched to the top portion of the overlayer , as shown in fig2 . leg cutouts 12 have stitching about the edge preferably folded over to help keep a cushioning layer 14 b ( fig6 ) in place against the user &# 39 ; s body . the panty portion 3 holds the cushioning layer 14 b in place preferably by means of stitching 15 . the lower section of the panty may also include a panel of powernet or similar supportive material for stabilization and compression over the pubic symphysis to help relieve the stresses of pregnancy . the panel of powernet is preferably composed of strong wide band of elastic material located below the adjustable elastic banding described in fig3 . the panel of powernet is preferably inserted between the layer of material comprising the panty and the layer of material comprising the crotch piece . ideally , the powernet panel would stretch across the pubic symphysis from the right leg opening 12 to the left leg opening 12 . the band may be widened to extend the support from the front lower abdomen to under the wearer &# 39 ; s crotch or even up to the channeling for the adjustable elastic banding in the back . the power net panel could either be a single supportive piece or could be layered to provide firmer support . it could even encircle the lower abdomen , front and back and across the wearer &# 39 ; s crotch . in a more baroque incarnation , the powernet may be shaped to extend further up the front leg openings 12 , shown in fig5 a , even to the top of the garment , having the top of the powernet panel curve downward toward the center below the belly button to accommodate the shape of a pregnant belly . depending on the size of the powernet panel , it may , but does not have to , overlap the stabilization pad . fig6 shows a possible location of the cushioning layer 14 b , preferably an inner layer outlined just above the crotch portion 14 that is soft and comfortable . the cushioning layer 14 b is shown separately , and is shown in situ as 14 a . the cushioning layer may be made up of a single layer or a plurality of layers . the cushioning layer has a stabilizer cushion 141 ) on the interior side of the garment to provide cushioning and stabilization to the incision site . the stabilizer cushion may include a moisture - resistant backing on the non - body - contacting side away from the user &# 39 ; s body to prevent any oozing or seepage from the incision from migrating to the front of the garment and possibly staining the user &# 39 ; s outer garments . these layers may also be waterproof , although a waterproof layer is not required . the stabilizer cushion may also be treated with an anti - microbial preparation to inhibit the formation of infection at the site and may also have wicking properties to draw bodily fluid away from the wound site . a separate , disposable pad may also be used either in place of or in conjunction with the stabilizer cushion 14 b . it has been generally known in the art to provide disposable absorbent pads , such as that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 578 , 066 to o &# 39 ; conner , which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes . o &# 39 ; conner discloses a pad comprised of a fluid - pervious fabric , an absorbent material , and a fluid - impervious liner . the absorbent material forming the inner portion of the pad is connected to a pervious body - side liner material . the connection of pervious liner to absorbent is such that when the pad is manipulated the pervious liner material stays in contact with the absorbent material and aids in transfer of liquid through the pervious liner into the absorbent . the fabric forming part of the impervious layer is preferably hydrophobic . fig7 shows side perspective of a second embodiment of the invention being worn by a pregnant woman . in this embodiment , the overlayer has a bottom edge and a top edge , both of which are stitched to the panty layer , creating a lateral support for the channel . the elastic band 16 passes through the channel created by the stitching of the overlayer and panty . as shown in fig7 , this embodiment does not extend the overlayer portion beyond the belly button , covering less of the abdomen than in the preferred embodiment of fig1 . in other embodiments , the overlayer portion may duplicate the panty portion , creating a version of the garment where the panty is made of a doubled fabric in which the top part may or may not have an opening for the abdomen . where the panty is made of doubled fabric the cushioning and powernet support may be contained between the layers . fig8 shows side perspective of a third embodiment of the invention being worn by a pregnant woman . this third embodiment is the embodiment of fig7 with an additional means for support . a second , middle seam 17 , extends over and around the abdomen . thus , the middle seam provides additional anchoring for the garment to prevent slippage and keep other functional components in proper alignment with the user &# 39 ; s body . fig9 shows side perspective of a fourth embodiment of the invention being worn by a pregnant woman . in this embodiment , the overlayer has a bottom edge and a top edge , both of which are stitched 20 to the panty layer for creating a lateral support for a first channel . the overlayer is further stitched 21 dividing the first channel , thereby creating a second channel . the two channels may contain two belts . the first belt 22 is the elastic belt described in fig3 . the second belt 19 may be a second elastic belt , but this is not required . in addition , the second belt 19 may have a different fastening means than the first belt 22 providing the user with a range of control with respect to the fit of the garment . fig1 shows side perspective of a fifth embodiment of the invention being worn by a pregnant woman . in this embodiment , the stitching 20 of fig9 is replaced with a middle seam 23 . thus the middle seam provides additional anchoring for the garment to prevent slippage and keep other functional components in proper alignment with the user &# 39 ; s body . since other modifications or changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art , there have been described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus , it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention .
0
the sbw system 10 of fig1 includes a latch valve 12 for a low - reverse clutch , i . e ., a clutch that must be engaged hydraulically for a motor vehicle &# 39 ; s automatic transmission to produce first gear or reverse gear ; park control valve 14 ; park servo 16 ; solenoid 17 ; electro - hydraulic on - off solenoid 18 ; electro - mechanical on - off solenoid 20 ; and electro - hydraulic on - off solenoid 22 . solenoid 17 opens a connection between a source of line pressure 28 and line 32 when valve 12 is latched by control pressure in line 19 , i . e ., when the low - reverse clutch is engaged , and closes that connection when valve 12 is unlatched . solenoid 18 shuttles the park control valve 14 using pressure in hydraulic line 26 . a source of line pressure 28 is connected through hydraulic line 30 to the latch valve 12 . latch valve 12 communicates hydraulically with park control valve 14 through hydraulic line 32 . solenoid 20 holds the park servo 16 out of its park position . displacement of park servo 16 disengages a park assembly 34 , against resistance force produced by a spring 36 , which force urges the park assembly 34 into its park position . park control valve 14 communicates hydraulically with park servo 16 through hydraulic line 38 . solenoid 22 is supplied with fluid through line 40 from the outlet of an e - pump 24 , which is driven by an electric motor with electric energy from the vehicle &# 39 ; s battery 25 and supplied with fluid from a sump 41 . solenoid 22 opens and closes a hydraulic connection through hydraulic line 42 between the e - pump 24 and park servo 16 . fig2 shows that latch valve 12 includes a valve spool 50 , located in a cylinder bore 52 ; a line pressure port connected by line 30 to the source of line pressure 28 ; an exhaust port ex communicating with the bore ; and a port connected to line 32 . park control valve 14 includes a valve spool 54 , located in a cylinder bore 56 ; a spring 57 urging spool 54 leftward ; a port connected by line 32 to latch valve 12 ; an exhaust port ex communicating with cylinder bore 56 ; and a port connected to line 38 . solenoid 18 opens and closes control pressure supplied to cylinder bore 56 through line 26 . park servo 16 includes a cylinder 58 , a first piston 60 located in cylinder 58 and connected mechanically to a crank arm 62 , whose angular position about an axis 64 is affected by torsion spring 36 ; an park rod 66 mechanically connected to park pawl 68 , which pivots about axis 69 into and out of engagement with a parking gear ( not shown ); a second piston 70 located in cylinder 58 and releaseably connected by a detent 72 to the first piston 60 ; a port communicating line 38 to cylinder 58 ; and a port communicating cylinder 58 to line 42 . solenoid 20 uses an actuator 74 to engage second piston 70 and leftward away from piston 70 . engagement of pawl 68 with the parking gear locks the driven wheels and prevents movement of the vehicle . under normal operating conditions , when line pressure is produced , either by an engine driving a transmission pump or the battery 25 powering e - pump 24 , hydraulic fluid at line pressure passes through latch valve 12 and line 32 to park control valve 14 . solenoid 18 moves park control valve 14 to a position wherein line pressure is carried in line 38 to the park servo 16 . line pressure in cylinder 58 of the park servo moves piston 60 leftward . clockwise pivoting of crank arm 62 against the counterclockwise torque produced by torsion spring 36 causes park pawl 68 to pivot clockwise about axis 69 out of engagement with the parking gear , producing park - disengagement . while park is disengaged , solenoid 20 and detent 72 hold the park servo 16 in the disengaged position . under normal operating conditions , solenoid 20 is closed , i . e ., in the park - disengaged position , such that no power is consumed . with solenoid 20 in the closed position , the vehicle can be towed with four wheels contacting the road surface . line pressure in cylinder 58 applies a secondary force to maintain the park servo 16 in the park - disengaged position . under normal operating conditions , when solenoid 20 is electrically energized , actuator 74 releases the pistons 60 , 70 allowing rightward movement , pivoting crank arm 62 counterclockwise , displacing park rod 66 rightward , and causing park pawl 68 to pivot counterclockwise into engagement with the parking gear and producing park - engagement . under normal operating conditions , while the system 10 produces park - engagement , fluid in cylinder 58 is forced through line 38 to the exhaust port of park control valve 14 , as pistons 70 , 60 move rightward in cylinder 58 . if solenoid 20 becomes inoperative , such as due to loss of electric power supply to solenoid 20 or failure of a component of the solenoid , the system returns to park - engagement as hydraulic pressure , produced by e - pump 24 , pressurizes cylinder 58 through solenoid 22 and line 42 . that pressure is present also in the space 80 between the pistons 60 , 70 due to radial passage 82 . space 80 is retained by dent balls 84 and spring 72 . pressure in space 80 detaches piston 60 from piston 70 . pressure in cylinder 58 is vented though line 38 and the exhaust port ex of park control valve 14 . spring 36 pivots crank arm 62 clockwise and park pawl clockwise into engagement with the parking gear , thereby engaging park . solenoid 20 may be electrically energized by a charged capacitor through a fet at 86 . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the preferred embodiment has been described . however , it should be noted that the alternate embodiments can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described .
5
the same elements have been designated with the same reference numerals in the different drawings . for clarity , only those elements and method steps which are necessary to the understanding of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and will be described hereafter . in particular , the circuits for coding the data to be transmitted and the demodulation circuits have not been described in detail . the present invention can be implemented with conventional read / write terminal structures . a feature of the present invention is to provide , on the transponder side , a capacitive and / or resistive back modulation . another feature of the present invention is to adapt the back - modulation type to the system operating conditions in real time . for this purpose , the present invention takes advantage of the structure of the exchanges between a terminal and a transponder according to which a terminal periodically transmits a query frame until a transponder responds . thus , the present invention preferentially provides using this frame to send to the transponders that may be in the field bits for configuring their back modulation circuits . fig1 shows a transponder according to an embodiment of the present invention . transponder 1 comprises a generally parallel resonant circuit 2 formed of an inductance l in parallel with a capacitor c to sense the field generated by an oscillating circuit of a terminal ( not shown ). resonant circuit l - c of the transponder is preferably tuned to the frequency of the terminal &# 39 ; s oscillating circuit , for example , by being adjusted by means of a system such as described in above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 892 , 300 . terminals 3 and 4 of resonant circuit 2 ( corresponding to the terminals of capacitor c ) are connected to two a . c . inputs of a rectifying bridge 5 formed , for example , of four diodes d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , and d 4 . as an alternative , the rectifying element may be a halfwave rectifying element . the anodes of diodes d 2 and d 4 form a reference terminal 6 of the rectified voltage which defines the ground of the transponder circuits . the cathodes of diodes d 1 and d 3 define a positive rectified output terminal 7 , terminals 3 and 4 being respectively connected to the anode of diode d 1 ( cathode of diode d 2 ) and to the anode of diode d 3 ( cathode of diode d 4 ). a capacitor ca is connected in parallel on rectified terminals 6 and 7 of bridge 5 to filter the rectified voltage that it provides . when the transponder enters the field of a read / write terminal , a high - frequency voltage is generated across resonant circuit 2 . this voltage , rectified by bridge 5 and filtered by capacitor ca , provides a supply voltage to electronic circuit 8 ( p ) of the transponder via a voltage regulator 9 ( regul ). electronic circuits 8 of the transponder have been symbolized by a block . this block generally is a chip ( most often integrating regulator 9 ) containing at least a memory and a processor . to enable data transmission from transponder 1 to a read / write terminal , block 8 controls at least one stage 10 or 20 of back modulation of resonant circuit 2 . preferred examples of a back - modulation circuit will be described hereafter in relation with fig2 and 3 . for the time being , it should only be noted that each back - modulation stage 10 , 20 comprises at least one electronic switch , at least one capacitor and at least one resistor to modify the load of oscillating circuit 2 and enable the corresponding detection on the terminal side . fig2 shows a first embodiment of a so - called back - modulation stage according to the present invention . such a stage comprises , in parallel between terminals 3 and 6 , at least one capacitor c 3 and one resistor r 3 , both switchable . capacitor c 3 and resistor r 3 are made switchable by being , for example , each series - connected with a switch kc 3 , kr 3 , individually controllable by the processor of circuit 8 . for example , switches kc 3 and kr 3 are formed of mos transistors . according to the embodiment of fig2 , stage 10 comprises a similar structure between terminals 4 and 6 . thus , a capacitor c 4 and a resistor r 4 , each in series with a switch kc 4 , respectively kr 4 , are connected in parallel between terminals 4 and 6 . the different modulation elements are individually controllable to optimize the reception of data by the terminal . according to cases , it may be advantageous to perform a modulation which is only capacitive , only resistive , or both . further , in case of a composite modulation , resistor r 3 may be used at the same time as capacitor c 4 or capacitor c 3 at the same time as resistor r 4 rather than the resistors and capacitors in parallel . fig3 shows a second embodiment of a back - modulation stage 20 according to the present invention . this stage is intended to be located between the rectifying element and the electronic circuits rather than between the rectifying element and the resonant circuit as is the case of previously - described stage 10 . in this case , a parallel connection of a capacitor c 7 and of a resistor r 7 between terminals 7 and 6 . capacitor c 7 and resistor r 7 are made individually controllable by means of a switch kc 7 , respectively kr 7 , receiving control signals from the processor of circuits 8 . back - modulation stage 20 may be used instead or at the same time as back - modulation stage 10 . according to the present invention , during a same transponder - to - terminal transmission , the same modulation switches are switched at the rate of the transmit sub - carrier . however , the configuration chosen for the on and off positions of the switches is likely to be modified from one communication to another . fig4 very schematically illustrates a read / write terminal 30 and its antenna le , and a transponder 1 according to the present invention and its antenna l . conventionally , a terminal 30 monitors the presence of a transponder 1 in the field radiated by its antenna le by periodically sending a frame reqb capable of being captured by a transponder when it is present in the field . as soon as a transponder captures and decodes a frame reqb transmitted by a terminal , it responds with an acknowledgement atqb . this response is performed by switching the load added on the oscillating circuit at the rate of the back - modulation sub - carrier . according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention , this switching is only performed for the switches of the back - modulation circuits which correspond to the selected configuration . as an alternative , two switches in series may be provided for each element . a first switch is then used as a selection or configuration switch and receives a signal after the decoding of frame reqb or the like . a second switch is used as a modulation switch and is controlled , with all the switches of the same type , by the back modulation signal . however , the preferred embodiment has the advantage of simplifying the control and of consuming less . according to iso standard 14443 , frames reqb and atqb have specific formats . it should however be noted that the present invention is not limited to these frames and may be implemented as soon as a terminal periodically sends interrogation messages to transponders possibly present in its field and that a transponder , as soon as it is present , responds with a specific message . further , the present invention is compatible with systems , or a same terminal may communicate with several transponders . fig5 illustrates the structure of a frame reqb according to iso standard 14443 taken as an example . this frame first comprises an apf byte forming an anticollision prefix . the apf byte is followed by an afi byte ( application family identifier ) which represents the type of application ( s ) aimed at by the terminal and which is used to preselect the type of transponders likely to respond to a given reqb frame . byte afi is followed by an anticollision parameterizing byte param , itself followed by two bytes crc - b containing a calculation performed on the preceding bytes , enabling detection of communication errors . in this example , the present invention preferably uses bits of byte param to transmit an order of configuration of the back - modulation circuits of any transponder present in the field of the terminal . indeed , as illustrated in fig6 which shows the structure of a byte param according to standard 14443 , the first three bits b 1 , b 2 , b 3 are used to set an anticollision parameter m while the five other bits b 4 , b 5 , b 6 , b 7 , and b 8 are free ( rfu ). thus , the present invention provides using these five bits to transmit a code to a transponder of the type of that in fig1 to set the back modulation type desired for it . five available bits represent 32 possible combinations , which is widely enough . these combinations may , for example , be the different possible combinations of the control signals of the different switches kc and kr of fig1 and 2 . according to an alternative embodiment , more than one capacitor and one resistor are provided in parallel in the back - modulation circuits , which increases the number of possible configurations . it should be noted that whether all the transponders have the same structure in terms of back modulation circuit matters little . what matters is that , for a transponder capable of performing different back modulations , it is provided for it to interpret bits b 4 to b 8 of word param as different control values of the modulation type to be performed . thus , any reader sending a combination , for example , sequential , of the states of bits b 4 to b 8 , will necessarily come across the optimal combination by exploiting the transponder responses . further , whether a transponder is or not capable of interpreting all the combinations of bits b 1 to b 8 , in particular if it does not have the same number of possible combinations in its back modulation circuits , matters little . what matters is that according to the number of its own possible combinations , it conditions each combination of its switches upon occurrence of a combination of configuration bits b 4 to b 8 . when a transponder decodes a frame reqb , it responds thereto with a frame atqb . a frame atqb according to standard 14443 comprises 14 bytes . a first byte contains a fixed value ( for example , number 50 ). the next three bytes contain an identifier pupi ( pseudo unique picc identifier ) of the transponder . the next four bytes ( appli - data ) identify the type of application ( s ) contained in the transponder . the next three bytes ( prot - info ) contain information about the communication protocol , and the last two bytes crc - b contain the crc calculation . this response is , according to the present invention , performed by using a specific back modulation type which is a function of the combination set by bits b 4 to b 8 of word param . when the reader receives message atqb and decodes it , it is able to determine whether the level that it receives is or is not sufficient . according to a first embodiment , a threshold is used on the terminal side to determine whether a receive level is or is not satisfactory . in this case , the different combinations of configuration bits b 4 to b 8 are successively sent in frames reqb and , as soon as a frame atqb is received with a sufficient level , it is proceeded to the rest of the communication , without transmitting the other frames reqb . the back - modulation circuits of the transponder remain in this configuration until occurrence of a new frame reqb . according to another preferred embodiment , frame reqb is sent in a loop by using all possibilities ( 32 in the case of message rfu ) and by storing the level received by the respective response frames atqb . once the best combination has been determined by the terminal , said terminal reuses word param for a last time to set the desired back - modulation time in the transponder . as for the transponder , it keeps the configuration set by a frame reqb until arrival of the next frame reqb , that is , until the next transmission . such a scanning of different possibilities is compatible with the transmission rates . indeed , the usual duration of a request reqb is on the order of 380 microseconds and the usual duration of a response atqb is on the order of one millisecond , which is negligible as compared to the displacement speed of a transponder in front of the terminal , which is of a few hundreds of milliseconds ( displacement speed of a hand ). the usual duration of a transmission between a terminal and a transponder before starting requests reqb generally is on the order of several tens of milliseconds , which here again is compatible with the duration required to set , by the implementation of the present invention , the back modulation type . an advantage of the present invention is that it enables optimizing the level of reception by the terminal whatever the possible present disturbances . another advantage of the present invention is that it enables dynamic matching , that is , matching on each exchange between a transponder and a terminal . another advantage of the present invention it that it requires no modification of the structure of conventional terminals . it is enough , for standard 14443 , to provide specific bits b 4 to b 8 in frame reqb transmitted in a loop by the terminal . after , the exploitation of the level received by the demodulator is generally present in the conventional terminal and the exploitation of the results is compatible with a software use which requires no structural modification of the terminal . another advantage of the present invention is that it is compatible with transponders having different parameterizable back modulation circuits . indeed , the aim being to select the best available back - modulation circuit for a given transponder , whether these back - modulation circuits are or not better than a neighboring transponder matters little . the present invention also provides optimizing the communication in the case where the transponder is laid on the terminal . in this case , the times required for the choice of the configuration are even more negligible . of course , the present invention is likely to have various , alterations , improvements , and modifications which will readily occur to those skilled in the art . in particular , although the present invention has been described in relation with a preferred embodiment adapted to iso standard 14443 , it may be provided to modify a frame of loop transmission by a terminal to adapt to other transmit systems . further , the practical implementation of the present invention by hardware and / or software means is within the abilities of those skilled in the art based on the functional indications given hereabove . such alterations , modifications , and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure , and are intended to be within the spirit and the scope of the present invention . accordingly , the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting . the present invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto .
6
embodiments of the present invention are described below by way of example only . these examples represent the best ways of putting the invention into practice that are currently known to the applicant although they are not the only ways in which this could be achieved . the description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example . however , the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples . as noted hereinbefore practical uses of voice intonation analysis technology have been limited to analysis of voice conversations and is typically deployed by call - centres to analyse the effectiveness and behaviour of operators . the current disclosure relates to the provision of various new systems and methods based on voice intonation analysis . fig1 shows a schematic diagram of a telephony service utilising voice intonation analysis . telephony service 101 provides voice ( or video ) connections for calls between terminal devices 100 and 102 . telephony service 101 may be a conventional telephone network , or may be a voip service . terminal devices 100 and 102 may be conventional mobile or landline devices , or may be a computing system configured to provide telephony functions to a user ( for example a ‘ softphone ’ provided by an application running on a pc or portable computing device , or via a web browser on such a device ). for example , a computing device or mobile computing device may be provided with a voip client to conduct voip calls . as will be appreciated various combinations of telephony types may be utilised as is known in the art ( for example , conventional telephony to voip calls ). telephony service 101 is in communication with voice archive service 103 . when a call is made to or from a phone subscribing to the relevant service , audio signals for the call are forwarded to voice archive service 103 which records the audio signals as audio data files . data is also stored to identify the call and link it to the appropriate subscriber . further information on the call , for example timing and participants , may also be stored at the voice archive service 103 or at other locations . to enable independent assessment of participants each side of a call may be recorded separately . depending on the subscriber &# 39 ; s settings only some or all calls and audio data may be sent to the voice archive service 103 . for example , a user may configure the system to record only all outgoing calls , or only all incoming calls . furthermore , the system may be configured to record only one side of a call . the system may also be configured to direct voicemails to the voice archive service 103 such that the audio is stored there in addition to , or in place of , the conventional voicemail storage location . voice intonation analysis service 104 is in communication with voice archive service 103 and configured to perform an intonation analysis function on the recorded calls . the analysis service 104 output data representative of the mood of the person &# 39 ; s voice being analysed . any method of voice intonation analysis may be used . this data may comprise a number of values indicating different parameters of the person &# 39 ; s mood . for example , values may be stored indicating call temperature ( angriness ), satisfaction , cooperation , deviation from optimal intonation , and personality type ( conservative , enthusiastic ). the values stored are normalised to allow comparison and assessment . for example , each parameter may be assigned a value of − 1 ( below average for this parameter ), 0 ( average ), + 1 ( above average for this parameter ). as will be appreciated any suitable mapping and valuation may be utilised . information on the particular voice being analysed may be utilised to improve accuracy of the analysis . for example , caller id may be utilised such that the analysis service can learn characteristics of certain callers over time and tailor the analysis in response . the output data is stored for future reference . the output data may be stored at the analysis service 104 with suitable indexing to relate the parameters to the particular recording , or may be stored with the recording in the voice archive service 103 . other data may also be stored to allow the values to be related to particular calls , users , or other parameters . the mood data may be processed to provide a simplified representation of the mood . for example , a mood of angry and dissatisfied may provide a “ bad ” indication , whereas happy and satisfied may provide a “ good ” indication . either the raw data , or processed data may be stored as described above . in the embodiment of fig1 , voice intonation analysis service 104 is in communication with notification service 105 . notification receives data from the analysis service 104 and issues notifications to the subscriber 102 ( in fig1 the subscriber is indicated as 102 , but as will be appreciated from the foregoing description either party to a call may be the subscriber receiving notifications ). for example , when a voicemail is left by a caller and analysed by service 104 , notification service 105 may transmit a message to the user indicating the mood of the caller and other data . for example , the notification service 105 may transmit an sms message or apple / android style push notification indicating that a voicemail has been left by a caller id of ‘ mum ’ and that the mood was analysed as ‘ angry ’. the mood information may be indicated in any means suitable for conveying the information . for example , a text label , a visual indication such as an icon or colour , sounds associated with particular moods , or phone vibration . notification service 105 and / or analysis service 104 may be configured to transmit notifications dependent on a range of parameters including caller - id , and mood . notification service 105 is shown in fig1 as a discrete service , but it may also be integrated with other parts of the system as appropriate . in certain embodiments the notification service may be omitted without affecting the operation of the remaining parts of the system . voice archive browser service 106 is in communication with the voice archive service 103 and analysis service 104 . where the results of the analysis are stored at the voice archive 103 , browser service 106 may be in communication only with that system , or where data is stored in other systems browser service 106 may also be in communication with those services . browser service 106 is in communication with subscriber terminal 102 such that a user can browse archived calls and the related data . for example , an application or web browser on a subscriber &# 39 ; s device may display a list of all calls and voicemails over a particular time period . data relating to the timing and participants in the calls may be displayed as retrieved from the archive service 103 ( or other storage location as discussed above ), together with data output and stored by the intonation analysis service 104 . the user can therefore view data indicating the mood of the caller involved in the call as well as conventional data on the time and participants . options may be provided to replay the audio of a message , which is retrieved from the voice archive service 103 . search / filtering functions may be provided to allow a user to display only certain types of calls or messages , for example only those that have a mood of happy . visual representations of the mood data may be utilised . in the exemplary embodiment described above the audio data is recorded and stored . in alternative embodiments the audio data may be analysed and the outputs stored , but the audio data can be dropped and not stored over time , for example due to privacy concerns . although such a system may limit the data to which a user has access , the available data may still be useful . the analysis may be performed in real - time , or offline . other systems may be utilised in conjunction with the voice intonation analysis system . for example , voice - to - text transcription services could be used to present textual records of communications . the notification service may use any appropriate messaging format to notify the subscriber as set out above . for example , sms messages , email , or instant messages may be utilised . furthermore , an application at the subscriber &# 39 ; s device may receive signals from the notification service and output an indication to the user . fig2 shows a schematic diagram of a further service that may be provided utilising voice intonation analysis . a subscriber terminal device 200 is connected to a telephone service 201 a , 201 b . parts 201 a and 201 b are shown separately and discretely for convenience , but as will be appreciated the blocks represents the general functionality of a telephony service . as described above the telephone service and terminal devices 200 , 202 may be of any known type . device 202 represents any device in communication with telephony service 201 wishing to make a call to subscriber device 200 . telephony service 201 is in communication with electronic secretary service 203 which provides services to callers attempting to reach the subscriber 200 . an application at subscriber device 200 is provided to configure operation of the telephony service 201 in relation to the electronic secretary 203 . the application may be provided by a program resident on the device , or via a web interface to a remote application . fig3 shows a flow - chart of a method implemented utilising the system of fig2 . at block 300 a caller 202 attempts a call to subscriber device 200 . the subscriber has activated the electronic secretary service which at block 301 causes telephone service 201 b to direct the call to the electronic secretary service 203 . at block 302 the electronic secretary service 203 plays a message asking the caller for the reasons for their call . the message may be customised by the subscriber , or may be a generic or computer voice . where the calls are video calls , the message may be a video message . the caller responds to the message at block 303 with an explanation of their reason for the call . at block 304 the electronic secretary service 203 performs voice intonation analysis as described hereinbefore to generate a set of parameters descriptive of the caller &# 39 ; s mood . in this embodiment it is not necessary to record and store the audio , but rather analysis may be conducted in real - time . this does not exclude the possibility of recording the audio for analysis , or for other purposes . the electronic secretary service 203 issues a notification at block 305 to the subscriber device 200 , notifying them of the incoming call and including details of the results of the intonation analysis . the details may include the caller id , and other information considered beneficial to allowing the subscriber to elect how to proceed . for example , the notification could be a message stating “ your boss is calling and is angry ”. the notification may be , for example , signalled over sip info message or be an apple / android notification . as explained previously the mood information may be conveyed using any appropriate representation . at block 306 the subscriber decides whether to take the call or not . if the call is not taken the subscriber device 200 indicates at block 307 that to the electronic secretary service 203 which signals the telephone service 201 b to reject the call and handle according to regular logic , such as direct the call to voicemail , disconnect the call , etc according to telephony service logic . if , at block 306 , the call is taken the subscriber device 200 indicates at block 308 to the electronic secretary service 203 that the user wishes to receive the call . at block 309 the electronic secretary service 203 signals the telephony service 201 indicating that the call should be connected , which connects the call to the subscriber in the conventional way . once the call is connected , or routed to voicemail , the methods described in relation to fig1 may be utilised to record and analyse the call . in alternative embodiments of the method shown in fig3 , the call may be routed to the subscriber device 200 in parallel with execution of blocks 301 - 304 , such that the subscriber &# 39 ; s device commences ringing immediately , while the caller is explaining the reason for their call . the subscriber may elect to take the call immediately , which call is then completed by the telephony service . if the subscriber does not answer the call before the completion of blocks 301 - 304 , the notification at block 305 is sent to the subscriber to provide additional information on whether to answer the call . the method then continues as shown in fig3 . further variations are also possible . for example , the call may be routed immediately to the subscriber , and only after a specified period , or a signal from the subscriber , may the call be directed to the electronic secretary service at block 301 . the system and method described with reference to fig2 and 3 thereby provide a telephony service that capable of analysing a requested call and enabling routing of the call based on that analysis . as will be appreciated the term ‘ mood ’ is used to indicate any aspect of a user &# 39 ; s character , attitude , or behaviour that can be determined from voice intonation analysis . although examples of types of mood parameters have been given , these are exemplary only and any parameters may be output and utilised according to the principles described herein . the term ‘ voice intonation analysis ’ is not used herein to restrict the analysis to only an analysis of intonation , but rather to indicate that an analysis is performed of the speech signal to extract information on a person &# 39 ; s mood . that is , parameters other than intonation ( for example , pitch ) may be analysed . the term does not , however , include a semantic analysis of the words spoken . this is the commonly used meaning of this phrase in this technical area . the term voip is not intended to restrict communications to only voice calls , but rather to include video calls and messaging . the term is therefore used to describe the general principle of transmitting a real - time communication over a packet - switched system as opposed to a conventional channel - switched communications system . as will be apparent , where the techniques described herein are applied to video calls they are applied to the audio part of the communications . the term ‘ terminal device ’ is not intended to restrict the devices to conventional telephone devices , but , as noted previously , solely to refer to a device at which a call is terminated . accordingly , the device may be provided as a conventional mobile or landline devices , or may be a computing system configured to provide telephony functions to a user ( for example a ‘ softphone ’ provided by an application running on a pc or portable computing device , or via a web browser on such a device ). for example , a computing device or mobile computing device may be provided with a voip client to conduct voip calls . the term ‘ service ’ is utilised to indicate a program or system which provides certain functions . for example , a messaging service may provide the function of forwarding messages between two entities . the service may take the form of a program running on a single computer system , or may be provided by a plurality of computing systems configured to work together to provide the functions . the functions may be accessed and utilised via a network system , for example the internet . any service may be implemented in any way known to the skilled person . although the various services have been described separately , one of more of the services may be provided as part of a single service , or by a single program of computer system . the description of the services separately is not intended to require any logical or physical separation . where the term ‘ connected ’ has been utilised in this document , it is not intended to require a permanent , always - on , connection . rather it is used in the sense that the connected entities are connected , when required , to exchange data . for example two entities would be connected by the transmission of data from one entity to another through an ip network . the foregoing description has been in respect of a mobile device , but as will be appreciated any form of computing device may be utilised in place of the mobile device . the generic term ‘ terminating device ’ may be utilised to describe devices between which communications are conducted . fig4 illustrates various components of an exemplary mobile device 400 which may be implemented as any form of a computing and / or electronic device , and on which embodiments of the foregoing description may be implemented . computing - based device 400 comprises one or more processors 401 which may be microprocessors , controllers or any other suitable type of processors for processing computer executable instructions to control the operation of the device in order to run applications , such as communication applications and the history application referred to herein . in some examples , for example where a system on a chip architecture is used , the processors 401 may include one or more fixed function blocks ( also referred to as accelerators ) which implement a parts of the methods of operation of the mobile device or applications described herein in hardware ( rather than software or firmware ). platform software comprising an operating system 402 or any other suitable platform software may be provided at the computing - based device to enable application software 403 to be executed on the device . the computer executable instructions may be provided using any computer - readable media that is accessible by computing based device 400 . computer - readable media may include , for example , computer storage media such as memory 404 and communications media . computer storage media , such as memory 404 , includes volatile and non - volatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data . computer storage media includes , but is not limited to , ram , rom , eprom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other non - transmission medium that can be used to store information for access by a computing device . in contrast , communication media may embody computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules , or other data in a modulated data signal , such as a carrier wave , or other transport mechanism . as defined herein , computer storage media does not include communication media . although the computer storage media ( memory 404 ) is shown within the computing - based device 400 it will be appreciated that the storage may be distributed or located remotely and accessed via a network or other communication link ( e . g . using communication interface 405 ). the computing - based device 400 also comprises an input / output controller 406 arranged to output display information to a display device 407 which may be separate from or integral to the computing - based device 400 . the display information may provide a graphical user interface . the input / output controller 406 is also arranged to receive and process input from one or more devices , such as a user input device 408 ( e . g . a touch screen or keypad ). this user input may be used to provide user input to the communications and history applications . in an embodiment the display device 407 may also act as the user input device 408 if it is a touch sensitive display device . the computing - based device may also be provided with other functionality as is known for such devices . for example , the communication interface 405 may comprise a radio interface to a mobile telephone or other wireless communications system , and a microphone , speaker , and camera may be provided for voice and video calling . the term ‘ computer ’ is used herein to refer to any device with processing capability such that it can execute instructions . those skilled in the art will realize that such processing capabilities are incorporated into many different devices and therefore the term ‘ computer ’ includes pcs , servers , mobile telephones , personal digital assistants and many other devices . those skilled in the art will realize that storage devices utilized to store program instructions can be distributed across a network . for example , a remote computer may store an example of the process described as software . a local or terminal computer may access the remote computer and download a part or all of the software to run the program . alternatively , the local computer may download pieces of the software as needed , or execute some software instructions at the local terminal and some at the remote computer ( or computer network ). those skilled in the art will also realize that by utilizing conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art that all , or a portion of the software instructions may be carried out by a dedicated circuit , such as a dsp , programmable logic array , or the like . it will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments . the embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages . any reference to ‘ an ’ item refers to one or more of those items . the term ‘ comprising ’ is used herein to mean including the method blocks or elements identified , but that such blocks or elements do not comprise an exclusive list and a method or apparatus may contain additional blocks or elements . the steps of the methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order , or simultaneously where appropriate . additionally , individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein . aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples without losing the effect sought . it will be understood that the above description of a preferred embodiment is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art . although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity , or with reference to one or more individual embodiments , those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention .
6
embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system 10 for determining the status of a loading dock light and providing an indication to a driver of that status . system 10 is configured to be used and transported on a predetermined tractor such that system 10 can be deployed on more than one different loading dock signal light . in this manner , there is provided system 10 for allowing a driver to determine when it is safe to leave a loading dock in a manner that the driver chooses such as via an audible alarm generated by system 10 . referring to fig2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , a system 10 for detecting a ready signal at a loading dock includes a detector 30 , an operator interface 24 , and an indicator 26 . detector 30 is configured to detect whether or not a light source is emitting light , i . e . whether the light source is off or on . in another embodiment , detector 30 is configured to determine what color of light is being emitted from a light source . signal detector 30 is electrically connected to operator interface 24 and interface 24 is electrically connected to indicator 26 . in one embodiment , operator interface 24 is wirelessly connected to signal detector 30 by radio waves , infrared , or other wireless mode of communication . referring now to fig3 and 4 , detector 30 includes a housing 32 and a clip 34 . clip 34 is an attachment device that provides for positioning detector 30 in close proximity with a ready signal 22 . as shown , clip 34 is configured to engage with a portion of signal 22 such as extended shelter 36 such that detector 30 is positioned to sense the status of signal 22 . in the illustrated embodiment sensor 30 is positioned in close proximity to a lens 37 of ready signal 22 . as shown in fig5 , detector 30 includes a sensor switch 42 , a delay 44 and a relay 46 . sensor switch 42 is configured to detect the presence or absence of light according to predetermined parameters of quantity of light . for example , when switch 42 is exposed to light below a predetermined amount of lumens , switch 42 indicates that no light is present and when switch 42 is exposed to light at or above a predetermined amount of lumens , switch 42 generates a signal indicating that light is present . delay 44 is configured to detect the signal generated by switch 42 . delay 44 is configured such that relay 46 and thus detector 30 emits a signal to interface 24 when the signal from switch 42 is present for a predetermined duration . by way of example and not limitation , in other embodiments sensor switch 42 is configured to generate a signal in accordance with color , frequency of blinks or on / off cycles of light , pattern of a sequence of blinks of varying duration , and a combination thereof . in one embodiment , operator interface 24 and indicator 26 are included in the same housing . operator interface 24 is configured to receive input from the driver such that system 10 can be controlled . by way of example and not limitation , operations such as activating system 10 , resetting detector 30 , selecting the type of output generated by indicator 26 , deactivating system 10 , acknowledging indicator 26 , and a combination thereof . according to the illustrated embodiment , indicator 26 is configured to output sound and is thus an audible alarm . it should be appreciated that , by way of example and not limitation , indicator 26 can be configured to output a visual indications including text and color , vibrations , sound , electrical signals to other devices such as a cell phone , and a combination thereof . according to the illustrated embodiment , ready signal 22 configured to generate a a green signal light is configured to indicate that the dock is safe to enter or to leave bay 2 . correspondingly , an unsafe condition signal 23 is configured to indicate that it is not safe for a truck to enter or leave an associated loading bay . in the illustrated embodiment , the unsafe condition signal 23 generates a red light . it should be understood that lights other than red or green can be associated with the safe and unsafe conditions and that no light emitted or a predetermined flashing pattern can be associated the unsafe or safe conditions . ready signal 22 and unsafe signal 23 are are important because they indicate when it is safe and when it is not safe for a driver to move a truck . it should be appreciated that signal 22 and signal 23 are each configured to indicate one of two predetermined states . a first state is associated with a safe or ready condition , i . e ., the green light in the illustrated embodiment for signal 22 . a second state is associated with an unsafe condition , i . e ., off or no light emitted for signal 22 . it is believed that in many facilities lights are positioned inside a facility to indicate when it is safe for facility workers to enter a trailer . it should be appreciated that the lights inside a facility indicate safe when the exterior lights indicate unsafe . the period of time during which a truck is at a facility that includes loading dock includes several steps that might present hazards to people working at the facility or to the operator of a truck . in order to better understand when these hazards might occur and to determine what actions should be taken to reduce those hazards it is helpful to identify distinct stages that occur during the period of time a truck is at a facility . in this regard , a truck &# 39 ; s dock sequence includes the following stages : 1 ) arrival : the truck arrives at the loading dock and the driver is assigned a dock bay . 2 ) entering dock bay : the ready signal 22 is lit green and it is safe for a truck to back into the bay . 3 ) dock operations : loading , unloading , and inspection of goods on trailer — ready signal 22 is not illuminated and signal 23 , the danger light , is illuminated red . 4 ) departure — ready signal 22 is illuminated green and it is safe for the driver to prepare the truck for departure and to depart the dock . the present invention can be better understood by the following description of the operation thereof . system 10 is configured to be stored in cab 16 . during the arrival stage 1 ), a driver arrives at a loading dock and checks in with loading dock crew , i . e . facility workers . at check - in , the driver is assigned a dock bay , as shown in fig1 , dock bay 2 . it should be appreciated that cab 16 can be either parked while the driver checks in or the driver can remain in the cab and check - in with personnel that comes to the truck or remotely via telephone , radio , or other communication method . after checking in , entering stage 2 as described above begins . in this regard , the driver checks signal 22 of the assigned bay by observing it . if the bay is empty and ready to accept a truck , signal light 22 is green according to the illustrated embodiment , thus indicating that it is okay for the driver to back the trailer into that loading dock bay . after the driver observes that signal 22 is green , the driver backs into the dock and parks the truck . the trailer is made safe in accordance with the requirements of the dock . by way of example and not limitation , this can include mechanically connecting the trailer to the dock , chocking the wheels of the trailer , and the like . the driver then positions detector 30 relative to signal light 22 such that detector 30 can be made operable to detect light emitted from signal light 22 . next , light 22 is electrically connected to interface 24 and indicator 26 . in the illustrated embodiment , indicator 26 is an audible alarm . according to the illustrated embodiment , detector 30 is placed on signal 22 during the entering stage 2 ) and signal 22 is active . therefore , the driver ensures that system 10 is in ready mode . because signal 22 can indicate safe in two stages , entering stage 2 and departure stage 4 , system 10 can be set to one of two detection modes . one detection mode is referred to as a ready mode the other detection mode is referred to as a signal mode . when in ready mode , system 10 is configured such that no audible alarm is provided when light is detected by detector 30 . in this regard , system 10 in ready mode is configured such that detector 30 can be positioned on signal 22 during the entering stage when signal 22 is green , without producing an audible signal . when in signal mode , system 10 is configured such that an audible signal is provided when signal light 22 is indicating that it is okay for truck to depart . such a signal would be misleading if generated when light 22 was green , but indicating that it was safe to enter the loading dock . system 10 is configured to switch automatically between ready mode and signal mode when signal 22 indicates green , then is off for a predetermined period of time . because in some cases , signal 22 is configured to flash , i . e . alternate between emitting light and not emitting light in a repeating pattern , system 10 is configured to switch from ready mode when no light is detected from signal 22 for more than a predetermined time . in the illustrated embodiment , this dead - band is 10 seconds but can some other time that provides for correct identification of the state of signal 22 , i . e . whether signal 22 is off or on . when the operator hears the buzzer indicating that the signal is green and it is safe to depart , the driver silences the buzzer using the operator interface and switches system 10 off . detector 30 and associated wiring is removed from signal 22 and placed within cab 16 such that it is ready to be used at the next loading dock . in an alternative embodiment , system 10 does not include a ready mode and is configured such that a buzzer is always sounded when the light is on . in this embodiment , the buzzer sounds when detector 30 is placed on signal 22 and it is on during the entering mode and when signal 22 is on during departure mode . thus in this embodiment , the driver must be aware of which stage the dock is in and act accordingly . according to another alternative embodiment , the same light source is used to generate both the ready signal and the unsafe signal . in this embodiment , the light source is configured to generate at least two different conditions . for example , the light source could indicate the safe condition by generating a green light and the unsafe by generating a red light . in a similar embodiment , a single light source can be understood to indicate a safe condition when the light source is emitting light and understood to indicate an unsafe condition when the light source is not emitting light . while the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made and the invention can be practiced in other environments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , set forth in the accompanying claims .
1
looking first at fig1 there is shown a tunable fabry - perot filter 5 formed in accordance with the present invention . filter 5 generally comprises a substrate 10 , a bottom mirror 15 mounted to the top of substrate 10 , a bottom electrode 20 mounted to the top of bottom mirror 15 , a thin membrane support 25 atop bottom electrode 20 , a top electrode 30 fixed to the underside of thin membrane support 25 , a reinforcer 35 fixed to the outside perimeter of thin membrane support 25 , and a confocal top mirror 40 set atop thin membrane support 25 , with an air cavity 45 being formed between bottom mirror 15 and top mirror 40 . as a result of this construction , a fabry - perot cavity is effectively created between top mirror 40 and bottom mirror 15 . furthermore , by applying an appropriate voltage across top electrode 30 and bottom electrode 20 , the position of top mirror 40 can be changed relative to bottom mirror 15 , whereby to change the length of the fabry - perot cavity , and hence to tune fabry - perot filter 5 . correspondingly , and looking next at fig2 a tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser ( vcsel ) 50 can be constructed by appropriately modifying the construction of fabry - perot filter 5 , i . e ., by positioning a gain region 55 between bottom mirror 15 and bottom electrode 20 . as a result of this construction , when gain region 55 is appropriately stimulated , e . g ., by optical pumping , lasing can be established within air cavity 45 , between top mirror 40 and bottom mirror 15 . furthermore , by applying an appropriate voltage across top electrode 30 and bottom electrode 20 , the position of top mirror 40 can be changed relative to bottom mirror 15 , whereby to change the length of the laser &# 39 ; s resonant cavity , and hence to tune vcsel 50 . if desired , thin membrane support 25 may be formed as a plurality of separate , relatively thin arms , and reinforcer 35 may be formed as corresponding peripheral posts . in general , forming thin membrane support 25 as a plurality of separate , relatively thin arms has at least two advantages : ( 1 ) it is easier to gain chemical access to the region below thin membrane support 25 , whereby to form air cavity 45 , and ( 2 ) it is easier to move top mirror 40 relative to bottom mirror 15 when an appropriate voltage is applied across top electrode 30 and bottom electrode 20 , whereby to tune fabry - perot filter 5 or vcsel 50 . in practice , however , it has been discovered that forming thin membrane support 25 as a plurality of separate , relatively thin arms presents several problems . for convenience , these problems can be collectively referred to as problems of “ noise ”. more particularly , it has been found that separate , relatively thin support arms tend to vibrate with the mechanical shocks which are frequently encountered in the real world . such vibrations can cause top mirror 40 to move relative to bottom mirror 15 , thereby causing fabry - perot filter 5 or vcsel 50 to move in and out of “ focus ” or “ tune ”. furthermore , as the power of fabry - perot filter 5 or vcsel 50 rises , there can sometimes be a tendency for top mirror 40 to move upward relative to bottom mirror 15 , thereby causing the device to move out of “ focus ” or “ tune ”. in theory , the voltage applied to the device could be correspondingly increased so as to compensate for this effect and bring the device back into “ focus ” or “ tune ”, but in practice this has proven difficult to regulate . furthermore , as the voltage applied to the device in increased , the curvature of top mirror 40 can change as well , thereby introducing new problems with device performance . it has now been discovered that the larger the surface area of thin membrane support 25 , and the stiffer it is , the better that the device can resist the “ noise ” problems described above . accordingly , in accordance with the present invention , thin membrane support 25 is preferably fabricated in the form of a dome with openings therein , with the openings being small enough , and with sufficient distance therebetween , so as to substantially not affect the overall structural integrity of the dome , while still allowing chemical access to the region inside the dome . in accordance with the present invention , a fabry - perot filter 5 ( fig1 ) may be formed as follows . first , starting with a substrate 10 ( fig3 ), a bottom mirror 15 is mounted to the top of the substrate , and then a bottom electrode 20 is mounted to the top of bottom mirror 15 . substrate 10 preferably comprises a semiconductor material such as si , gaas , inp or other suitable materials . bottom mirror 15 preferably comprises a distributed bragg reflector ( dbr ) formed out of alternating layers of quarter - wavelength thick deposited dielectric films , e . g ., silicon ( si ) and aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ), or silicon ( si ) and silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ), or silicon ( si ) and magnesium oxide ( mgo ), or tio 2 and sio 2 , or ta 2 o 5 or zirconium oxide , etc . bottom mirror 15 may be deposited on substrate 10 by any suitable thin film deposition techniques . bottom electrode 20 includes a central aperture 58 . next , a sacrificial structure 60 ( fig4 ) of polyimide , or aluminum , or some other sacrificial material , is deposited on top of bottom electrode 20 ( and , in the region of central aperture 58 , bottom mirror 15 ). the sacrificial structure 60 will act as a sacrificial layer to be removed later in the fabrication process , as described in detail below . it should be appreciated that it is important to accurately control the thickness and lateral dimensions of sacrificial structure 60 . this is because the thickness of sacrificial structure 60 will determine the ultimate length of the air cavity 45 in the tunable fabry - perot device and , hence , the unbiased resonant wavelength of the device . on the other hand , the lateral dimension of sacrificial structure 60 will determined the voltage response of the device and the resonance frequency . sacrificial structure 60 preferably has a circular configuration when viewed from the top ( although it may , alternatively , have a polygonal configuration if desired ). sacrificial structure 60 may be deposited on bottom electrode 20 ( and , in the region of central aperture 58 , bottom mirror 15 ) by evaporation or standard coating methods . an etch - mask is then used to pattern sacrificial structure 60 so as to leave a circular ( or , alternatively , polygonal ) disk - shaped deposit defining an outwardly slanted edge 65 on its etched perimeter ( fig5 ). slanted edge 65 preferably extends at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the top surface of bottom electrode 20 . next , top electrode 30 is deposited on sacrificial structure 60 ( fig6 ). top electrode 30 may be deposited directly on the top surface of sacrificial structure 60 , or top electrode 30 may be deposited into a recess formed in the top surface of sacrificial structure 60 , e . g ., in the manner shown in fig6 . top electrode 30 preferably has a washer - like configuration , i . e ., it preferably has a circular outer perimeter and a circular inner hole . thereafter , thin membrane support 25 ( fig7 ) is deposited over sacrificial structure 60 , top electrode 30 and a portion of bottom electrode 20 . due to the structure of the underlying elements , thin membrane support 25 essentially has a dome configuration . thin membrane support 25 comprises a material different than the material used to form sacrificial structure 60 . by way of example but not limitation , thin membrane support 25 may comprise silicon nitride or a metal , e . g ., titanium - tungsten ( tiw ). thin membrane support 25 may be deposited on sacrificial structure 60 , top electrode 30 and bottom electrode 20 by standard deposition techniques . in the case where thin membrane support 25 is formed out of a material which is not transparent , the center portion is removed ( fig8 ) so as to form an aperture 67 . next , a reinforcer 35 ( fig9 ) made of metal ( such as al or tiw ) or a hard dielectric ( such as silicon nitride ) is selectively deposited on the periphery of thin membrane support 25 so as to form an annular peripheral rim which essentially covers and supports the peripheral portion of thin membrane support 25 . the lateral dimension of reinforcer 35 is selected such that a thick metal rim extends from bottom electrode 20 , up over the sloped edge 65 of sacrificial structure 60 , and up onto the top of the structure , as indicated in fig9 . the thick reinforcer 35 ( formed out of metal or a hard dielectric ) provides robust support for thin membrane support 25 ( formed out of silicon nitride or tiw ) after the underlying sacrificial structure 60 has been removed ( see below ). reinforcer 35 may be deposited on thin membrane support 25 ( and , at the periphery of reinforcer 35 , bottom electrode 20 ) by standard deposition techniques . in essence , thin membrane support 25 comprises a thin dome structure , and reinforcer 35 comprises a thick rim support for the periphery of thin membrane support 25 . using an etch - mask , a plurality of small openings 70 ( only several of which are highlighted )( fig1 ) are then formed by etching through thin membrane support 25 , down to the underlying sacrificial structure 60 . these openings 70 provide gateways for etchants to selectively remove the underlying sacrificial structure 60 , as will hereinafter be discussed in further detail . openings 70 preferably have a circular configuration , although they may also have a polygonal configuration if desired . circular openings 70 are formed small enough , and with sufficient distance therebetween , so as to substantially not affect the overall structural integrity of the dome structure of thin membrane support 25 , while still allowing chemical access to the region inside the dome . if desired , openings 70 may also be formed in reinforcer 35 . to the extent that openings 70 are formed in reinforcer 35 , these openings are sized and spaced so as to substantially not affect the structural integrity of the rim structure of reinforcer 35 . next , a circular top mirror 40 is then selectively deposited at the center of thin membrane support 25 ( fig1 ). in one preferred form of the invention , top mirror 40 comprises a distributed bragg reflector ( dbr ) formed out of alternating layers of quarter - wavelength thick deposited dielectric films , e . g ., silicon ( si ) and aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ), or silicon ( si ) and silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ), or silicon ( si ) and magnesium oxide ( mgo ), or tio 2 and sio 2 , or ta 2 o 5 or zirconium oxide , etc . top mirror 40 may be deposited on thin membrane support 25 by thin film coating technology . top mirror 40 is preferably curved . more particularly , top mirror 40 is preferably curved so that the curved top mirror 40 , in combination with the planar bottom mirror 15 , together form a confocal stable resonator with a well - defined , near - gaussian mode structure . in one preferred form of the invention , top mirror 40 has a radius of curvature , with the radius of curvature being optimized so that the mode size of the cavity matches the size of the core of an optical fiber . to the extent that top mirror 40 is to assume a curved configuration in the completed device ( e . g ., as shown in fig1 and 11 ), an appropriate magnitude and type of strain is introduced into top mirror 40 during deposition of the top mirror . this may be accomplished by controlled changes in deposition temperatures or deposition voltages . finally , an etchant is used to selectively remove sacrificial layer 60 and form air gap 45 ( fig1 ). this etchant is introduced to the area under thin membrane support 25 via openings 70 , and may comprise an oxygen plasma ( in the case where sacrificial structure 60 comprises polyimide ) or a cf 4 plasma ( in the case where sacrificial structure 60 comprises aluminum ). this releases thin membrane support 25 along with top mirror 40 . to the extent that top mirror 40 is formed with an appropriate magnitude and type of strain to result in the formation of a curved configuration , the removal of sacrificial structure 60 permits the top mirror to assume its desired curved configuration . since wet chemistry is , preferably , not involved in removing sacrificial structure 60 , there is no risk of the released thin membrane support 25 collapsing due to surface tension . a tunable vcsel ( fig2 ) may be formed in corresponding fashion by depositing a gain region 55 between bottom mirror 15 and bottom electrode 20 . gain region 55 may comprise an ingaasp / ingaas multiple quantum well ( mqw ) structure . gain region 55 may be deposited on bottom mirror 15 by mbe ( molecular beam epitaxy ) or mocvd ( metal organic chemical vapor deposition ) methods , and bottom mirror 20 may be deposited on gain region 55 by mbe or mocvd or other thin film coating techniques . lasing can be achieved by photo - pumping with a separate pump laser having a wavelength that is highly absorptive within the gain spectrum of the gain medium used in gain region 55 . the present invention can also be used to produce a current - injected tunable vcsel as well . in this situation , intra - cavity electrical interconnections are made to the p - i - n junction in the gain structure . it will be understood that the foregoing detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented by way of illustration and not limitation . various modifications , variations , changes , adaptations and the like will occur to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing specification . accordingly , the present invention should be understood as being limited only by the terms of the claims .
7
the present invention will now be described in accordance with an illustrative embodiment presented in fig3 . fig3 depicts a called party &# 39 ; s half of a telephone network connection . the system depicted includes an enhanced truevoice system 41 4ess 27 , network attenuation element 29 , a d / a - a / d converter 25 , a hybrid converter 23 , and cpe 42 . system 41 comprises conventional digital signal processing hardware and software for performing the functions described below . as discussed above with reference to fig1 fig3 includes portions of called party receive and transmit paths 36 , 38 , respectively . the illustrative embodiment of fig3 functions to adjust the overall level of the signal transmitted to the called party . steps carried out by the salient elements of fig3 are illustrated in fig4 . the truevoice network signal processor 41 emits a tag signal , for example , a 25 hz tone ( which is also provided by conventional truevoice ® 33 ), on the called party &# 39 ; s receive path 36 to the cpe 42 . step 50 . cpe 42 , using conventional signal processing techniques , detects the presence and level of the tag signal . step 52 . the paper &# 34 ; algorithms for multi - channel dtmf detection for the wedsp32 family ,&# 34 ; gay et . al ., proc . ieee international conf . on acoustics , speech and sig . pro ., pp . 1134 - 1137 , 1989 , sets forth illustrative signal processing techniques for detecting tones in the subscriber loop ( and is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein ). the cpe 42 may provide a visual indication notifying a customer that truevoice 41 is present through use of a lamp , led , lcd display or other icon . the network enhancement ( truevoice ®) can also be audibly branded by , for example , using a unique tone or announcement . in response to detecting the 25 hz tag , cpe 42 issues a first calibration signal . step 53 . the first calibration signal can be , for example , a tone , white noise , a spread spectrum signal , etc . this calibration signal represents the amount of loss suffered by the tag in traversing the receive path 36 , 34 to the cpe 42 from the truevoice processor 41 . first , cpe 42 computes the received tag signal power using any of the conventional techniques . for example , a measure of signal power may be computed as the square of the received signal voltage . then , the loss is determined as the difference between received tag signal power and transmitted tag signal power ( known a prior ). cpe 42 then encodes the measured loss using any of the available techniques . for example , loss can be represented as a number of tone bursts , a duration of a tone , or data transmitted as a spread spectrum signal . detection of the 25 hz tag can be in the analog domain to avoid problems incurred in signal conversion . this would allow detection for a broader class of cpe that may not have digital signal processing capability . however , tag detection , loss computation , and calibration signal generation can be readily performed with conventional techniques by cpe 42 ( e . g ., telephones ) having signal processing capabilities . the truevoice system 41 receives the calibration signal transmitted by cpe 42 via path 38 and decodes the loss value represented by the signal using a conventional detection process suitable to the encoding of the calibration signal ( such as counting tone bursts , measuring tone length , or receiving and decoding a spread spectrum signal ). step 54 . as a result of having this measure of loss in the called party &# 39 ; s receive path 36 , 34 , the truevoice system 41 adjusts the gain on the signal it transmits on that path 36 to compensate for the measured signal loss . step 56 . while loss is what is most likely , it may be that the local loop 34 of the called party actually provides a gain . in such a case , the truevoice system 41 can scale back its gain to avoid overwhelming the called party . on a long or weak local loop 34 , a more aggressive gain can be applied to compensate for loss . because of this , the term &# 34 ; loss &# 34 ; can be generally construed in either its positive sense -- signal level attenuation -- or its negative sense -- signal boost -- experienced during transmission of the tag signal on the path 36 , 34 . similarly , the term &# 34 ; gain &# 34 ; can be generally construed in either its positive sense -- signal boost -- or in its negative sense -- signal attenuation . for purposes of embodiment illustration , however , the terms &# 34 ; loss &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; gain &# 34 ; are used in their positive senses . naturally , the inventive concepts go to either senses of these terms . truevoice system 41 operates in accordance with a two stage process to apply appropriate gain in accordance with the invention . first , the input signal to element 41 on path 36 is processed in accordance with a gain map . the gain map provides a signal gain , over a range of input power , that appropriately compensates for variations in signal power introduced prior to that point in the connection ( i . e ., by elements 20 , 31 , and 35 , see fig1 ) and that assumes a prototypical loss characteristic for the remainder of the circuit ( i . e ., for elements 36 , 34 , and 42 ). this gain would be applied in accordance with the gain map regardless of whether system 41 received any calibration signal from cpe 42 . an illustrative gain map is presented in fig5 . if the calibration signal is received by truevoice system 41 , then further signal processing is performed on the input signal to adjust it in accordance with a level of gain ( or loss ) indicated by the calibration signal . that is , the output signal from the gain map stage ( i . e ., the input signal adjusted in accordance with the gain map ) is multiplied by a gain ( or loss ) value provided in accordance with the calibration signal . thus : where s o is the signal output from system 41 , s gm is the signal from the gain map stage of system 41 , and g c is the gain determined in accordance with the calibration signal . if no calibration signal is received ( because of the absence of cpe capable of participating in the calibration process , for example ), this second stage gain factor is unity ( effectively providing no adjustment beyond the gain map stage ). thus , with an appropriate gain applied by system 41 , callers on long loops receive sufficient gain to perceive the benefits of the truevoice ® enhancement . further , the risk of over driving callers on shorter loops is eliminated . spectral shaping is the process by which the level of a signal is adjusted on a frequency - dependent basis so as to achieve a desired &# 34 ; sound &# 34 ; at the cpe 42 . this is done by a process which determines the frequency response of the receive path 36 , 34 and adjusts the level of the signal communicated over that path so as to achieve a desired effect , such as a flat ( i . e ., equalized ) over - all frequency response . spectral shaping is achieved in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig3 and 4 and may be performed instead of or in addition to the gain mapping discussed above . to perform spectral shaping , the truevoice system 41 issues a wide - band signal to cpe 42 . step 58 . this wide - band signal includes frequency components across the band in which spectral shaping is desired . the wide - band signal illustratively comprises sinusoids ( tones ) of equal amplitude spaced at 50 hz intervals across the standard telephone bandwidth . the cpe 42 detects the tones and determines the loss at the tone frequencies with the use of conventional tone detection techniques . step 60 . cpe 42 then encodes the tone loss values and transmits a calibration signal back to the truevoice system 33 . step 61 . as discussed above , encoding of the measured loss of the tones by cpe 42 can be done using any of the available techniques . for example , loss at a tone frequency can be represented as a number of tone bursts , a duration of a tone , or data transmitted as a spread spectrum signal . the truevoice system 41 receives the calibration signal transmitted by cpe 42 and decodes the tone loss values represented by the calibration signal using a conventional detection process suitable to that signal ( such as counting tone bursts , measuring tone length , or receiving and decoding a spread spectrum signal ). step 62 . the truevoice system 41 performs conventional interpolation of tone loss values it determines from the received calibration signal to approximate loss values at frequencies other than the tone frequencies . as a result of having this measure of loss in the called party &# 39 ; s receive path 34 , 36 at various frequencies , the truevoice system 41 adjusts the gain on the signal it transmits on path 36 to compensate for the measured signal loss . step 64 . in this case , the gain is variable with frequency , in accordance with the calibration signals received from the cpe 42 . gain may be applied as discussed above for each range of frequencies desired . as an alternative to transmitting calibration signals back to the truevoice system 41 , whether relating to a single tone or a wideband signal , the cpe 42 can apply conventional equalization to the signals received from path 36 to enhance the quality of sound reproduced at the cpe 42 , rather than relying on the network element to do so . in both the gain mapping and spectral shaping discussions above , loss caused by a signal &# 39 ; s traversal of the receive path 34 , 36 is measured by the cpe and communicated back to the truevoice system 41 where compensation for the measured loss is applied . however , a measure of gain mapping and / or spectral shaping can be achieved through a &# 34 ; loop back &# 34 ; process . the loop back process is one in which the cpe 42 does not measure and communicate information relating to signal loss to the truevoice system 41 , but rather the cpe receives a tag or wide - band signal from the truevoice system 41 on path 36 and returns ( or &# 34 ; loops back &# 34 ;) the signal to the truevoice system 41 on path 34 , 38 . the returned signal has thus traversed a loop from and to the truevoice system 41 via the cpe 42 and any loss experienced by the signal is the result of the signal traversing the two paths 34 , 36 , and 34 , 38 ( negating the effects of the cpe 42 ). thus , the truevoice system 41 itself can determine directly what type of gain mapping / spectral shaping to do , rather than involve the cpe 42 in any computation of loss . this loss as measured in accordance with the loop back technique is caused by both paths 34 , 36 and 34 , 38 . consequently , the truevoice system must approximate that portion of loss due to the receive path 34 , 36 only . loss could be apportioned evenly between the two paths , or , proportionately if a - 6 db attenuation is present in path 36 . the present invention provides communication between the truevoice system 41 and the cpe 42 . this allows for a prescribed signal to be sent by one device to the other such that the other device can estimate the effects of the subscriber loop , i . e ., signal loss , spectral shaping , etc . the embodiments of the present invention employ cpe as an agent of the network to assist in providing network maintenance . in these illustrative cases , the cpe acts as an agent to assist in the maintenance of network frequency response and volume control . the principles of the present invention may be extended to other situations where cpe can provide network elements with information about network performance so that the network can adjust its operation to maintain , e . g ., service quality . although a number of specific embodiments of this invention have been shown and described herein , it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the many possible specific arrangements which can be devised in application of the principles of the invention . numerous and varied other arrangements can be devised in accordance with these principles by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , while the first signal is described as being sub - audible ( e . g ., the tag signal ), an audible tone may be used . as used herein , the term &# 34 ; wide - band &# 34 ; refers to a signal having more than a single frequency component , as distinct from the term &# 34 ; tone ,&# 34 ; which refers to a signal having a single frequency component . as stated above , the network enhancement ( truevoice ®) can may be audibly branded by , for example , use of a unique tone or announcement . such a tone or announcement may be generated within the telephone network and played at the cpe or it may be generated by the cpe in response to receipt of a first signal .
7
reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the anti - rotational connector assembly , an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference characters will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . an exemplary embodiment of the anti - rotational connector of the present invention is shown in fig1 and designated generally by reference character 100 . the anti - rotational connector of the present invention includes a male connector assembly 102 illustrated in fig1 and the female connector assembly 104 illustrated in fig5 . each of the male connector assembly 102 and the female connector assembly 104 may be used separately or together depending on the application . as illustrated in fig1 - 4 , the male connector assembly 102 made according to the present invention includes a male coupling ring 106 and a male contact carrier 108 . the male coupling ring 106 is preferably made of aluminum and is generally cylindrical in shape and includes a smooth inner surface 110 . the male coupling ring 106 may alternatively be made from plastic , ferrous material and non ferrous material . a first end 112 of the male coupling ring 106 has a threaded outer surface 114 adapted to be received by the female coupling ring assembly 104 . the male coupling ring may also receive other conventional complementary coupling assemblies . the second end 116 of the male coupling ring 106 preferably includes a knurled outer surface 118 to form a gripping surface . alternatively , the outer surface of the second end 116 may be of any texture . the distal edge 120 of the male coupling ring 106 proximate the first end 112 includes equally spaced notches 122 extending axially therein . it is preferred that the notches 122 be v - shaped although other configurations may be adopted . in the preferred embodiment , sixteen ( 16 ) equally spaced notches 122 are used . the male contact carrier 108 best illustrated in fig2 and 3 has a generally cylindrical body 124 and is sized to be inserted within the male coupling ring 106 . the male contact carrier 108 is constructed of an insulating non - conductive material , preferably , substantially - noncompliant nylon , and is configured to hold one or more electrical contacts . the location where the electrical contacts are held is generally referred to as the mating portion 125 . a chamber 126 is defined within a first end 128 of the male contact carrier 108 and is adapted to receive a mating portion of a corresponding female contact carrier . in addition , the male contact carrier 108 includes a rear chamber 127 that permits access for inserting wires and contacts into the mating portion 125 . the male contact carrier 108 also includes smaller chambers 129 for receiving and holding conventional male contacts ( not shown ). the manner of wiring the contact is well known in the art and generally include inserting wires into the rear chamber 127 and connecting them to the contact being held in chamber 129 . a portion of the contact extends beyond the rearward wall 131 of chamber 126 for insertion into or mating with corresponding contacts disposed in the female contact carrier . a cross section of an exemplary male contact carrier 108 is illustrated in fig3 . a series of exemplary mating faces that may be used as part of the male contact carrier 108 are disclosed in fig4 a - e . the male contact carrier 108 also includes a radial flange 130 extending outwardly from the first end 128 of the male contact carrier 108 . the radial flange 130 includes a first surface 132 and a second surface 134 . a number of raised bumps 136 , spaced equally about the outer surface of the male contact carrier and shaped preferably as spherical quadrants are formed at the apex between the second surface 134 of the radial flange 130 and the outer surface 124 of the male contact carrier 108 . the number of raised bumps 136 on the male contact carrier should be not greater than the number of v - shaped notches 122 on the distal edge of the male coupling ring . in the preferred embodiment , four ( 4 ) equally spaced bumps are used . in this manner , the v - shaped notches 122 receive and engage the raised bumps when an axial force is applied against the first surface 132 of the radial flange 130 so as to prevent rotational movement between male coupling ring 106 and the male contact carrier 108 . an annular groove 138 is disposed about the second end 140 of male contact carrier 108 . the annular groove 138 is provided to increase surface area for adhesion and act as a mechanical retainer after overmolding the outer surface 124 with plastic or rubber . a female connector assembly 104 made according to the present invention is best disclosed in fig5 - 8 . the female connector assembly 104 includes a female coupling ring 142 , a female contact carrier 144 and a washer 174 . the female coupling ring 142 is generally cylindrical and includes an outer surface 148 preferably knurled , and a threaded inner surface 150 . the female coupling ring 142 is also preferably formed from aluminum . the female coupling ring may alternatively be made from plastic , ferrous material and non ferrous material . a first end 152 of the female coupling ring 142 is adapted to receive the threaded first end 112 of the male coupling ring 106 . as best illustrated in fig7 the second end 154 of the female coupling ring includes an inwardly - directed radial flange 156 having a series of equally spaced keyways 158 formed therein . in the preferred embodiment , four ( 4 ) equally spaced keyways 158 are used . the female contact carrier 144 is best disclosed in fig6 and 8 is made of an insulating material preferably , substantially - noncompliant nylon and is configured to hold one or more electrical contacts . the female contact carrier 144 is of elongate , cylindrical shape and is sized to be inserted within the female coupling ring 142 . the female contact carrier 144 includes a mating portion 160 formed therein complementary to the mating portion 125 formed in the chamber 126 of the male contact carrier 108 . if desired , the chamber 126 and mating portion 160 may be formed with corresponding grooves 162 and ridges 164 for proper alignment therebetween as best seen in fig9 . the size and configuration of the mating portions will vary depending on the number of contacts necessary for the given application . as best illustrated in fig8 the female contact carrier 144 includes a chamber 145 formed in the rearward end 147 . the chamber 145 permits access for inserting wires and contacts into the mating portion 160 . the female contact carrier also includes smaller chambers 149 for receiving and holding conventional female contacts ( now shown ). the female contacts generally do not extend beyond the forward 151 face of the female contact carrier . the female contact carrier 144 also includes an abutment flange 166 extending radially outward from the body of the female contact carrier 144 . the abutment flange 166 has a smooth first surface 168 , adjacent the mating portion 160 , which will engage the first surface 132 of the radial flange 130 of the male contact carrier 108 when the female connector assembly and the male connector assembly are joined . the abutment flange 166 has a second surface 170 opposite the first surface 168 . the second surface 170 includes a number of equally spaced bumps 172 , preferably hemispherical , and formed integrally thereon . in the preferred embodiment , four ( 4 ) equally spaced bumps are used . the female connector assembly 102 also includes a washer 174 . the washer 174 is located between the second surface 172 of the abutment flange 166 and the inwardly directed radial flange 156 of the female coupling ring 142 when the female connector assembly 102 is assembled . the washer 174 is a generally ring shaped member having opposing surfaces 176 and 178 . the washer is made of an insulating material , preferably substantially noncompliant nylon . surface 176 , of the washer 174 , when assembled with the female connector assembly , faces the second surface 170 of the abutment flange 166 . surface 176 includes axially extending symmetrical rigid fins 180 . the rigid fins 180 are aligned radially about the washer 174 and appropriately spaced apart so as to capture each hemispherical bump 172 between two adjacent rigid fins 180 and , thus limit rotational movement of the washer 174 relative to the female contact carrier 144 . in the preferred embodiment , sixteen ( 16 ) rigid fins are used . surface 178 of the washer 174 is provided with a series of keys 182 preferably corresponding in configuration to the series of keyways 158 formed in the inwardly directed radial flange 156 of the female connecting ring 142 . in the preferred embodiment , four ( 4 ) keys 182 are used . when the female coupling assembly 104 is assembled , and the hemispherical bumps 172 of the female contact carrier are captured between the radial fins 180 of the washer 174 and the keys 182 of the washer are received by the keyways 158 of the female coupling ring 142 , rotational movement of the female coupling ring relative to the female contact carrier will be inhibited accordingly . a male coupling assembly 102 and a female coupling assembly 104 , each made according to the present invention , when used together or separately provide an anti - rotational and anti - vibrational connector assembly . it should be understood that the male coupling assembly 102 and the female coupling assembly 104 , each may be separately used in conjunction with complementary conventional assemblies for providing electrical connections . in operation , the male coupling assembly 102 and the female coupling assembly 104 are brought into a face to face relationship . as best illustrated in fig1 and 11 , the first end 112 of the male contact carrier is moved over the mating portion 160 of the first end of the female contact carrier until the outer threaded portion 114 of the male coupling ring is brought into contact with the threaded inner surface 150 of the female coupling ring 142 . rotation of the threaded portions of the male and female coupling rings moves the male contact carrier and the female contact carrier axially into engagement until the first surface 132 of the male contact carrier 108 engages the second surface 168 of the abutment flange 168 disposed on the female contact carrier . when the coupling rings are fully engaged , the v - shaped notches 122 disposed on the distal edge of the male coupling ring 106 receive and engage the raised bumps 136 so as to prevent rotational movement between the male coupling ring 106 and the male contact carrier 108 . similarly , when the hemispherical bumps 172 of the female contact carrier 144 are captured between radial fins 180 of the washer 174 and the keys 182 of the washer 174 are received by the keyways 158 of the female coupling ring , rotational movement of the female coupling ring 104 relative to the female contact carrier 144 is inhibited . although reference has been made to the use of the present invention for the purpose of explanation , it is understood that alternative embodiments in accordance with the claims presented below are within the scope of the present invention . it also will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the design and construction of the anti - rotational connector without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims .
7
generally , the invention contemplates the partial hydrolysis of a granular starch , preferably with an enzyme . the starches that may be used as starting materials in preparing the porous starch granules may be derived from any native source , and typical starch sources include cereals , tubers , roots , legumes , and fruits . exemplary starches include those obtained from corn , potato , wheat , rice , sago , tapioca , and sorghum . corn starch is preferred in light of its low cost and ready availability , and also in light of the known skin affinity of corn starch and relative ease of modification of the granular structure of corn starch compared to starches such as potato . suitable starches include pearl starches , such as pure - dent ® b700 and corn starch b200 , both sold by grain processing corporation of muscatine , iowa . the starches used in conjunction with the invention not only may be native starches but also may be starches that have been modified prior to enzymatic hydrolysis . exemplary of such modified starches are crossed - linked starches , which may comprise a native starch that have been crossed - linked via any suitable cross - linking technique known in the art or otherwise found to be suitable in conjunction with the invention . an example of a commercially available cross - linked starch is pure - dent ® b850 , sold by grain processing corporation of muscatine , iowa . other starches are deemed suitable for use in conjunction with the invention , and thus , it is contemplated that , for instance , derivatized , or acid - thinned starches , or starches that have otherwise modified may be employed . exemplary starches include pure - set ® b950 , pure - set ® b990 , pure - coat ® b70 , superbond ® b300 , supercore ® s22 , coatmaster ® k56f and starch c - 165 , all available from grain processing corporation , muscatine , iowa . in accordance with the invention , the starch is partially hydrolyzed , preferably with an enzyme . suitable enzymes for using in conjunction with the invention include any of the wide variety of art - recognized enzymes suitable for hydrolyzing starch , and include , for instance , amylases derived from fungal , bacterial , higher plant , or animal origin . preferred examples of suitable enzymes include endo - alpha - amylases , which cleave the 1 - 4 glucoside linkage of starch . in addition , the enzyme may include or comprise a beta - amylase , which removes maltose - units in a stepwise fashion from the non - reducing ends of the alpha 1 - 4 linkages ; a glucoamylase , which remove glucose units in a stepwise manner from the non - reducing end of starch and which cleaves both 1 - 4 and the 1 - 6 linkages ; and debranching enzymes such as isoamylase and pullulanase which cleave the 1 - 6 glucosidic linkages of the starch . such enzymes can be used alone or in combination . more generally , any starch that hydrolyses granular starch via the porous starch granules may be employed in conjunction with the invention . preferred sources of alpha - amylases and pullulanases include several species of the bacillus micro - organism , such as bacillus subtilis , bacillus licheniformis , bacillus coagulans , bacillus amyloliquefaciens , bacillus stearothermophilus , and bacillus acidopullulyticlus , preferably the thermal stable amylases produced by bacillus stearothermophilus , bacillus licheniformis , and bacillus acidopullulyticus . maltogenic alpha - amylase , an enzyme that produces high quantities of maltose and low molecular weight saccaharides , is produced in bacillus species ; this enzyme can be obtained from novo nordisk under the trademark maltogenase ™. preferred glucoamylases include those obtained from strains from aspergillus niger . one alpha - amylase suitable in conjunction with the invention is g995 , an alpha - amylase enzyme that is commercially available from enzyme biosystems ltd . one glucoamylase that is suitable for use in conjunction with the invention is g990 , sold by enzyme biosystems ltd . the starch should be partially hydrolyzed with the selected enzyme to yield a porous starch granule . generally , the enzymatic hydrolysis is accomplished in an aqueous or buffered slurry at any suitable starch solids level , preferably a solids level ranging from about 10 % to about 55 % by weight on dry starch basis , more preferably about 25 % to about 35 % by weight . the ph and temperature of the slurry should be adjusted to any conditions effective to allow enzyme hydrolysis . these will vary depending on the enzyme and starch selected , and are not critical so long as the starch does not gelatinize ; generally , this can be accomplished so long as the temperature remains below the gelatinization temperature of the starch . in general , the ph will range from about 3 . 5 to about 7 . 5 , more preferably from about 4 . 0 to about 6 . 0 . to reach this ph , any suitable acid or base may be added , or a buffer may be employed . the temperature preferably is maintained at least 3 ° c . below the gelatinization temperature of the starch . for corn starch , the gelatinization temperature falls within a range between about 62 ° and 72 ° c . accordingly , the temperature of the slurry should be below about 62 ° c ., preferably ranging from about 22 ° c . to about 59 ° c ., and more preferably from about 51 ° c . to about 61 ° c . the enzyme may be employed in any amount suitable to effectuate a partial hydrolysis of the starch granules in the slurry . preferably , the enzyme is employed in the slurry in a concentration ranging from about 0 . 2 % to about 3 % by weight on dry starch , and more preferably from about 0 . 4 % to about 2 %. for glucoamylase , this range is based on a 300 unit per ml enzyme ( based on the enzyme biosystems unit definition ); for alpha - amylase , this range is based on a 2200 - 5000 unit / ml enzyme for the maltogenic alpha - amylase , the units are based on a commercial 4000 unit / ml enzyme ( maltogenase from novo nordisk ). when it is desired to terminate the enzymatic hydrolysis , the enzymatic hydrolysis may be terminated by any suitable techniques known in the art , including acid or base deactivation , ion exchange , solvent extraction , or other suitable techniques . preferably , heat deactivation is not employed , since a granular starch product is desired and since the application of heat in an amount sufficient to terminate the enzymatic reaction may cause gelatinization of the starch . for typical enzymes , acid deactivation may be accomplished by lowering the ph to a value lower than 2 . 0 for at least 5 minutes , typically for 5 to 30 minutes . after deactivation , the ph of the slurry may be readjusted to the desired ph according to the intended end use of the granules . typically , the ph will be adjusted to a ph within the range from about 5 . 0 to 7 . 0 , more preferably from about 5 . 0 to about 6 . 0 . the starch granules thus prepared then can be recovered using techniques known in the art , including filtration and centrifugation . preferably , the reducing sugars and other byproducts produced during the enzymatic treatment are removed during the washing steps . most preferably , the starch granules subsequently are dried to a moisture content of or below about 12 %. in other embodiments of the invention , the starch granules are hydrolyzed via acid hydrolysis without the use of an enzyme . in such embodiments , the starch is placed in an aqueous acid medium at a low ph ( typically a ph below 2 . 0 , and more preferably below 1 . 0 ) at an elevated temperature for a time sufficient to hydrolyze the starch . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many reaction conditions may be employed . for instance , the hydrolysis time may range from a few hours to a period of days . generally , the starch solids level and temperature should be within the ranges described above with respect to enzymatic hydrolysis . when it is desired to terminate the hydrolysis , the ph should be adjusted to a level sufficient to terminate substantially completely the hydrolysis ( typically to a ph ranging from about 5 - 7 ). the starch is preferably dried , as discussed hereinabove . while this method is suitable for the hydrolysis of starch , use of an enzyme is preferred , inasmuch as it is believed such use will provide a degree of regional specificity of hydrolysis of the starch granule that will be lacking absent the use of an enzyme . it is further believed that the use of an enzyme will affect the absorption properties of the resulting porous starch granules . also , enzyme catalysts allow operation at more moderate ph levels . in some embodiments of the invention , two hydrolyses are performed ; one an emzymatically catalyzed hydrolysis and one not catalyzed enzymatically . the hydrolyses may be performed in either order . preferably , the first of the hydrolyses is terminated after the starch granule has been hydrolyzed to an extent of about 50 % of the desired extent of hydrolysis and the second hydrolysis is next commenced and allowed to proceed to finish the hydrolysis to the desired extent . more generally , the first hydrolysis may be allowed to proceed from about 10 % to about 90 % of the desired extent . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention , the starch is hydrolyzed to an optimum fluid absorption hydrolysis level . by “ hydrolysis level ” is contemplated the percentage of the starch granule that is enzymatically hydrolyzed and thus no longer remaining in granular form . the optimum fluid absorption hydrolysis level most preferably is determined empirically , that is , by testing the absorption properties for a specific starch hydrolyzed with the specific enzyme being contemplated at various hydrolysis levels and estimating from this information the hydrolysis level that yields the optimum fluid absorption property . the hydrolysis level alternatively may be determined via reference to a predetermined correlation of fluid absorption levels and hydrolysis levels . if the optimum hydrolysis level is known in advance , the “ determination ” of the optimum hydrolysis level may be simply predetermining the hydrolysis level with reference or regard to the known optimum level . in any event , the extent of hydrolysis of starch in a given hydrolysis reaction may be determined or estimated from the reaction time . the optimum fluid absorption property may be defined in any manner consistent with the ultimate intended purpose of the starch , for instance , in connection with the goal of absorbing fluids from the skin . for instance , in one embodiment of the invention , the optimum fluid absorption may be defined as the maximum oil absorption , i . e ., the fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level may be taken as the minimum hydrolysis level at which oil absorption is maximized ( reaches an apparent plateau ). any suitable oil , such as a mineral oil , may be used to approximate oils found in the surface of the skin . more generally , other fluids may be used to approximate the composition of fluids on the skin . for instance , the fluid on the surface of the skin may be estimated to comprise a combination of water , 1 % saline ( nacl ), and oil . the fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level may be regarded as that hydrolysis level at which the absorption of oil water , 1 % saline , and oil is deemed to be cumulatively optimized ; this may be regarded as the minimum hydrolysis level at when the oil absorption reaches an apparent maximum . alternatively , weighting factors may be applied to the water , saline , and oil absorption parameters in order to further approximate the composition of fluids from the skin . such weighting factors may be empirically determined . if there is no one level which the fluid absorption is maximized ( for instance , if there is a range of hydrolysis levels at which fluid hydrolysis is constant ), any point in such range may be regarded as the optimum level . alternatively , the lowest hydrolysis level in such range may be regarded as optimum . in other embodiments the optimum fluid hydrolysis level may be empirically estimated . the enzymatic or acid hydrolysis should be allowed to continue to within a selected range surrounding the estimated fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level . any suitable range may be selected . for instance , once the fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level has been estimated , the hydrolysis may be allowed to proceed to within ± 15 %, more preferably ± 10 % and even more preferably ± 5 %, of the estimated optimum level . for instance , using corn starch , the optimum hydrolysis level in several embodiments may range from about 30 % to about 50 %, in some embodiments , about 30 % to about 44 %; in other embodiments ; from about 35 % to about 44 %; in other embodiments from about 38 % to about 42 %; and in other embodiments the hydrolysis level may be about 40 %. this optimum represents the lowest hydrolysis level at which oil absorption reaches an apparent plateau . once the fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level has been determined , the starch is hydrolyzed with the enzyme to within the selected range surrounding the optimum level . the granules can be recovered using any suitable technique known in the art or otherwise found to be suitable , including filtration and centrifugation . in preparing a fluid absorber for the skin , the starch granules thus prepared most preferably are ground to provide ground granules after washing and drying . in absorbing fluid from the skin , the ground granules may be applied in any amount effective to absorb fluid therefrom . the ground granules may be used alone , or in combination with other ingredients . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , for instance , a fluid absorber includes the ground granules prepared in accordance with the present technical and a fragrance . in other embodiments , the granules are used as a carrier for materials such as colorants , flavorants and other materials ( in particular oleogenous materials ). exemplary applications for the non - ground starches prepared in accordance with the invention include plating agents for flavors and fragrances ; plating agents for sticky or oily food products such as peanut butter , honey , and molasses ; plating of lecithin ; plating of colors ; flow aids on shredded cheeses ; stabilizing agents for products ( e . g . cream cheese , to keep oil from separating out ); coating agents ( e . g ., for pepperoni slices to prevent sticking together ); plating for fats , such as chicken fat ; plating to prevent oil separation in sauces ; flow aids in dry sauce mixes ; absorbers for moisture in dry mixes ; plating agents for pharmaceutically active materials ( e . g . prior to encapsulation ); plating of oleoresins ; carriers for oils such as fish oil , and thickeners for materials such as oils ( e . g . olive oil ). exemplary applications for the ground starches prepared in accordance with the invention include fluid absorbing agents in body and “ shower ” powders ; fluid absorbing agents in other personal care products such as dry hair care products , lip balms , antiperspirants and deodorants , foot powers , dispensing body powders , natural soaps , sun tan lotions , and body lotions ; plating agents for colors and flavors ( for instance , as a carrier for colorants for facial powder ); plating agents for pharmaceutically active materials ; absorbents in medicated patches and plating agents for simethicone . this list is by no means exhaustive , but to the contrary it is contemplated that the starches prepared in accordance with the invention will find use in numerous other applications . more generally , any starch that has been hydrolyzed via enzymatic hydrolysis or otherwise to form a fluid absorber should be deemed useful in connection with such applications . the invention should be deemed to include the use of such porous starches in such applications . preferably , but necessarily , the starch used in such applications is hydrolyzed to an estimated fluid absorption optimum hydrolysis level . the following examples are provided to further illustrate the invention , but should not be construed as limiting the invention in scope . the following procedure was used to estimate water , saline , and oil absorption . prior to testing , each sample was screened through a 120 mesh ( us ) screen ( 0 . 0125 cm - 0 . 0049 in .). in accordance with astm d281 - 95 , to 10 . 0 g ( dry solid basis ) starch ( weighed in a 100 ml beaker ) was added dropwise water , 1 % salt water , or a mineral oil ( chevron superla # 7 ) until a stiff , putty - like paste was formed . the precision of this test is +/− 0 . 5 ml and gives an indication of the saturation value of the starch . this example shows how the degree of hydrolysis can affect the water , salt water , and oil absorption properties of starch granules . in 1250 ml tap water was slurried 500 grams ( dry solids basis ) of dent corn starch . the slurry was heated to a temperature of either 51 ° c . or 60 ° c ., as indicated in table 1 , and the ph was adjusted to the indicated value using dilute hydrochloric acid . the amount of alpha - amylase ( g995 , commercially available from enzyme bio - systems ltd ., and ban and termamyl 120 l , commercially available from novo nordisk ) indicated in table 1 was added and the reaction was allowed to proceed at the indicated temperature with constant mixing for the indicated amount of time . the enzyme was then deactivated by reducing the ph to 1 . 9 with dilute hydrochloric acid . after 5 minutes at ph 1 . 9 , the ph of the slurry was adjusted to 5 . 0 - 5 . 5 with dilute sodium hydroxide . the reaction mixture was filtered , washed with tap water , and dried . the hydrolysis conditions and absorption test results are shown in table 1 . “ yield ” in these tables refers to yield of insoluble starch granules . in this example , water and 1 % salt water absorption of alpha - amylase treated corn starches are similar and increase with increasing hydrolysis yield , while a limit surprisingly is observed with oil absorption , this limit occurring at around 60 % yield ( 40 % hydrolysis ). all alpha - amylase treated starches display higher water and oil absorption than untreated corn starch . fig1 shows that , for water and 1 % saline , the relationship between absorption and percent hydrolysis is essentially linear over a broad range , while the oil absorbance reaches a plateau . this example shows how the degree of hydrolysis can affect the water and oil absorption of starch granules that have been hydrolyzed with a maltogenic alpha - amylase , and how similar treatment with alpha - amylase or a maltogenic alpha - amylase can lead to different absorption properties . 500 grams ( dry solids basis ) of dent corn starch were slurried in 1250 ml tap water . the slurry was heated to 60 ° c . and the ph adjusted to 5 . 15 using dilute hydrochloric acid . the amount of maltogenic alpha - amylase ( maltogenase 4000l , commercially available from novo nordisk ) indicated in table 2 was added and the reaction was allowed to proceed at 60 ° c . with constant mixing for the indicated amount of time . the enzyme was then deactivated by reducing the ph to 1 . 9 with dilute hydrochloric acid . after 5 minutes at ph 1 . 9 , the ph was adjusted to 5 . 0 - 5 . 5 with dilute sodium hydroxide . the reaction mixture was filtered , washed with tap water and dried . the hydrolysis conditions and absorption test results are shown in table 2 . in the last experiment , the starch was treated with 10 ml maltogenase for 10 hours , and 5 ml maltogenase were subsequently added and the reaction allowed to proceed for 5 hours . in this example , water and 1 % salt water absorption of maltogenic alpha - amylase treated corn starches are similar and increase with increasing hydrolysis yield , while a limit is observed with oil absorption , occurring at around 70 % yield . oil absorption was lower for the of maltogenic alpha - amylase treated starches of the example than for the alpha - amylase treated starches of example 1 . for a similar hydrolysis level , oil absorption of alpha - amylase and of maltogenic alpha - amylase treated starches were different . this example shows how the level of hydrolysis can affect the water and oil absorption of starch granules , and how similar treatment with different enzymes can lead to different absorption properties . 500 grams ( dry solids basis ) of dent corn starch were slurried in 1250 ml tap water . the slurry was heated to 60 ° c . and the ph adjusted to 5 . 20 using dilute hydrochloric acid . the amounts of alpha - amylase and pullulanase ( g995 and ultradex , a pullulanase enzyme commercially available from enzyme bio - systems ltd ., promozyme , a pullulanase enzyme commercially available from novo nordisk ) indicated in table 3 were added and the reaction was allowed to proceed at 60 ° c . with constant mixing for the indicated amount of time . the enzymes were then deactivated by reducing the ph to 1 . 9 with dilute hydrochloric acid . after 5 minutes at ph 1 . 9 , the ph was adjusted to 5 . 0 - 5 . 5 with dilute sodium hydroxide . the reaction mixture was filtered , washed with tap water and dried . the hydrolysis conditions and absorption test results are shown in table 3 . the water , and 1 % salt water absorption of alpha - amylase - pullulanase treated corn starches of this example were similar to alpha - amylase treated starches of example 1 , while a lower oil absorption limit was observed , occurring at around 60 % hydrolysis yield . this example demonstrates that the degree of hydrolysis can affect the water and oil absorption of starch granules , and how similar treatment with different enzymes can lead to different absorption properties . 500 grams ( dry solids basis ) of dent corn starch were slurried in 1250 ml tap water . the slurry was heated to 60 ° c . and the ph adjusted to 5 . 20 using dilute hydrochloric acid . the amounts of glucoamylase and alpha - amylase ( g990 and g995 , commercially available from enzyme bio - systems ltd .) indicated in table 4 were added and the reaction was allowed to proceed at 60 ° c . with constant mixing for the indicated amount of time . the enzymes were then deactivated by reducing the ph to 1 . 9 with dilute hydrochloric acid . after 5 minutes at ph 1 . 9 , the ph was adjusted to 5 . 0 - 5 . 5 with dilute sodium hydroxide . the reaction mixture was filtered , washed with tap water and dried . the conditions and absorption test results are shown in table 4 . in separate experiments , 500 grams ( dry solid basis ) of b850 , a highly cross - linked corn starch sold by grain processing corporation of muscatine , iowa , and vinamyl ii , a high amylose starch sold by national starch , & amp ; chemical company , were slurried in 1250 ml tap water . each slurry was heated to 60 ° c . and the ph adjusted to 5 . 7 using dilute hydrochloric acid . the amounts of alpha - amylase ( g995 , commercially available from enzyme bio - systems , ltd .) indicated in table 5 were added and the reaction was allowed to proceed at 60 ° c . with constant mixing for 8 h . the enzymes were then deactivated by reducing the ph to 1 . 9 with dilute hydrochloric acid . after 5 minutes at ph 1 . 9 , the ph was adjusted to 5 . 0 - 5 . 5 with dilute sodium hydroxide . the reaction mixture was filtered , washed with tap water and dried . the hydrolysis conditions and absorption test results are shown in table 5 . these results show that highly cross - linked corn starch and high amylose starch are not as susceptible to g995 hydrolysis than active corn starch , and that water and oil absorption can differ , for the same hydrolysis level , with the starch type . water absorption in this example was the highest for high amylose starch while oil absorption was lower for this starch . this example shows how the alpha - amylase treated corn starch outperforms commercial baby powders for water , 1 % salt water , and oil absorption . starch , ( b200 , 643 . 5 g dry solids basis ) was added to 1250 ml of water to make a 34 % solids slurry . the mixture was heated to 59 ° c . the ph was adjusted to below 1 by the addition of a total of 50 ml of 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water . after 24 hours at 59 ° c ., the reaction was cooled and ph adjusted to 5 . 3 with soda ash . the resulting mixture was filtered , washed 2 × 400 ml with water and dried overnight at 50 ° c . a fluid absorber was produced according to the procedure described in sample 8 , except that 55 ml of 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water was used instead of 50 ml . this example illustrates the preparation of a fluid absorber via acid hydrolysis of starch followed by enzymatic hydrolysis . starch , ( b200 , 562 g dry solids basis ) was added to 1250 ml of water to make a 40 % solids slurry . the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . the ph was adjusted to below 1 by the addition of a total of 30 ml of 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water . after 17 hours at 60 ° c ., the reaction was cooled and ph adjusted to 5 . 8 with soda ash . enzyme ( g995 α - amylase , 1 . 3 ml ) was added to the mixture and it was stirred an additional 4 hours . the slurry was then cooled to room temperature . the ph of the reaction was then adjusted to 1 . 9 with 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water and held at this ph for five minutes to terminate all enzyme activity . the ph was then re - adjusted to 5 . 4 with 3 % naoh , and filtered , washed and dried as in example 8 . this example illustrates the preparation of another fluid absorber via acid hydrolysis of starch , followed by enzymatic hydrolysis . acid thinned starch ( b950 , 500 g dry solids ) was added to 1250 ml of water to make a 28 % solids starch slurry . the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . the ph was adjusted to 5 . 8 with 3 % naoh . enzyme ( g995 α - amylase , 1 . 3 ml ) was added to the mixture and it was stirred for 4 hours . the slurry was then cooled to room temperature . the ph of the reaction was then adjusted to 1 . 9 with 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water and held at this ph for five minutes to terminate all enzyme activity . the ph was then re - adjusted to 5 . 4 with 3 % naoh , and filtered , washed and dried as in example 8 . this example illustrates the preparation of a fluid absorber by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch , followed by acid hydrolysis . starch , ( b200 , 500 g dry solids basis ) was added to 1250 ml of water to make a 28 % solids slurry . the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . the ph was adjusted to 5 . 8 with 3 % naoh . enzyme ( g995 α - amylase , 1 . 3 ml ) was added to the mixture and it was stirred for 4 hours . the ph of the reaction was then dropped to below 1 by the addition of 50 ml of 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water . after 4 hours at 60 ° c ., the reaction was cooled and ph adjusted to 5 . 8 with soda ash . the slurry was then filtered , washed and dried as in example 8 . this example illustrates the preparation of a second fluid absorber by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch followed by acid hydrolysis . a fluid absorber was produced according to the procedure described in example 12 , except that 30 ml of 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water was used instead of 50 ml . starch ( b200 , 500 g dry solids basis ) was added to 1250 ml of water to make a 28 % solids slurry . the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . the ph was adjusted to 5 . 8 with 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water . enzyme ( g995 α - amylase , 1 . 3 ml ) was added to the mixture and it was stirred for 8 hours . the ph of the reaction was then adjusted to 1 . 8 with 1 : 1 concentrated hydrochloric acid : water and held at this ph for five minutes to kill enzyme activity . the ph was then re - adjusted to 5 . 3 with 3 % naoh . the mixture then was filtered , washed ( 2 × 400 ml ) and dried . the resulting product had a oil absorbency of 12 . 0 ml per 10 g of starch and a water absorbency of 15 . 5 ml per 10 g of starch . the following table summarizes absorption data for hydrolyzed granular starches made via enzyme , acid or combined enzyme / acid procedures outlined in examples 5 and 8 through 14 . absorption ( ml / 10 g ) sample treatment % yield water oil b200 none — 8 . 5 7 . 5 example 5 enzyme 59 14 . 5 12 . 5 ( entry 2 in table 5 ) example 8 acid 70 15 7 . 5 example 9 acid 70 12 . 8 9 . 0 example 10 acid , then 52 19 . 8 8 . 0 enzyme example 11 acid , then 66 12 . 8 9 . 0 enzyme example 12 enzyme , then 60 12 . 4 9 . 5 acid example 13 enzyme , then 60 12 . 4 10 . 5 acid example 14 enzyme 54 15 . 5 12 . 0 the data shows that acid hydrolysis and / or acid / enzyme hydrolysis do improve water and oil absorption when compared to untreated starch . acid and enzyme sequential hydrolyses do not show any improvements over enzyme catalyzed acid hydrolysis , especially in the ability to absorb water and oil in relatively equal amounts . acid hydrolysis , followed by enzyme hydrolysis may be a way to allow the enzyme more access to the granule , which could lead to some unique properties , as demonstrated by the high water absorption in example 10 . however , oil absorption of this sample was relatively low . this example illustrates the hydrolysis of starch to prepare a fluid absorber . based on the preceeding examples , it was determined that , for dent corn starch , the optimum hydrolysis level is about 40 % (“ optimum ” being defined as the minimum hydrolysis level at which the oil absorption reaches an apparent plateau ). dent corn starch slurry was diluted to 28 % solids ( baume 15 . 8 @ 60 ° f .). the total volume of the mixture was 380 gallons ( 1000 lbs ). the ph of the mixture was adjusted to 5 . 6 by the addition of 250 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid . the reaction temperature was adjusted to 136 - 1400 f and 1000 ml of g995 alpha amylase enzyme ( enzyme biosystems ) was added to the mixture . the reaction was stirred at temperature for 4 hours and then another 100 ml of g995 was added . the reaction was stirred for eight more hours . the ph of the reaction throughout the twelve - hour reaction time was held at 5 . 4 - 5 . 8 . the reaction was then quenched by the addition of 2 . 0 l of concentrated hcl . the ph after quench was 1 . 9 . the starch slurry was held at ph 1 . 9 for 15 minutes and then neutralized with 25 . 8 l of 3 % naoh to a ph of 5 . 3 . the mixture was then filtered , washed and dried . the oil absorbance of 10 g of material was 13 . 0 ml . dent corn starch was diluted to 28 % solids ( baume 15 . 8 @ 60 ° f .). the total volume was the mixture was 38 gallons ( 100 lbs ). the ph of the mixture was adjusted to 5 . 6 by the addition of 18 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid . the reaction temperature was adjusted to 136 - 140 ° f . and 100 ml of g995 alpha amylase enzyme ( enzyme biosystems ) was added to the mixture . the reaction was stirred at temperature for 4 hours and then another 100 ml of g995 was added . the reaction was stirred for eight more hours . the ph of the reaction throughout the twelve - hour reaction time was held at 5 . 4 - 5 . 8 . the reaction was then quenched by the addition of 0 . 34 gallons of sodium hypochlorite ( 0 . 5 %, 17 . 65 % active chlorine ). the hypochlorite addition was over a 20 minute period , and the final ph of the reaction was 8 . 2 . one hour after the hypochlorite addition , sodium bisulfite , 100 grams , was added and the mixture was stirred for an additional fifteen minutes to ensure no residual oxidant remained . the ph of the mixture was then adjusted to 5 . 4 , filtered and washed . the resulting product was dried and ground . the screen size of the ground product was 99 . 9 % through a 100 mesh and 78 % through a 325 mesh screen . the minolta color of the sample was l = 97 . 00 , b = 2 . 37 . the water and oil absorbance of 10 g of material was 14 . 0 ml and 12 . 0 ml , respectively . the fluid absorber prepared in accordance with example 15 is blended with a fragrance . the product thus prepared is used to absorb oil from the skin . the fluid absorber used in accordance with example 15 is used to absorb an oleogenous flavoring agent . the product thus prepared is added to a food product to provide flavor . it is thus seen that the invention provides a method for absorbing fluid from the skin , and also a method for preparing a fluid absorber . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown , it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art , particularly in light of the foregoing teachings . for instance , the invention is operable to absorb fluids not only from human skin but also from animal skin . it is , therefore , contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as incorporate those features which constitute the essential features of these improvements within the true spirit and scope of the invention . all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties .
0
the present invention relates to the process for preparing hydroxyl aromatic hydrocarbons from aromatic hydrocarbon compounds by oxidation reaction . this invention is characterized by the two - component heterogeneous catalyst used , one of which is zeolite catalyst containing group viii transition metal and alkylanthraquinone derivatives , and the other is zeolite catalyst containing transition metal with tetrahedral coordination geometry ; that hydroxyl aromatic compounds are produced in a direct fashion by the introduction of hydrogen and oxygen under atmospheric pressure at a temperature of − 10 to 60 ° c . the catalyst for the preparation of hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen has both a species to activate hydrogen and a chemical substance to transfer hydrogen effectively , permitting high efficiency in the production of hydrogen peroxide . if excess amount of reduced metal in catalyst exists , the activity of oxidation may be reduced due to the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide formed in solution . in addition , formed hydrogen peroxide needs appropriate catalyst which helps hydrogen peroxide to participate in the oxidation reaction effectively . it is preferable to use porous zeolite catalyst containing transition metal of tetrahedral coordination geometry such as titanium supported on zeolite framework . generated hydrogen peroxide will lose the activity in oxidation reaction over catalyst in which transition metal like titanium is out of zeolite framework . zeolite employed in the present invention as a support is selected from y , β , l type zeolite , mcm - 41 and mcm - 48 in the ratio of si / al being 1 to 160 . the suitable amount of group viii b transition metal , alkyl anthraquinone or its derivatives , and transition metal of tetrahedral coordination geometry in this new heterogeneous catalyst is 0 . 5 to 5 . 0 weight %, 0 . 5 to 4 . 0 weight % and 1 . 0 to 4 . 0 weight %, respectively . if the amount of incorporated group viii b transition metal in two - component catalyst is under 0 . 5 weight %, hydrogen peroxide is produced in low concentration resulting in too low oxidation reactivity and in excess of 5 . 0 weight %, formed hydrogen peroxide is decomposed easily resulting in low conversion rate . furthermore , yield of hydrogen peroxide is closely related to the amount of incorporated alkyl anthraquinone and its derivatives which are hydrogen carriers in this process . incorporation of alkyi anthraquinones in excess of 4 . 0 % by weight in zeolites has been found to be difficult . presence of alkyl anthraquinones below 0 . 5 % by weight does not permit sufficient transfer hydrogen resulting in low hydrogen peroxide production . said alkyl anthraquinone or its derivatives mean antluraquinone or substituted anthraquinone in which substituent is selected from the alkyl group containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms , carboxyl group and sulfonic group , more particularly , ethyl anthraquinone , butyl anthraquinone , amyl anthraquinone , anthraquinone - 2 - carboxylic acid , anthraquinone - 1 , 5 - disulfonic acid disodium salt . oxidation activity in this process depends on the concentration of transition metal with tetrahedral coordination geometry . if the amount is lower than 1 . 0 weight %, oxidation activity is too low while in excess of 4 . 0 weight %, results not only in difficulty to prepare optimal porous zeolite but also result in poor crystallinity causing limitation in the catalytic activity . two - component catalyst in this invention comprises a porous catalyst containing group viii b transition metal and organic compounds , and a porous zeolite catalyst containing transition metal with tetrahedral coordination geometry . these two - component catalysts are prepared by appropriately mixing and utilizing the conventional processes . korea patent appln . no . 97 - 50302 discloses , in detail , the process for preparing a catalyst containing one of group viii b transition metal and a hydrogen carrier . following is the example , for reference , of the preparation process for the catalyst containing palladium and 2 - ethyl anthraquinone as well . zeolite y and pd ( nh 3 ) 4 cl 2 solution is stirred at 60 ° c . for 12 hours to permit ion - exchange of palladium , and washed thoroughly with distilled water until there is no detectable remains of pd ( nh 3 ) 4 cl 2 . pd - loaded catalyst is calcinated at 550 ° c . which is raised at a rate of 1 ° c . per min and subsequently reduced by treatment of hydrogen at 300 ° c . for 6 hours . thereafter , a hydrogen carrier such as 2 - ethylanthraquinone at the concentration of 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 m dissolved in benzene solution is mixed with fixed volume of dehydrated zeolite and then stirred at 60 ° c . for 3 days . reaction mixture is washed with organic solvents such as benzene or acetone , using appropriate extraction device such as a soxhlet extractor , and dried for 24 hours at a temperature 10 ° c . lower than the melting point of a hydrogen carrier to obtain the catalyst containing palladium and a hydrogen carrier . zeolite catalyst containing transition metal of tetrahedral coordination geometry , being the other component of the present catalyst , is prepared by means of the method of hydrothermal synthesis and secondary synthesis . procedure for the preparation is the same as that described in the prior art [ ti - mcm - 41 : stud . surf . sci . & amp ; catal . 1994 , 84 , 68 ; ts - 1 : appl . catal . 1990 , 57 , l1 ; ti -□: appl . catal . a . 1995 , 133 , l185 ; ti - zsm - 5 : appl . catal . a . 1992 , 84 , 141 ]. the two - component catalyst comprising a zeolite catalyst containing one of group viii b transition metal such as pd , pt , au and cu , and alkylanthraquinone derivatives and the other zeolite catalyst containing transition metal with tetrahedral coordination geometry produced by this invention is used for preparation of the hydroxyl aromatic compounds from aromatic hydrocarbon compounds by introducing hydrogen under atmospheric pressure at 20 ˜ 60 ° c . and then by simultaneous contacting oxygen to produce hydrogen peroxide . according to the oxidation reaction in this invention , the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is very important factor to optimize the catalyst efficiency and oxidation activity . hydrogen , in this reaction , requires to be improved by the metal supported on the catalyst , before it reacts with oxygen , to carry out optimal production of hydrogen peroxide . according to the present invention , optimum concentration ratio of oxygen and hydrogen is preferred in the range of 0 . 2 to 10 . efficiency to form hydrogen peroxide and oxidation activity is reduced when the concentration ratio of hydrogen and oxygen is out of said range . when benzene is oxidized to phenol from hydrogen and oxygen using said two - component heterogeneous catalyst under atmospheric pressure at a temperature from 20 to 40 ° c . though depending on the reaction condition , turnover number based on titanium reaches 13 . 5 suggesting that catalyst performance is considerably improved compared to the results that have reported by other researchers . the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following examples that by no means limit the scope of this invention . the purpose of this example was to investigate the catalytic activity by means of hydroxylation of benzene . reflux condenser , injection device for hydrogen and oxygen gas , and three - necked round flask reactor were used . to 0 . 25 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium , and 0 . 25 g of zsm - 5 zeolite containing titanium in a reactor were added 15 ml of benzene and then 15 ml of acetic acid . the reaction mixture was stirred to be homogenous . hydrogen ( diluted with nitrogen gas to 50 %) and oxygen ( diluted with nitrogen gas to 50 %)( h 2 / o 2 = 1 ) were bubbled simultaneously into the reaction vessel at a flow rate of 16 ml / min at 60 ° c . for 5 hours . and then , product was analyzed by gas chromatography ( chrompack , cp9001 , cpsil5cb capillary column ) performed in the manner of example 1 , except that the catalyst was 0 . 5 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium , and 0 . 5 g of beta - zeolite containing titanium . hydrogen and oxygen were introduced at a flow rate of 42 ml / min into the reaction vessel at 40 ° c . for 4 hours with 20 ml of benzene and 7 ml of acetic acid . performed in the manner of example 2 , except that the flow rate of hydrogen and oxygen ( h 2 / o 2 = 0 . 5 ) was 84 ml / min . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that hydrogen and oxygen were introduced at a flow rate of 10 ml / min at 50 ° c . for 4 hours . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that the catalyst was 0 . 1 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthlaquinonie and palladium , and 0 . 1 g of ti - containing silicalite ( ts - 1 ). hydrogen and oxygen ( h 2 / o 2 = 1 ) were introduced to the reaction vessel at a flow rate of 16 . 8 ml / min at 50 ° c . for 6 hours with 6 ml of benzene and 6 ml of acetic acid . performed in the manner of example 5 , except that catalyst was 0 . 1 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium , and 0 . 1 g of ti - containing mesoporous material ( ti - mcm - 41 ), 6 ml of benzene and 6 ml of acetic acid were supplied . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that single component catalyst of ti - containing silicalite ( ts - 1 ) was used instead of two - component catalyst . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that single component catalyst of y - zeolite was used containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium instead of two - component catalyst . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that catalyst was mesoporous material ( ti - mcm - 41 ) containing titanium instead of two - component catalyst . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that single component catalyst of ti - zsm - 5 was used instead of two - component catalyst . performed in the manner of example 1 , except that catalyst was 0 . 2 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium , and 0 . 8 g of ti - zsm - 5 . performed in the manner of example 2 , except that catalyst was 0 . 2 g of y - zeolite containing 2 - ethylanthraquinone and palladium , and 0 . 3 g of ti - mcm - 41 . performed in the manner of example 5 , except that catalyst was 0 . 1 g of y - zeolite containing palladium and 0 . 1 g of ts - 1 containing titanium . performed in the manner of example 6 , except that catalyst was 0 . 1 g of y - zeolite containing palladium and 0 . 1 g of ti - mcm - 41 . table 1 shows the result of the reactions in which phenol is prepared from benzene by hydrogen and oxygen over the respective catalyst from examples 1 to 6 and comparative examples 1 to 8 . no oxidation has occurred with hydrogen and oxygen in the reaction where zeolite catalyst ( comparative examples 1 , 3 and 4 ) containing only titanium . with single component catalyst containing palladium and organic substance ( comparative example 2 ), benzene turnover number : moles of phenol prepared by 1 mol of active species ( titanium , palladium , encapsulated organic compound and etc .) during oxidation was oxidized to some extent , but production of phenol was very poor . on the other hand , reaction by two - component catalyst which contains pd , ti and organic material in the controlled manner shows highly improved turnover number . but the reaction activity was significantly sensitive to the amount of incorporated metal , the method of incorporation and relative composition of two - component catalyst . oxidation activity of catalyst is higher in the catalyst which contains ethylanthraquinone as hydrogen carrier than the catalyst which does not , where turnover number is increased by 4 to 5 folds in the experiment of examples 5 to 6 compared to that in the comparative examples 7 to 8 . the catalyst in which oxidation state , dispersion state , amount of incorporated palladium and coordination state of titanium were properly controlled exhibited highly improved oxidation activity and selectivity ( example 1 to 6 ) compared to the catalyst which were not ( comparative example 5 and 6 ). according to the present invention , if the amount of incorporated palladium is too much , hydrogen peroxide resulting from the reaction is liable to be decomposed . if the oxidation state of palladium is not in good control , activation of hydrogen is poor , resulting production of hydrogen peroxide is small , and finally turnover number of phenol is low . in addition , incorporated titanium should be tetrahedral coordinated in the zeolite framework to be effectively utilized for oxidation . furthermore , oxidation efficiency of catalyst can be improved in the presence of hydrogen transfer organic substance as well as palladium in the catalyst . two - component catalyst which meets all the said demands alone are able to oxidize benzene to phenol under mild condition by direct introduction of oxygen and hydrogen .
8
referring now to the drawings , and particularly to fig1 a horizontal directional drill machine is shown generally at 10 . the drill 10 includes a frame 12 supported by driven tracks 14 for moving the drill machine 10 from place to place . the drill machine 10 includes a longitudinally elongated boom 16 pivotally mounted on the front end of the frame 12 , as at 17 . a conventional pipe drill assembly 18 is mounted on the boom 16 , extending coextensively therewith . the drill assembly 18 is designed to drill a series of pipe sections p 1 , p 2 , p 3 , et seq ., into the ground , in sequence . in the operating mode of the drill machine 10 , the boom 16 is pivoted upward away from the frame 12 so that pipe section p 1 extends from the drill assembly 18 and intersects the ground at an angle . a special drill head ( not shown ) is attached to the front end of the first drill pipe section p 1 . in order to drill the pipe section p 1 into the ground and make any desired directional changes in its path , a variety of push , pull , and rotational forces are applied to the pipe section p 1 by the drill assembly 18 . the manner in which the drill assembly 18 applies these forces to the drill pipe section p 1 are not described , but are well known to those skilled in the art . as the first pipe section p 1 is drilled into the ground , new pipe sections p 2 , p 3 , et seq ., are successively attached to the rear end of the preceding pipe sections . a cartridge 22 of pipe sections p 2 , p 3 , et seq . is provided on the boom 16 for storing these additional pipe sections , and a semi - automatic or fully automatic loader ( not shown ) may be provided for attaching them to the preceding pipe sections . turning now to fig2 and 3 , according to the invention the cartridge 22 includes a front end tower 30 and a rear end tower 31 . connecting the two towers 30 and 31 are longitudinal support members 32 which extend along a lower part of the cartridge 22 on the outer sides . the towers 30 and 31 each include side plates 34 which extend a short distance longitudinally of the cartridge 22 . the side plates 34 extend up to define the top 23 of the cartridge 22 . end plates 36 extend between the side plates 34 and , also , up to the top 23 of the cartridge 22 . a series of dividing plates 38 are provided for separating the columns of pipes . the dividing plates 38 are attached to the end plates 36 . each extends up to the top 23 of the cartridge 22 between the end plates 36 . the top 46 of the cartridge 22 is open between the side plates 34 and the end plates 36 . the open top 46 permits reloading the cartridge 22 with new pipes p when the cartridge 22 is detached from the drill 10 . removable pins 48 are installed through the tower side plates 34 and prevent the pipes p from inadvertently coming out of the cartridge 22 through the open top 46 . it has been discovered that the support structure of the towers 30 and the longitudinal support members 32 make cross bars or walls extending along the sides of the cartridge 22 unnecessary . therefore , as can be readily appreciated from the drawings , the sides of the cartridge 22 are open . referring specifically to fig2 the ease with which pipe lengths p can be loaded and unloaded through the open sides of the cartridge 22 is readily apparent . to load a new pipe length p into the cartridge 22 , the front end of the pipe length is angled into the interior of the cartridge 22 through the open top 40 . the pipe length p is aligned with the desired column by placing one end of the pipe length against the end plate 36 between two dividing plates 38 or a dividing plate 38 and a side plate 34 . then , the other end of the pipe length is lifted up and over the nearest side plate 34 . finally , the other end is lowered through the top 46 ( with pin 48 removed ) down into the bottom of the cartridge 22 between the two dividing plates 38 or a dividing plate 38 and a side plate 34 . to remove a pipe length p from the cartridge 22 , the process is reversed . while the pipe lengths are in the cartridge 22 , they sometimes drip water , sludge or debris which then carry . a plurality of drain holes 37 are provided in the end plates 36 to allow it to escape . while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described , it should be understood that the invention is not so limited , and modifications may be made without departing from the invention . the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims , and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims , either literally or by equivalence , are intended to be embraced therein .
4
as described above , the mobile station which employs the present invention may be used in a wireless embodiment which is shown schematically in fig1 . a cellular phone providing voice service could constitute such a station . a plurality of cells c 1 to c 12 are serviced by respective base stations bs 1 to bs 12 . when the mobile station is in cell c 1 , it may be camped on to the control channel from base station bs 1 . the control channel bs 1 will transmit a list of neighboring control channels . the list will include control channels associated with base station bs 2 , base station bs 5 and base stations that service other cells adjacent to cell c 1 . furthermore , the list of neighboring channels may include a list of control channels that are related to fax services or data services . in addition , the list may include a control channel associated with a private system such as that shown in cell c 1 . typically such a private system is overlaid by the public system so that the area covered by the private system is covered by both the public and private system , but access to the private system itself , for example , a wireless pbx on a party &# 39 ; s premises , is not permissible except by members of that private system . when the mobile station receives the neighbor list from the control channel on which it is camped , it stores that neighbor list in memory . the mobile station may be a cellular phone which complies with the is - 136 standards . such a mobile communications device includes processing capabilities and memory , both read only memory ( rom ) and random access memory ( ram ), as shown in fig4 . fig4 depicts a mobile station 400 that includes a processor 410 in communication with a rom 420 and a ram 430 . the rom 420 stores control programs 425 for operating the device while the ram 430 stores dynamic information 435 which can be updated over time , such as the neighbor list transmitted from a control channel on which the station is camped . in its memory the mobile station would track the identification of the control channels included in the list . furthermore , in compliance with the is - 136 standard , the neighbor list would also provide certain parameter information which relates to the characteristics of the control channel . for example , the parameter information would indicate whether a control channel is associated with a private , a public , or a semi - private system . the identification of the particular system to which the control channel is associated would not necessarily be presented in the neighbor list . instead only the type of system that the control channel is associated would be supplied . similarly , the parameter information could indicate whether the control channel is designed to provide voice service , data service , or fax service . other parameter information which defines the characteristics of the control channel could also be supplied with a neighbor list , ( e . g ., cell type , protocol version , cell sync , etc .). an example of a correlation of the information presented by the control channel in which the mobile is camped , is shown in fig2 . in this tabular representation of the data which might be stored in the mobile station , a first control channel in the list has an id of “ xxxxx ”. the parameter information indicates that this control channel is associated with a private system and provides voice services . the control channel identified by “ yyyyy ” is by contrast associated with the public system while still providing voice services . the control channel “ zzzzz ” is also associated with the public system , but provides fax services . similar information would be provided for each control channel identified in the neighbor list provided by the control channel on which the mobile station is camped . this parameter information can then be used to modify or control the process by which an alternative control channel can be selected . a flow chart illustrating the process for controlling re - selection using the received neighbor list is illustrated in fig3 . in step 300 , the mobile station receives the neighbor list from the control channel on which it is presently camped . in step 301 , the mobile station processor scans the neighbor list in accordance with a stored control program and examines the entries in the list to determine whether any of the control channels ( the candidate control channels ) are ineligible because of a lack of compatibility between the mobile station and the control channel . as an example , incompatibility could arise where the mobile station does not have access to any private network or system . the mobile station memory would store system ids for those systems with which the mobile station is allowed to communicate . it could also store a flag indicating whether the mobile station has access to any private system . under those circumstances where there is access to private systems , any control channel which is related to a private system is incompatible with the mobile station . similarly , if the mobile station seeks voice services , then any control channel associated with fax or data services would be incompatible with the mobile station . once a candidate control channel is detected or recognized to be ineligible in step 302 , then each of those ineligible control channels is marked as ineligible in the neighbor list . in particular , the processor in the mobile station modifies the neighbor list to somehow mark a control channel as ineligible . one way of doing this is to include an eligibility flag in the neighbor list . all control channels in the neighbor list would initially have their eligibility flags set as indicating an eligible control channel . then , when a control channel is marked as ineligible the flag would be reset to an ineligible state . alternatively , it is possible that other steps could be taken to effectively remove the ineligible control channels from subsequent consideration in the re - selection process . in step 304 , a process , known in the prior art , is initiated for studying or analyzing candidate channels to try to select the optimal candidate channel for reselection . this process is referred to in fig3 , as “ analyzing candidate control channels .” that step of analysis is limited to only those control channels which are deemed to be eligible . that is , if the eligibility status reflected in the neighbor list in step 303 indicated that a control channel is ineligible , then that control channel will not be included in the analysis operation beyond that point . it will , in essence , be ignored and will not figure in the calculations of determining the best candidate control channel for the re - selection process . in the analysis operation , each of the eligible control channels will be tested for certain criteria such as rf level . once each of the eligible control channels is tested a primary candidate channel is selected ( step 305 ) as the processor identifies which of the eligible control channels is the best candidate for re - selection based on the test results obtained during the analysis of step 304 . this may arise under the circumstance where the processor will run tests on each of the eligible control channels . as an example a result of the tests on such things as the rf level in step 304 the processor may determine that one or more of the candidate control channel satisfy certain criteria to be selectable by the mobile station . then , in step 305 the processor could go through this subset of selectable candidate control channels and select the optimal or primary candidate control channel based on the parameters associated with that control channel . thus , a primary candidate channel could be as in step 305 . once such a primary candidate channel is identified , the mobile station attempts to re - select to the primary candidate channel in step 306 . if the re - selection attempt is successful as detected in step 307 , then the mobile station camps onto the primary candidate channel in step 308 and receives a new neighbor list from the primary candidate control channel identifying neighbors associated with that control channel . if , however , the attempt to re - select is unsuccessful , then the processor can make a determination as to why the reselection attempt failed . if the failure is due to a mismatch of certain predetermined criteria as referred to in step 309 , then the channel identified as the primary candidate control channel could then be treated as an ineligible candidate channel . the eligibility status within the neighbor list would be modified to reflect this change of status and the processor could then resume the re - selection process from step 304 , where the processor could begin again the analysis of the candidate control channels focusing only on those which remain as eligible control channels . the system will then select another primary candidate and attempt to reselect to that second primary candidate channel . this process will continue until the mobile station camps onto an alternative control channel . as has been described above , a candidate channel could be ineligible because the control channel is associated with a private system , whereas the mobile station is not affiliated with any private system . furthermore , a control channel may be deemed ineligible because of the type of service that it provides and the lack of compatibility between that service and the service of the mobile station . the predetermined criteria referred to in connection with step 309 can be any condition that causes the failure of a reselect attempt . typically one such event would be where the primary candidate channel is associated with a private system and the mobile station is also associated with a private system . in that circumstance , then , the primary candidate channel would not then be marked ineligible in step 303 . then , during the reselect attempt the private system identifier associated with the primary candidate channel would be provided to the mobile station . if the mobile station private system identifier stored in memory does not match the private system id received from the primary candidate channel during the attempt to re - select , then the mobile station will not get access to the private system associated with that primary candidate channel . therefore , there is an incompatibility between the mobile station and the system associated with that primary candidate channel . in view of this incompatibility , it is consistent with the present invention to now mark this primary control channel as ineligible as in step 310 . then , if it is necessary to analyze the neighbor list again ( step 304 ) to find a candidate channel for re - selection , the newly designated ineligible control channel will not be analyzed . in accordance with the present invention , other parameter information associated with a control channel could be used to determine whether the control channel is eligible for re - selection by this particular mobile station . furthermore , modifications to the process of fig3 are also possible . for instance , in one variation steps 301 , 302 and 303 would be eliminated , that is the processor would not do any preliminary examination of the neighbor list to determine if any candidate channels are ineligible . instead , the system would simply rely on marking primary candidate channels as ineligible for subsequent reselection attempts . alternatively , the control method of the present invention could rely simply on the ineligibility determination made at the beginning of the analysis process and not dynamically evaluate ineligibility based on whether an attempt to reselect a particular candidate channel was successful . thus steps 309 and 310 could be eliminated and benefits would still be obtained from the remaining process . since the present invention resides in a method by which the mobile station selects an appropriate reselection candidate and since it is implemented using software running on a processor within the mobile station , it must be recognized that variations on the order in which certain steps are performed and the specific techniques or parameters involved in the process could be modified while still falling within the spirit of the present invention . for example , it is conceivable that in one variation the station microprocessor could scan the entire list of neighbors and adjust the eligibility status where appropriate for all ineligible control channels before proceeding with the analysis of the eligible control channels . in an alternative embodiment , the first time through the neighbor list the processor could first determine whether a given control channel is eligible and then , if it is eligible , perform the analysis with respect to that control channel . then the microprocessor would turn to the next control channel on the list , determine whether it should be considered eligible and if so conduct the evaluation with respect to that control channel and so on . in this second configuration , the processor does not scan the entire list before beginning the evaluation process . instead , it combines the marking and evaluation steps . other modifications might include other techniques for marking a control channel as ineligible . in yet another embodiment it is conceivable that the mobile station could select for analysis a subset of the control channels from the neighbor list ; the subset being based on any one or combination of parameters . in accordance with the present invention , a mobile station can more optimally control the process by which it selects alternative control channels . it provides the mobile station with a way to focus only on those candidate control channels with which the mobile station can effectively communicate .
7
fig1 is a functional block diagram of a demodulation circuit 100 including an interference estimation circuit 102 and an adaptive filtering circuit 104 contained in the demodulation circuit according to one embodiment . in operation , the interference estimation circuit 102 and an adaptive filtering circuit 104 cancel an interfering signal i present on an input signal 106 applied to the demodulation circuit 100 , as will be explained in more detail below . the interference estimation circuit 102 and adaptive filtering circuit 104 detect and remove the interfering signal i on the input signal 106 without prior knowledge of the characteristics of the interfering signal . the adaptive filtering circuit 104 also utilizes “ coherent ” “ knowledge ” or information as derived from the demodulation circuit 100 to further remove degradation effects due to the interfering signal i , as will be described in more detail below . in the present description , certain details are set forth in conjunction with the described embodiments to provide a sufficient understanding of the invention . one skilled in the art will appreciate , however , that the invention may be practiced without these particular details . furthermore , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the example embodiments described below do not limit the scope of the present disclosure , and will also understand that various modifications , equivalents , and combinations of the disclosed embodiments and components of such embodiments are within the scope of the present disclosure . embodiments including fewer than all the components or steps of any of the respective described embodiments may also be within the scope of the present disclosure although not expressly described in detail below . finally , the operation of well - known components and / or processes has not been shown or described in detail below to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure . the demodulation circuit 100 receives the input signal 106 which includes a known signal of interest or desired signal s and the interfering signal i . this concept is illustrated in the graph of fig2 showing the input signal 106 . the interference estimation circuit 102 executes a “ non - coherent ” process while the adaptive filtering circuit 104 executes a coherent process in removing the unwanted interfering signal i from the input signal 106 . in the example of fig2 , the input signal 106 is assumed to include the desired signal s and the interfering signal i to include adjacent interfering signals as illustrated . as will be discussed in more detail below with regard to fig1 , the signal - to - interference ratio ( sir ) is the ratio of the average received modulated carrier power ( i . e ., power of desired signal s ) to the average received co - channel interference power ( i . e ., power of interfering signal i ). the co - channel interference is crosstalk from two different radio transmitters using the same frequency as a primary receiver containing the demodulation circuit 100 of fig1 , as will be understood by those skilled in the art . also note that the desired signal s corresponds to the modulated signal that is transmitted by a primary transmitter and that is intended to be received by the primary receiver containing the demodulation circuit 100 . the desired signal s portion of the input signal 106 contains data to be received by the primary receiver containing the demodulation circuit 100 . the unwanted interfering signal i corresponds to a signal or signals from a secondary transmitter or transmitters that may also be received by the primary receiver , and which accordingly can degrade the performance of the primary receiver . note that the term “ data ” that is being communicated through the desired signal s is used broadly herein to include any type of data , such as audio data , video data , programming instructions , communications protocol related information , and so on . in fig1 , the input signal 106 may be represented by the signal structure shown in fig2 . the structure of the input signal 106 , as shown in fig2 , includes the desired signal s and the unwanted interfering signal i . in the example of fig2 the unwanted interfering signal i is assumed to include adjacent interfering signals as illustrated . initially , the input signal 106 is filtered by a first varactor variable filter 108 that performs some initial “ tuning ” or filtering of the input signal 106 in order to coarsely “ tune ” the demodulation circuit 100 such that the input signal contains only the desired signal s and the interfering signal i that is to be removed from the input signal . this is so that subsequent processing by the remaining components of the interference estimation circuit 102 can remove the interfering signal i , as will be described in more detail below . thus , the varactor variable filter 108 can be viewed as filtering the input signal 106 to isolate the interfering signal i that is to be removed from the input signal . it should be noted , however , the input signal 106 may of course include other interfering signals or noise not shown in fig2 , and in this situation the varactor variable filter 108 filters out such other interfering signals and noise such that the output of the varactor variable filter includes both the interfering signal i to be removed and the desired signal s as seen in fig2 . an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 110 samples the filtered input signal from the varactor variable filter 108 , with this sampling adhering to the requirements of the nyquist sampling theorem , and outputs digital values corresponding to these samples . an i - q clock generator 112 generates a plurality of clock signals that are applied to appropriately clock the adc 110 and other components in the interference estimation circuit 102 . as seen in fig2 , the desired signal s has a bandwidth bw_ 1 and the clock signals from the clock generator 112 have a frequency that enables the entire spectrum of interest to be sampled by the adc 110 . in one embodiment , the clock generator 112 applies clock signals to the adc 110 having a frequency corresponding to at least four times the bandwidth bw_ 1 of the desired signal s . a complex multiplier 114 receives these digital values from the adc 110 and performs complex multiplication on these digital values to thereby effectively multiply this digital signal into baseband and form an equivalent i - q sample set , as will be discussed in more detail below . an adaptive low pass filter 116 receives the i - q sample set from the complex multiplier 114 and this filter in combination with an i - q phase order filter 118 operate to filter this sample set to thereby isolate the multiplication images generated by the complex multiplication , and provide passband shaping in the form of adaptive filtering . in this way , the i - q phase order filter 118 outputs an estimate of the interfering signal i to be removed as seen in fig3 . as seen in fig3 , the low pass filtering by the adaptive low pass filter 116 and operation of the i - q phase order filter 118 results in an in - band portion ( at center frequency fc - f 1 ) of the interfering signal i being retained while an out - of - band portion ( at center frequency fc - f 2 ) of the interfering signal is rejected . the frequency fc is the center frequency of the desired signal s having bandwidth bw_ 1 as shown in fig3 . the in - band portion of the interfering signal i corresponds to that portion below a cutoff frequency as indicated by the dotted line in fig3 , and the out - of - band portion of the interfering signal corresponds to the portion above this cutoff frequency . the output of the i - q phase order filter 118 is supplied to a second complex multiplier 120 that is clocked by a clock generated by a second i - q clock generator 122 . this second i - q clock generator 122 generates a clock that is corrected based upon corrections being applied by a demodulator circuit 124 on a symbol - by - symbol basis . more specifically , the demodulator circuit 124 demodulator provides symbol clock information to a numerically controlled oscillator ( nco ) 126 which operates at a multiple of the symbol clock frequency and operates in combination with a fine phase adjustment circuit 128 to fine tune phase correction of the clock generated by the second i - q clock generator 122 . this coupling of the demodulator circuit 124 and the coherent symbol clock via the nco 126 and fine phase adjustment circuit 128 functions to perform the coherent removal of interference . the demodulator circuit 124 is capable of locking and synchronizing due to the first stage non - coherent interference reduction performed by the interference estimation circuit 102 , as will be described in more detail below . the second complex multiplier 120 receives the output from the i - q phase order filter 118 an complex multiplies responsive to the clock signals from the second i - q clock generator 122 . these clock signals from the second i - q clock generator have a frequency of approximately ( fc - f 1 ), where recall as discussed above the frequency f 1 is the frequency of the in - band portion of the interfering signal i that is being removed . an adaptive low pass filter 130 then filters the output from the complex multiplier 120 to thereby isolate the in - band portion of the interfering signal i as shown in fig4 by the dotted line . thus , the output of the adaptive low pass filter 130 corresponds to the in - band portion of the interfering signal i that is being removed . a second i - q phase order filter 132 receives the in - band interfering signal i from the adaptive low pass filter 130 ( see fig4 ) and functions to perform spectral and amplitude inversion of the in - band interfering signal i about the center frequency ( fc - f 1 ) of this signal . this is illustrated in fig5 , with the arrows illustrating the spectral inversion performed by the second i - q phase order filter 132 . at this point , the spectrally inverted in - band interference signal i output by the i - q phase order filter 132 as illustrated in fig5 is an estimate of the in - band portion of the interfering signal i to be removed . this estimate from the i - q phase order filter 132 is then re - modulated so that it can then be subtracted from the input signal 106 prior to being demodulated by the demodulator 124 , as will now be described in more detail . in order to do so , as seen in fig1 the spectrally inverted in - band interference signal i output by the i - q phase order filter 132 is supplied to a third complex multiplier 134 that performs complex multiplication on the signal estimate from the i - q phase order filter 132 to return the signal estimate to its original spectral center frequency . a sin ( x )/ x compensation circuit 136 then receives the signal estimate from the complex multiplier 134 and filters that estimate , with the filtered estimate being supplied to a first digital - to - analog ( dac ) converter 138 . the compensation circuit 136 filtering ensures that the resultant estimate of the interfering signal i output by the digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) 138 does not spectrally spill into the frequency band containing the signal of interest or desired signal s . the estimate of the interfering signal i output from the dac 138 may be referred to as the “ non - coherent estimate of the in - band interfering signal i ” in the discussion below . in a similar way , a complex multiplier 140 , sin ( x )/ x compensation circuit 142 , and digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) 144 operate in combination to receive the output signal from the i - q phase order filter 118 and to re - modulate this signal to the passband . thus , the output of the dac 144 essentially represents the original input signal 106 supplied to the adc 110 . fig6 illustrates the signal output from the dac 144 , and by comparing fig6 to fig2 this is seen to be the case . fig7 illustrates the non - coherent estimate of the in - band interfering signal i output from the dac 138 resulting from the operation of the operation of the complex multiplier 134 , compensation circuit 136 , and dac 138 . a summation circuit 146 sums the outputs from the dac 144 and the dac 138 and outputs this sum as an interference - corrected signal as illustrated in fig8 . a negative sign at the dac 138 output being supplied to the summation circuit 146 indicates that the output from the dac 138 is the non - coherent estimate of the in - band interfering signal i , which is the re - modulated spectrally inverted estimate of the in - band interference signal i . fig8 illustrates that the interference - corrected signal output from the summation circuit 146 has a greatly reduced in - band portion of the interfering signal i . note that the out - of - band portion of the interfering signal i , namely that portion at center frequency fc - f 2 , remains in the interference - corrected signal output from the summation circuit 146 as shown in fig8 . if the removal of this out - of - band portion of the interfering signal i , or of other portions ( not shown in the figures ) is desired , the series - connected components 120 - 138 contained in the adaptive filtering circuit 104 are simply duplicated for each such portion to be removed . the sampling frequency and thus the frequency of the clock signals applied by the i - q clock generator 122 to clock each such group of series - connected components is adjusted accordingly to thereby remove the desired portion of the interfering signal i . for example , if the output - of - band portion having bandwidth bw_ 3 shown in fig8 is desired to be removed , the series - connected components 120 - 138 are duplicated and the sampling frequency adjusted accordingly , with the output of the dac being another input to the summation circuit 146 to thereby remove the out - of - band portion of the interfering signal i shown in fig8 . the interference - corrected signal output from the summation circuit 146 is input to an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 148 that samples and digitizes this signal and provides corresponding digital values to the demodulator circuit 124 which , in turn , demodulates these digital values to obtain the original unmodulated i - q encoded data . in another embodiment , the interference cancellation circuit 102 of fig1 further includes a delay circuit 150 including a second varactor variable filter 152 , analog delay line 154 , and summation circuit 156 coupled in series as shown . the varactor variable filter 152 is tuned to have a center frequency of the desired signal s and thus provides a delayed version of this signal to the summation circuit 156 . also in this embodiment , the variable varactor filter 108 is tuned such that the it passes the interfering signal i . in this embodiment the input signal 106 is filtered through the alternative path via the second programmable varactor tuned filter 152 and the analog delay line 154 . this filter 152 isolates the desired signal in frequency and is delayed through the analog delay line 154 to compensate for the computation time required to compute the non - coherent estimate of the interfering vector by components 120 - 138 . it must be noted , that the delay introduced by the analog delay line 154 is to be evaluated on an application by application basis , and if clocking constraints are not encountered then this delay circuit 150 is not required . in the first described embodiment , the required delay in incorporated into the adaptive low pass filter 116 and i - q phase order filter 118 . fig9 is a functional block diagram of a demodulation circuit 900 illustrating an all - digital implementation of the interference estimation circuit 902 and adaptive filtering circuit 904 of fig1 . the theory of operation of this embodiment is the same as previously described for the demodulation circuit 100 of fig1 . the components 900 - 932 operate in a similar manner to the corresponding components 100 - 132 of the demodulation circuit 100 , and the demodulation circuit additionally includes a summation circuit 933 , sample alignment circuit 935 , and summation circuit 937 that operate on the corresponding digital values . also , the demodulation circuit 900 includes components 920 a - 932 a and 920 b - 932 b that are coupled in parallel with outputs summed by the summation circuit 933 to thereby remove both the lower and upper side bands , which correspond to both the in - band and out - of - band portion of the interfering signal illustrated and described with reference to fig1 - 8 . fig1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic system 100 such as a communications system including the demodulation circuit 100 of fig1 according to another embodiment . an information source provides information to a source coding component 1002 , which suitable encodes the information and provides the encoded information to a channel coding component 1004 . the channel coding component likewise performs suitable channel coding on the received information and provides this encoded information to a modulator 1006 . the modulator 1006 modulates the encoded information from the channel coding component 1004 and communications the suitably modulated information over a communications channel 1008 , such as a wireless communications channel . a demodulator 1010 including the demodulation circuit 100 or 900 demodulates the received input signal from the communication channel 108 and provides this demodulated information to a channel decoding component 1012 and source decoding component 1014 which function to reverse the operations of the components 1004 and 1002 . the source decoding component 1014 outputs received information which ideally corresponds to the information source supplied to the source coding component 1002 . the demodulation circuit 100 described in fig1 can be significantly simplified if all the signal processing is accomplished in the digital domain . once the adc 110 has sampled the input signal 106 , processing can be accomplished entirely digitally on two parallel paths . fig1 shows the simplified digital cancellation circuit while the theory of operation is the same . the adc 110 samples at 4 or 8 times the symbol rate of the input signal 106 or signal of interest . removal of expensive additional adcs and dacs is thus possible . adjacent carriers , meaning the in - band and out - of - band portions of the interfering signal i need not be of the same modulation or format and the sampling process can operate as a coherent or non - coherent process . fig1 is an alternative representation of the input signal 106 . fig1 shows the interfering signal i canceled output . this block will take a signal to interference ratio of 30 to 40 db and reduce the interference level to a range 5 to 15 db . fig1 shows the vector relationship of the input interference vector and the estimated cancellation vector ( output from dac 138 ). the jitter reflects the phase and amplitude estimate of the non - coherent computation and the fact that the clocking is non - coherent . the adaptive filtering circuit of fig1 performs the addition of “ coherent cancellation and snr enhancement ”. the non - coherent stage is a coarse method to remove interference . it allows for removal of energy , in the order of 10 - 30 db a reduction sufficient to allow a demodulator or related receiver to acquire synchronization and lock . when the interfering signal and the desired signal are within 0 to 10 db of each other in terms of relative power , the non - coherent method is not significantly effective . the coherent method offers significant other improvement towards enhancing the snr and removing residual interference capable of degrading the receiver / demodulator performance . fig1 shows the interference cancelling concept within a qpsk constellation . in the top right hand corner of fig5 the vector corresponding to a synchronized sample . the ideal reference constellation points are shown in this figure . several samples representing noise and channel degradations are shown clustered about the reference constellation point . also shown in this figure is the interfering vector in the bottom right quadrant . the interference cancellation vector , corresponding to the output form the dac 138 , is also shown . this vector is rotating in the opposite direction of the interfering vector , with opposite amplitude and phase . note that it is only required to cancel the interference at the sampling instance of time . fig1 shows the output of the summation circuit 146 ( fig1 ). this embodiment of the demodulation circuit 100 / 900 provides interference and snr enhancement as well as allowing the adc 148 having a lower number of bits to be utilized . analysis and removal of in band interference is possible with the demodulation circuits 100 / 900 of fig1 and 9 . the adaptive filter 130 can be structured to remove both in band and out of band interference . the following equations provide a mathematical foundation for the operation of the previously described embodiments : input ( 0 , fig1 ): signal at ω 1 , represents interferer , signal at ω 2 , represents desired signal [ a 1 cos ( ω 1 t + φ 1 )+ a k cos ( ω 2 t + φ 2 )][ cos ( ω s t + φ s )+ sin ( ω s t + φ x )] ( 3 ) complex multiplier 140 : spectrally inverted signal with non - coherent sampling errors embedded where m / n is the sampling error term representing the non - coherent representation of the input interfering signal . identical output to equation ( 5 ) above except that the ratio of ( m / n ) approaches 0 and δ approaches “ 1 ”. represents the required signal plus interfering signal attenuated by a factor of k , where k represents the attenuation due to the interference canceller non coherent and coherent final inversion of the interfering signal : one skilled in the art will understand that even though various embodiments and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description , the above disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , and yet remain within the broad principles of the invention . moreover , the functions performed by various components described above may be implemented through circuitry or components other than those disclosed for the various embodiments described above . moreover , the described functions of the various components may be combined to be performed by fewer elements or performed by more elements , depending upon design considerations for the device or system being implemented , as will appreciated by those skilled in the art . therefore , the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims .
7
the novel polymerizable crystalline polymers of this invention have a number of useful advantages . they are crystalline solids at room temperature . they are readily soluble in many simple solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone and cyclohexanone , as compared to the powerful and strongly polar solvents normally required to dissolve polyurethanes , of which dimethyl formamide is typical . these polymers , when melted , or upon solvent removal and / or cooling , quickly crystallize and present a dry surface to allow prompt handling or mechanical processing such as calendering , and have strong thermoplastic bonds even before cure . because these novel polymers can be cured in the crystalline state , they can thus be utilized to fix and maintain the alignment of the contained particulate material , especially the magnetic oxide , thus increasing the packing density and signal response in applications such as magnetic tape . further , the densifying action of crystallization in the defined polymers prior to cure should reduce excessive shrinkage often encountered in the radiation cure of liquid polymerizable polymers . since the radiation cure of these polymers in the crystalline state is possible , enhanced vulcanizate properties should be realized as compared to use of the liquid , non - crystallizable polymers used heretofore . the polyester glycols are essentially linear hydroxyl - terminated macroglycols having number average molecular weights between about 1000 and 10000 , usually about 1500 to 6000 . the polyesters utilized include those prepared , for example , by the polyesterification of hereinafter defined aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with aliphatic glycols . the dicarboxylic acids include for example , succinic , adipic , suberic , sebacic , dodecanoic and like acids or their anhydrides . aromatic dicarboxylic acids may also be used , or mixtures of aliphatic and aromatic dicarboxylic acids . useful acids include aliphatic dicarboxylic acids having an even number of carbon atoms of the formula hooc -- r -- cooh wherein r is an alkylene radical containing 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 , 10 and 12 carbon atoms , preferably 4 to 6 carbon atoms . the the phthalic acids are also useful . the glycols used in the preparation of the polyesters by reaction with the dicarboxylic acids are normally aliphatic glycols containing between 2 and 10 , even number , carbon atoms , usually 2 , 4 , and 6 carbon atoms such as ethylene glycol , 1 , 4 - butanediol , 1 , 6 - hexamethylene glycol , 1 , 8 - octamethylene glycol , 1 , 10 - decamethylene glycol and the like ; cyclic diols including 1 , 4 - cyclohexanedimethanol ; and aromatic polyols as bis - 1 , 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) benzene , xylylene glycols and the like . partial polyesteramides are also contemplated , usually by substitution of a diamine or amino alcohol for part of the glycol , in amounts inadequate to prevent polyesteramine crystallization . typical amines and amino alcohols include : ethylene diamine , tetramethylene diamine , hexamethylene diamine , 1 , 4 - cyclohexane diamine , monoethanolamine , diethanolamine , paraphenylenediamine , and the like . the organic polyisocyanates which may be reacted with the defined macroglyols include , for example , aliphatic , alicyclic and aromatic diisocyanates . such aliphatic diisocyanates include for example , hexamethylene diisocyanate , methylene - bis ( 4 - cyclohexyl isocyanate ), isophorone diisocyanate , etc . the aromatic diisocyanates include naphthalene - 1 , 5 - diisocyanate , diphenyl methane - 4 , 4 - diisocyanate , the tolylene diisocyanates , p - phenylene diisocyanate , diphenyl methane diisocyanate , dibenzyl diisocyanate , diphenyl ether diisocyanates , bitolylene diisocyanates , m - and p - tetramethylxylene diisocyanate , and the like . preferably the diisocyanates are aromatic , aliphatic , or alycyclic with symmetrical structure such as those of the formulas ## str1 ## wherein r is hydrogen or alkyl and x is a valence bond , an alkylene radical of 1 to 5 carbon atoms , oxygen , sulfur , sulfoxide , sulfur and the like , and s denotes saturation . a molar excess of diisocyanate relative to the macroglycol , i . e ., -- nco to -- oh groups , is used to insure an isocyanate terminated prepolymer . about 1 . 3 to 3 mols of organic diisocyanate per mol of macroglycol is used when the diisocyanate is reacted directly with the polyester glycol . while a higher ratio may be used , it is not normally necessary . catalysts may be used to speed up the polyurethane formulation and any of those catalysts normally used by those skilled in the art may be employed . typical catalysts include dibutyltin dilaurate , stannous octoate , phenyl mercuric propionate , lead octoate , iron acetylacetonate , magnesium acetylacetonate , triethylene diamine , and the like . these may be used , normally in amounts from about greater than 0 . 01 up to 10 parts per 100 parts of polyurethane being formed , and more normally greater than 0 . 03 to 5 phr . the ethylenic unsaturated alcohol reacted with the isocyanate terminated prepolymers include hydroxyacrylate or - alkacrylate , acrylic acid and alkacrylic acid derivatives , including methacrylic acid and ethacrylic acid . typical compounds include 2 - hydroxyethyl acrylate , 2 - hydroxybutyl acrylate , 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate , 2 - hydroxypropyl acrylate , 2 - hydroxypropyl methacrylate , 2 - hydroxyethyl ethacrylate , diethylene glycol monoacrylate , diethylene glycol monomethacrylate and the like . useful hydroxy alkyl materials may be represented by the formula ## str2 ## wherein z is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl or propyl , and r is a divalent alkylene radical containing 2 to 8 carbon atoms , preferably 2 to 3 carbon atoms . an essentially equivalent amount or slight excess of these hydroxyalkyl acrylate compounds is reacted with the isocyanate terminated polyester prepolymer to insure that essentially all of the polyurethane molecules are acrylate terminated . the terminal ethylenic unsaturated polyester is prepared by reacting 1 mole of the isocyanate terminated polyester with about 2 to 2 . 2 moles of the hydroxyacrylate or alkacrylate . preferably 2 . 0 to 2 . 1 moles of hydroxyacrylate or alkacrylate are used . the acrylate terminated molecules have an average of greater than 1 . 5 terminal acrylate groups per molecule , preferably about 2 terminal groups per molecule . it is understood that the term &# 34 ; acrylate &# 34 ; includes both acrylates and alkacrylates . an alternative method of preparing the novel electron beam curable polyurethanes of this invention is by the reaction of the defined polyesters with an ethylenic unsaturated monoisocyanate which can be prepared by reacting at least one of the hydroxyacrylate or - alkacrylate listed above with one of the diisocyanates listed above , as in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 958 , 704 . an essentially equivalent amount or slight molar excess of ethylenic unsaturated monoisocyanate is reacted with the polyester glycol to insure ethylenic termination of the crystallization polyurethane . a mol ratio of 2 . 0 to 2 . 2 of alkenyl monoisocyanate per mol of polyester glycol is used , preferably 2 . 0 to 2 . 1 mols . typical ethylenic unsaturated monoisocyanates such as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 958 , 704 are those having the general formula ## str3 ## wherein r represents hydrogen or an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; a represents an alkylene group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms , a carbonyloxyalkylene group having from 2 to 7 carbon atoms ; and b represents an arylene group having from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , an alkylene group having from 4 to 18 carbon atoms or a cycloalkylene group having from 4 to 18 carbon atoms . the alkenyl isocyanates include but are not limited to such materials as the monoallylurethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the monomethallylurethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( tetramethylene glycol monovinyl ether ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( heptamethylene glycol monovinyl ether ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( hexamethylene glycol monoallyl ether ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( cyclohexylene glycol monomethallyl ether ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( ethylene glycol monoallyl ether ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( 2 - hydroxyethyl acrylate ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , the mono ( tetramethylene glycol monoacrylate ) urethanes of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , 1 , 8 - diisocyanate - p - methane , 1 - methyl - 1 , 4 - diisocyanato cyclohexane , 1 - methyl - 1 , 3 - diisocyanato cyclopentane , 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 - diisocyanato ethane , 8 , 8 - dibutyl - 1 , 8 - diisocyanato octane and the like and others . a preferred group of ethylenic unsaturated monoisocyanates includes 2 - isocyanato ethyl methacrylate , monoallylurethane of 2 , 4 - tolylenediisocyanate , monoallyl of 2 , 6 - tolylene diisocyanate , mono ( 2 - hydroxyethylacrylate ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylenediisocyanate , mono ( 2 - hydroxypropylacrylate ) urethane of 2 , 4 - tolylenediisocyanate , mono ( 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate ) urethane of isophoronediisocyanate or of 2 , 4 - tolylenediisocyanate . the ethylenic - terminated polymers of this invention have a melting point range of about 30 ° c . to about 80 ° c ., preferably about 45 ° c . to about 65 ° c . while they may be used as such , these polymers are soluble in simple organic solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone and cyclohexanone , as well as the more powerful dimethyl formamide and tetrahydrofuran , and so can be applied from solution . the terminal ethylenic unsaturated polyesterurethanes of this invention may be prepared , for example , by charging to a reaction vessel , under dry nitrogen , an excess amount of diisocyanate heated to about 60 ° c ., and adding the polyester glycol in increments with stirring in amounts to maintain the reaction temperature at about 80 ° c . to 90 ° c ., normally over a period of about 1 to 2 hours . ( 0 . 04 % phenyl mercuric propionate or 0 . 04 % stannous octoate catalysts may be added to the reactor if desired .) when the reaction is completed , 0 . 02 % phenothiazine stabilizer is added to the isocyanate - terminated prepolymer . a molar excess of the hydroxy alkyl - acrylate or - alkacrylate is then added to the polyester prepolymer at a rate to maintain a reaction temperature of about 80 ° c . to 90 ° c . until there is less than 0 . 03 % and preferably no detectable free isocyanate groups left in the reaction mixture . this normally requires about 3 to 3 . 5 hours . to demonstrate electron beam cures , the unsaturated polyurethanes were dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) to form solutions , and the solution cast on release paper , and dried at 110 ° c . the samples were then cured with electron beam radiation . for 4 , 6 , or 8 megarad dosages the films were exposed to a 4 , 6 , 8 milliamp , 200 terminal voltage beam at a rate of 22 feet per second linear speed of the film . for ultra - violet cures , a 75 % solution in tetrahydrofuran was prepared , 1 part of an ultra violet sensitizer , methyl benzoyl formate or 2 , 2 - dimethoxy - 2 - phenylacetophenone per 100 parts of polyurethane , was stirred in . the cement was spread on release paper , dried and cured under nitrogen sweep by brief exposure to ultra violet light in an exposure chamber . cure is evidenced by decrease in elongation and increased modulus of the polyurethanes , as well as insolubility and a low swell in tetrahydrofuran . samples that have not cross - linked or cured well will dissolve , become glutinous , or break up in tetrahydrofuran , while cured samples will only swell , and the less the swell the tighter the cure . following the general procedure set forth above , a terminal ethylenic unsaturated polyesterurethane was prepared . first , 261 . 3 weight parts of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate and 1588 weight parts of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol having a molecular weight of 2080 were reacted together to form the isocyanate terminated polyester prepolymer . 0 . 364 weight parts of phenothiazine stabilizer and 0 . 683 weight parts of phenyl mercuric propionate catalyst were added at the end of the reaction to the mixture . 183 . 3 weight parts of 2 - hydroxyethyl acrylate was then added to the prepolymer to form the desired ethylenic unsaturated polyesterurethane . the mol ratio of reactants was 2 . 0 dissocyanate : 1 . 0 polyester glycol : 2 . 1 hydroxyethyl acrylate . on cooling , the polyurethane readily crystallized . when heated to about 60 ° c ., the solid polyurethane became a viscious liquid , but on cooling at room temperature , within about 10 minutes , the polyurethane recrystallized again . the polyurethane was soluble in methyl ethyl ketone . a solution was prepared from 20 grams of polyurethane , 10 grams of tetrahydrofuran and 0 . 2 grams of methylbenzoyl formate uv sensitizer . films were drawn down and 1 to 4 mil thickness film was exposed to ultraviolet radiation under nitrogen sweep in an exposure chamber at 20 , 30 and 60 seconds . after exposure the resulting elastomeric films were tested for cure by immersing in tetrahydrofuran . none of the samples dissolved or swelled appreciably in the thf , all samples retaining good sharp edges . 5 to 6 mil thick films were similarly prepared without photoinitiator and exposed to an electron beam at 6 and 8 megarad dosages to obtain cured films . in the cured film , at 100 % strain , the stress was 1020 psi ( 7 . 03 mpa ) and the modulus was 455 psi ( 3 . 14 mpa ) at 50 % strain . a pilot plant charge of the reactants of example i was made using a mol ratio of reactants of 2 . 0 mols of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate to 1 mol of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol to 1 . 78 mols of 2 - hydroxyethyl acrylate . the weight average molecular weight was 10 , 861 . solutions of the polymer in methyl ethyl ketone were readily made at a concentration of 75 % polymer . 80 weight parts of diphenyl methane - 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diisocyanate and 588 . 2 weight parts of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol ( molecular weight 2936 ) were reacted together in a mole ratio of 1 . 6 mol of diisocyanate to 1 mol of polyester glycol to form the isocyanate terminated prepolymer . 0 . 133 weight part of phenothiazine stabilizer and 0 . 30 weight parts of stannous octoate catalyst were added to the prepolymer . then 39 . 14 weight parts of 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate was reacted with the prepolymer in a mol ratio of 1 . 5 mols to 2 . 6 mols total of diisocyanate and polyol . the resulting ethylenic terminated polyesterurethane was liquid at 80 ° c ., but on cooling , rapidly changed to a crystalline solid . test films were drawn down from a warm 79 % toluene solution to form films . a 2 . 8 mil film cured at 1 megarad had a stress of 2230 psi ( 15 . 38 mpa ) at a strain of 10 %. a 2 . 9 film cured at 3 megarads had a 1900 psi ( 13 . 10 mpa ) stress at a 10 % strain , and a stress of 2090 psi ( 14 . 41 mpa ) at 100 % elongation . the weight average molecular weight was 29 , 433 . the polyurethane was readily soluble in methyl ethyl ketone . 261 weight parts of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate and 1585 . 25 weight parts of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol , number average molecular weight 2097 , were reacted together at about 85 ° c . to form the isocyanate terminated polyester prepolymer . after addition of 0 . 37 weight parts of phenothiazine stabilizer and 0 . 59 weight parts of phenyl mercuric propionate at the end of the reaction , the prepolymer was reacted at about 85 ° c . with 215 . 51 weight parts of 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate to form the ethylenic terminated polyesterurethane . the mol ratio of reactants was 2 . 0 mol of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , 1 mol of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol and 2 . 2 mols of 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate . a 15 % polymer solution in tetrahydrofuran was prepared and films formed therefrom for ultraviolet cures . after the films were formed they were aged in an exhaust hood for 30 minutes to remove the thf solvent . the film samples were cured at 12 , 16 , 20 , 25 and 65 seconds exposure to ultraviolet radiation and tested for cure by placing in tetrahydrofuran . none of the samples dissolved in the thf showing a cure had been obtained . in making this polyurethane , the mol ratio of reactants used was 1 . 95 mols of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , 1 mol of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol , molecular weight 4285 , and 1 . 85 mols of 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate . 116 . 6 weight parts of 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate and 1456 . 9 weight parts of poly ( tetramethylene adipate ) glycol were reacted together to form the isocyanate terminated prepolymer , which was then reacted with the 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate to form the ethylenic terminated polyesterurethane . a 75 % total solids solution of the polymer in tetrahydrofuran had a viscosity of 11 , 700 cps . 50 % total solids solution of the polyurethane in methyl ethyl ketone was prepared containing 0 . 5 % methyl benzoyl formate and used to form 1 mil test films for ultraviolet exposure to determine curability . the films had no surface tack before cure and could be handled and processed without difficulty . film samples were exposed to ultraviolet radiation for 10 , 15 , 30 and 60 seconds and tested for cure by placing the samples in tetrahydrofuran . none of the samples dissolved in the thf , all of them retaining sharp edges with minimum swelling . the uncured polyurethane is soluble in methyl ethyl ketone . the glass transition temperature and melting points of this polymer were determined by means of differential scanning calorimetry . at a temperature change of 10 ° per minute under nitrogen , the tg was - 48 ° c ., tcr 18 ° c . and the tm was 56 ° c . the compositions of this invention may also have incorporated therein small amounts , e . g ., from about 0 . 1 to 20 parts per hundred parts by weight of the polyurethane , of well known elastomer modifiers to serve as mechanical processing aids , for example , inert filler such as silica , and lubricants such as calcium stearate . an advantage of this polymers of this invention is that they may be processed per se without going through a solution stage . the polymers are melted , pigments and polymers added as desired , formed on a substrate as a tape , and cooled . a further advantage is that calendering may be accomplished without adverse effects to the solidified polymer coatings . solutions may be used if desired . coatings of the polymer blend may be applied from the aforesaid solutions on the surfaces on substrates as metals , polymer tapes and fabrics by the well known operations of spraying , dipping , knife or roller coating . films can be produced by the usual method of spreading from solution and removing the solvents .
8
in the composition according to the invention it is preferred that the amount of h3 ( triglyceride of 3 saturated fatty acids of 16 or more carbon atoms ) is at least 15 % wt based on the total amount of triglycerides , preferably at least 20 %, more preferably at least 25 % wt . likewise , it is preferred that the amount of h2u ( triglyceride of 2 saturated fatty acids of 16 or more carbon atoms and 1 cis - unsaturated fatty acid ) taken together is at least 30 % wt ( preferably at least 40 % wt , more preferably at least 45 % wt ) based on the total amount of triglycerides . apart from the amounts of h3 and h2u it can be preferred to use fats of such composition in a particular ratio . in this case , the ratio h3 / h2u is preferably between 0 . 5 and 1 . 2 . regarding the basic fatty acid composition , it is preferred that the amount of h ( i . e . saturated fatty acids of 16 or more carbon atoms ) is between 60 and 75 % wt based on total amount of fatty acids . normally , only fatty acids are used with even number of carbon atoms . similarly , it is preferred that the amount of u ( cis - unsaturated fatty acids of any suitable chain length ) is between 20 and 45 % wt based on total amount of fatty acids . in the composition according to the invention the amount of palmitic fatty acid ( c16 : 0 ) in the triglycerides is preferably between 40 and 60 % wt based on the total amount of fatty acids . the invention thus also relates to ( savoury ) food compositions comprising the fatblends as set out above . such ( savoury ) food compositions according to the invention can be any physical format , but the invention is most suitable for savoury compositions that are in the form of pasty or particulate matter . particulate matter is herein to be understood to comprise e . g . flakes , powder , cubes , pellets , tablets . preferably , the composition according to the invention is a roux . examples of the ( savoury ) products according to the invention are roux , sauce - base products , and the like . a suitable process for manufacturing such products involves heating fat and a flour to a temperature of above about 60 ° c . ( preferably above about 90 ° c .) for 0 . 1 - 300 ( typically 5 - 30 ) minutes , followed by cooling for 1 - 360 ( typically 1 - 60 ) minutes and optionally comminution and / or granulation and / or forming into larger bodies . the food compositions can ( e . g . in the case when it is a roux ) be prepared according to a process similar as is disclosed in ep 112504 . the ( savoury ) food compositions according to the invention may further comprise ( e . g . in an amount of 0 . 1 - 50 % wt ) one or more of the following ingredients : herbs and / or spices , tomato powder , vegetable pieces , monosodium glutamate and other components . the table below gives an example with a fat ( pos ; nr 1 ) which is a dry - fractionated palm stearin with a melting point of approx . 53 ° c . the fat p044 (“ comp ”) is a fat blend obtained by hardening palm oil to a melting point of approx . 44 ° c ., and represents prior art material . the fatblend “ mix a ” was prepared by interesterification of a 60 % palm oil , 40 % rape 68 blend . comp 1 2 mix a 100 pos 100 po44 100 h3 12 34 41 h2e 29 0 0 h2m 1 1 1 h2u 21 42 43 he2 10 0 0 h3 / h2u 0 . 55 0 . 81 0 . 95 h 53 68 70 e 24 0 0 u 23 32 27 palmitic 45 60 30 stearic 7 6 40 h2u : sym / assym 6 6 0 . 5 h3 + h2u 33 76 84 note : the numbers of all the fats given do not add up to 100 %, as some minor amounts of other fats are also present . the fat blends 1 ( pos ) and 2 ( mix a ) have been developed in order to provide a fat blend having suitable properties on melting , crystallisation , mouthfeel , fat staining , etcetera , but without substantial amounts of trans - unsaturated fatty acids , while keeping the amount of lauric acid in the triglycerides low ( 1 % maximum ). a roux was prepared according to example 1 of ep 112504 . the fat blend used was fat blend 1 ( pos ). the result was a product which was good to prepare and having properties similar to the properties of the product as prepared in example 1 of ep 112504 , and having less than 1 % wt of trans fatty acid triglycerides . a similarly suitable result was obtained using fatblend 2 ( mix a ) the same roux was made as in the above example , with the exception that fat comp from table 1 has been used . the result was a product which was good to prepare and having properties similar to the properties of the product as prepared in example 1 of ep 112504 .
0
referring to fig1 and 2 of the drawings , clamping ring 10 is shown in assembled position over two adjoining ducts 12 and 14 having peripheral flanges 16 , 18 respectively . in the illustrated ducts , the end configuration includes a tapered recess 20 on the end of duct 12 which receives a similarly tapered extension 22 on the end of duct 14 . this optional feature provides an additional line of sealing contact , but is not essential to the claimed features of the present invention . additionally , a seal 24 is shown between the abutting flanges , which seal may be molded in place on , or bonded to , the flange of one of the ducts . seal 24 is also an optional feature , to provide an additional line of sealing engagement , which is not essential to the novel clamping ring of the present invention . as best shown in fig2 and 3 , clamping ring 10 is generally in the form of an inverted v , including a base portion 26 and two legs 28 . a peripheral seal 30 is located in the root or groove portion of ring 10 , and extends around the full perimeter thereof . one end 32 of ring 10 is formed with an extension 334 ( see fig3 - 6 ) having a radially outwardly projecting lip 36 . the other end 38 of clamping ring 10 has a similarly shaped recess 40 to receive extension 34 . recess 40 is formed with an undercut behind latching lip 42 , so that a latching function is established when lip 36 is positioned behind lip 42 as shown in fig3 and 6 . extension 34 also has a seal engagement face 44 which is positioned to abut an outwardly turned portion of seal 30 in recess 40 of ring end 38 , as will be described hereafter . a clearance gap 46 ( see fig6 ) is maintained between the opposed faces of ring ends 32 and 38 , to assure that the two ends do not prematurely &# 34 ; bottom out &# 34 ; prior to the desired compression of the seals . chamfers 48 and 50 are provided on the leading edge of latching lip 36 and 42 for a purpose to be explained below . clamping ring 10 is preferably formed by injection molding of a thermoplastic material having physical properties which permit it to resiliently flex in a radial direction as required for assembly over the flanges , while having sufficient tensile strength to resist creep resulting from high clamping forces over an extended period of time . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the specific environment and desired physical properties of a particular application will dictate the final selection of ingredients . among suitable materials are polyurethane , pheyelene oxide , polyphenylene sulfide and polyterafluoroethylene . seal 30 may be injection molded onto the already formed clamping ring 10 , or alternatively , may be adhesively or solvent bonded to the ring after separate fabrication of these two components , depending upon the desired physical properties for the intended environment . suitable materials include those previously listed as appropriate for the clamping ring , plus butyl rubber . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the particular formulation of material for the seal will depend upon the physical properties required in the intended environment . referring now to fig4 there is fragmentarily shown the end portions of the clamping ring in their as molded position . by way of example , for an approximately six inch diameter duct , the mold for the ring would be formed so that the end faces of the left and right halves of the ring ( as viewed in fig4 ) are inclined at a three degree angle relative to each other , as measured from arc center 52 . this particular configuration permits the ring to be resiliently flexed apart for assembly over the duct flanges , and also to be resiliently latched together in a position ( such as shown in fig3 and 6 ) in which the resliency will tend to retain the clamp in its latched position . ring ends 32 , 38 are provided with clearance holes 54 , 56 , respectively ( as shown in fig3 and 5 ) to receive a clamping bolt ( not illustrated ) which will draw the ends together to establish the desired clamping pressure when threaded into steel nut 58 which may be molded in place . in use , the clamping ring is resiliently spread apart a sufficient distance to permit it to clear flanges 16 and 18 of the pre - positioned ducts 12 , 14 . ring ends 32 and 38 may then be manually pressed together to engage the latch . that is , as the ends 32 and 38 approach each other , chamfer 48 on latching lip 36 will engage chamfer 50 to cam lip 42 radially outwardly to permit lip 36 to pass behind lip 42 to establish the latch , as shown in fig6 . it will be noted that in the latched position , there is still clearance between seal - engaging face 44 of ring end 32 and the outwardly turned portion of seal 30 in recess 40 of ring end 38 . the purpose of the latch and of this clearance is to enable the ducts to be rotated about their common axis after they are preliminarily positioned and retained by clamping ring 10 , in the event that it is necessary to establish a predetermined angular relationship between one of the ducts and another connection to be made at the remote end of the illustrated ducts . once that angular relationship has been established , clamping ring 10 may be tightened by means of a bolt inserted in holes 54 , 56 , to establish the desired clamping pressure . as shown in fig6 clearance gap 46 is greater than the gap between engagement face 44 and seal 30 , to assure that sufficient compression of the seal is established prior to a bottoming out condition which would result from premature elimination of gap 46 . the particular dimensions are preferably selected so that with the latch engaged , but prior to tightening of the bolt , enough friction will be established between the two ends of the ducts to normally maintain a pre - selected position of the ducts , while permitting angular adjustment about their common axis , until the bolt is tightened . however , the frictional force is not so great as to cause damage to the seals during such adjustment . as the clamping bolt is tightened , seal 30 will compress against the cylindrical outer rims of flanges 16 , 18 , thereby establishing a seal across the gap between the flanges . another line of sealing contact is established along the engaging conical surfaces of legs 28 and flanges 16 , 18 . this engagement also serves to wedge the two flanges toward each other . the effectiveness of this action can be enhanced by forming the slope of the inner faces of legs 28 at an angle of approximately one - half degree closer to vertical than the slope of the conical faces on the duct flanges , thereby increasing the lateral wedging action . the flexibilty and resilience of the disclosed plastic ring materials enables the legs 16 , 18 to be continuous , without the relieving gap generally necessary to prevent tearing or buckling of metal rings . this feature permits continuous wedging and sealing pressure around the full flange perimeter . a modified embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig7 wherein like parts are identified with prime notations on the reference numerals . comparing fig7 with fig2 it will be seen that seal 30 &# 39 ; is formed with depending legs positioned to engage the conical surfaces of the abutting ducts . thus , like seal 30 of the embodiment of fig1 - 6 , tightening of the clamping ring will tighten the seal against the cylindrical outer rim of flanges 16 and 18 , but the seal 30 &# 39 ; of the fig7 embodiment will additionally engage and seal against the conical surfaces of the flanges . this invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims . accordingly , the above specification is to be interpreted as illustrative of only two operative embodiments of the present invention , rather than in a strictly limited sense .
8
fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example semiconductor circuit 100 that can comprise a single chip on a semiconductor wafer . in the example of fig1 , circuit 100 is a memory circuit comprising a main memory portion 120 and a periphery portion 122 . main memory portion 120 can comprise the structures that form memory circuit 100 , while periphery portion 122 can comprise the interconnects and control circuitry required to interfaced the main memory portion 120 with the control circuits and interconnects required to control and access main memory portion 120 . it will be understood that while the systems and methods described below will be described in relation to a memory circuit such as circuit 100 , the invention is in no way restricted to memory circuits . rather , it will be clear that the systems and methods described herein can be applied to any beol process regardless of the type of circuit involved . further , while there are two metal layers 108 and 110 illustrated in the example of fig1 , it will be understood that the systems and methods described below can be extended to circuits with fewer or more metal layers , and that two metal layers are shown by way of example only . circuit 100 comprises several layers constructed using various well - known semiconductor processing techniques . for example , circuit 100 can comprise device layer 124 , which can be constructed using feol techniques , and an interconnect layer 126 , which can be constructed using beol techniques . device layer 124 , can comprise several sub - layers . these sub - layers can include a well 102 , which can comprise a silicon well and various regions , i . e ., drain and source regions , implanted therein . the semiconductor well and implanted regions can be formed using well - known semiconductor techniques . a word / bit line layer 104 can then be formed on top of well layer 102 . word / bit line layer 104 can comprise various interconnect lines such as word lines and bit lines formed using well - known semiconductor techniques . a storage layer 106 can then be formed on top of word / bit line layer 104 . interconnect layer 126 can comprise several metal layers , of which metal layer 1 108 and metal layer 2 110 are illustrated by way of example . metal layers 108 and 110 can comprise metal contacts such as metal contacts 128 and 130 as well as interconnecting vias , such as vias 112 , 114 and 116 , configured to connect metal contacts 130 and 128 as shown . in addition , vias such as vias 118 , 120 , 121 , 122 , and 124 , can also be included to connect metal contacts 128 to various layers within device layer 124 as illustrated . fig2 is a diagram illustrating a portion of interconnect layer 126 in more detail . fig2 illustrates a portion of interconnect layer 126 surrounding via 112 in metal layer 1 108 . thus , via 112 is bounded above and below by metal contacts 130 and 128 , respectively . as can be seen , a metal contact , such as metal contact 128 , can comprise a plurality of metal layers . these layers can include ti layers 206 , tin layers 210 , and al layer 208 . it will be understood that while the example of fig2 metal layer 128 includes ti layers 206 , tin layers 210 , and an al layer 208 , other layers can also be incorporated in addition , or in place of the layers illustrated in fig2 . for example , al layer 208 can be replaced by an alcu layer . via 112 can then comprise metal adhesion layers 214 and 216 and w plug 212 . for example , as explained above , metal adhesion layer 216 can comprise a tin layer grown using mocvd , while metal adhesion layer 214 can comprise a ti layer grown using imp pvd . if a conventional process is used to form layers 214 and 216 , however , then extrusion of al layer 208 can result in via interface , and this phenomena is more obvious in the unlanding vias than the landing vias . this is illustrated in fig3 . fig3 is a tem that illustrates al extrusion at the lower end 304 of via 112 . in the tem of fig3 , the top portion 302 of via 112 is unaffected ; however , the extrusion of portion 304 can increase resistance and lower reliability of the connection made via vias 112 . the extrusion phenomenon illustrated in fig3 occurs , because the temperature cycle , i . e ., the temperature and time , required to effect the deposition of metal adhesion layer 214 and 216 can actually cause al layer 208 to melt . fig4 is a diagram illustrating a process for forming a via , such as via 112 , in accordance with one embodiment of the systems and methods described herein . first in step 402 , a first metal layer ( metal layer 1 ) can be formed . the metal layer can actual comprise a plurality of metal layers as illustrated for layer 128 in fig2 . thus , step 402 can comprise the formation of a ti layer , a tin layer , an al layer , a second ti layer , and a second tin layer . the metal layers can , for example , be formed via pvd , or more specifically imp pvd . in step 404 a via , such as via 112 , can be patterned and in step 406 the wafer can be degassed . in step 408 , the wafer can be placed into a pre - cleaning chamber ( pc ii ) and in step 410 the wafer can be removed from the pc ii and placed into a cooling chamber ( ch a ). in step 412 , the wafer can be removed from ch a and placed into a deposition chamber ( ch 1 ) in which a metal adhesion layer , e . g ., ti layer 214 , can be formed in the patterned via hole ; however , only a portion of the metal layer is formed . the wafer is then removed form ch 1 and placed back into a cooling chamber or returned to the load lock , where the wafer is cooled again in step 414 . since ti can adsorb oxygen , there is no native oxide issue when the wafer is exposed to the atmosphere . then , in step 416 , the wafer is placed back into ch 1 and the remainder of the adhesion layer is formed . this is the lul process , which can reduce the overall thermal stressing of the wafer and prevent al extrusion . the ti layer can be formed using imp pvd . for example , a ti layer of 400 å can be formed by first forming a 200 å layer and then forming another 200 å layer of ti . accordingly , the ti layer thickness can be maintained at a thickness of 400 å without over stressing the wafer . each ch 1 step can last for approximately between 100 and 300 ° c ., preferably between 10 and 50 seconds at 200 ° c ., and more preferably at 49 seconds . it will be understood , how ever , that the dimensions and temperatures provided are by way of example only and will depend on the requirements of specific implementation . in step 418 , the wafer can then be placed in another deposition chamber ( ch 2 or ch 3 ) for formation of a second metal adhesion layer , e . g ., a tin layer 216 . the second metal adhesion layer can , e . g ., be formed using mocvd . the ch 2 or ch 3 processing time can be at a temperature of approximately between 300 and 450 ° c ., preferably between 50 and 200 seconds at 450 ° c ., and more preferably at between 100 and 177 seconds . in step 420 , the wafer can be removed and placed in a second cooling chamber ( ch b ). a w plug can then be formed in the patterned via hole in step 422 . the w plug can then be polished , e . g ., using cmp , in step 424 , and the second metal layer can be formed in step 426 . again , the second metal layer can actual comprise a plurality of metal layers as illustrated for layer 130 in fig2 . thus , step 402 can comprise the formation of a ti layer , a tin layer , an al layer , a second ti layer , and a second tin layer . the metal layers can , for example , be formed via pvd , or more specifically imp pvd . thus , by implementing the process of fig4 , al extrusion can be avoided , while still maintaining ti adhesion layer thickness , which can improve device reliability and lower failure rates . while certain embodiments of the inventions have been described above , it will be understood that the embodiments described are by way of example only . accordingly , the inventions should not be limited based on the described embodiments . rather , the scope of the inventions described herein should only be limited in light of the claims that follow when taken in conjunction with the above description and accompanying drawings .
7
in a method for producing fuel cells 1 , a semiconductor substrate 2 made of silicon is provided , in whose surface a number of cavities or depressions 3 are formed which corresponds to the number of fuel cells 1 to be produced and said cavities or depressions are spaced apart laterally from one another ( fig1 a ). the depressions can be introduced into semiconductor substrate 2 , for example , by wet chemical etching with koh − or dry etching . in so doing , an etch - resistant mask , which has an opening in each case at the places where depressions 3 are to be , is applied first to the surface of semiconductor substrate 2 . then the surface of the assembly , having semiconductor substrate 2 and the etching mask , is brought into contact with an etchant over its entire surface , whereby at the places where the openings are , material is removed from semiconductor substrate 2 by a chemical reaction between the etchant and semiconductor substrate 2 . after depressions 3 with the desired dimensions have been etched into semiconductor substrate 2 , the etchant and the etch - resistant mask are removed from semiconductor substrate 2 . in another process step , a diffusion barrier 4 is formed in each case in depressions 3 to inhibit or block the passage of hydrogen . it is evident in fig1 b that diffusion barriers 4 completely cover the bottom and side walls of depressions 3 . next , a stress compensation layer 5 made of a ductile metal , such as , e . g ., tin , is formed ( fig1 c ) on diffusion barriers 4 . the stress compensation layers 5 , assigned to the individual depressions 3 , in each case completely cover the bottom and side walls of depressions 3 . it is also possible , however , to form diffusion barriers 4 on semiconductor substrate 2 first and then stress compensation layers 5 on diffusion barriers 4 . in another process step , shown in fig1 d , the remaining depressions 3 are filled with a hydrogen storage layer 6 of palladium , for example , by means of a conventional galvanic process . next , a planarization of the surface occurs by means of a polishing machine , to obtain a uniformly even surface over semiconductor substrate 2 , hydrogen storage layers 6 , and the edges , projecting at the surface , of stress compensation layers 5 and diffusion barriers 4 . then , first electrical electrodes 7 as anodes for fuel cells 1 are applied to the surface in such a way that in each case they contact one of the hydrogen storage layers 6 electrically . for this purpose , the surface at the places where the first electrical electrodes 7 are not supposed to be is initially covered with a mask by a lithography step and then an electrical contact layer , for example , a gold layer , is vapor deposited on the surface in a planar manner . this is structured by removing the mask to form the first electrodes 7 ( fig1 e ). in another process step , a solution is provided , which contains the following components : ( a ) an ion - conducting cross - linking component , having at least one acid group , namely sulfonated poly ( ether ether ketone ); ( b ) a photoactive substance , which has a photoinitiator , namely ( 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethyl - benzoyl ) diphenylphosphine oxide , and a copolymer , namely trimethylolpropane triacetate ; ( c ) optionally an adhesive agent component , namely polybenzimidazole ; and ( d ) a solvent . the solution is can be obtained by mixing the components together and stirring the mixture until components a ), b ), and optionally c ) have dissolved completely in the solvent . the thus obtained solution is now applied by means of spin coating over the entire surface to the solid body surface of the assembly having semiconductor substrate 2 , diffusion barriers 4 , stress compensation layers 5 , hydrogen storage layers 6 , and first electrodes 7 . then , the solvent is evaporated with heat treatment , so that only components a ), b ), and optionally c ) remain on the solid body surface as coating 8 ( fig1 f ). in another process step , a photomask 9 , which covers the places where no electrolyte membrane is supposed to be , is applied to coating 8 by means of a lithography step ( fig1 g ). then , coating 8 is irradiated through photomask 9 with uv light 10 . during the irradiation , cross - linking component a ) and photoactive substance b ) are cross - linked at the places not covered by photomask 9 in such a way that an electrolyte membrane 11 forms , which adheres to the areas adjacent thereto of diffusion barriers 4 , stress compensation layers 5 , hydrogen storage layers 6 , and first electrodes 7 . in contrast , no cross - linking occurs in the areas , covered by photomask 9 , of coating 8 . now , photomask 9 and the non - cross - linked areas of the coating are removed from the solid body surface by contacting with a developer . it is evident in fig1 h that now each of the hydrogen storage layers 6 is coated in each case with an electrolyte membrane 11 and that electrolyte membranes 11 , assigned to the individual hydrogen storage layers 6 , are spaced apart laterally from one another . electrolyte membranes 11 are permeable to protons but do not allow any hydrogen molecules to pass through . in another process step , on the side , facing away from hydrogen storage layer 6 , of electrolyte membrane 11 , a second electrode 12 , permeable to air and / or oxygen , is formed , which acts as a cathode for the fuel cell . the second electrodes 12 are preferably made from a current collector for electrical feedback to semiconductor substrate 2 and a fine platinum catalyst layer on electrolyte membrane 11 . as a result , the second electrodes 12 are permeable to air or atmospheric oxygen , so that it can reach second electrode 12 from the atmosphere . for structuring the second electrodes 12 , microstructured sputter masks can be used , which can be produced with an advanced deep silicon etching process from , for example , 300 μm - thick silicon wafers . the web width of the formed lamellar structure can be about 100 μm . it is evident in fig1 i that a plurality of fuel cells 1 integrated into semiconductor substrate 2 are electrically connected in series . second electrode 12 of a first fuel cell 1 is electrically connected for this purpose to first electrode 7 of a second fuel cell 1 . second electrode 12 of said first fuel cell 1 is in turn connected to first electrode 7 of another fuel cell 1 , etc . the principle of operation of fuel cells 1 is evident on the basis of fig2 . the hydrogen in hydrogen storage layer 6 is cleaved into protons h + and electrons e − at the interface to electrolyte membranes 11 . the electrons reach second electrode 12 via the first electrode and an electrical load 13 connected thereto . the protons diffuse through electrolyte membrane 11 to second electrode 12 permeable to atmospheric oxygen o 2 and react there with the electrons and the atmospheric oxygen with the release of water h 2 o . an electric current therefore flows across load 13 between electrodes 7 , 12 . 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 to be included within the scope of the following claims .
8
fig1 schematically shows an elevator installation 100 such as corresponds with the prior art . it has an elevator car 2 which is movable in an elevator shaft 1 and which is connected with a counterweight 4 by way of a supporting and driving means 3 . the supporting and driving means 3 is , in operation , driven by a drive pulley 5 of a drive unit 6 . the elevator car 2 and counterweight 4 are guided by means of guide rails 7 a - 7 c extending over the shaft height . the elevator installation 100 has an uppermost floor with an uppermost floor door 8 , a second - uppermost floor with a second - uppermost floor door 9 , further floors with further floor doors 10 and a lowermost floor with a lowermost floor door 11 . a shaft head 12 conceals a space 29 in which the drive unit 6 is arranged . by “ shaft head ” 12 there is to be understood a region of the elevator shaft 1 which extends between a shaft ceiling 13 and an elevator car 2 stopped at the uppermost floor . the elevator shaft 1 has lateral shaft walls 18 a and 18 b and a shaft base 14 on which the buffer 25 is arranged . the shaft base 14 and a shaft ceiling 13 define a total height h of the elevator shaft 1 . the total height h less the height of the shaft head 12 gives an operating height h in which the elevator car 2 and the counterweight 4 are movable . in an elevator installation 100 corresponding with the illustrated form of the prior art the supporting and driving means 3 form from a first fastening point 15 a at the shaft ceiling 13 to the drive pulley 5 a support loop 16 a in which the counterweight 4 runs by means of a support roller 17 a . this form of suspension of the counterweight represents a 2 : 1 suspension . the supporting and driving means 3 further defines a second support loop 16 b , in which the elevator car 2 is supported by means of support rollers 17 b and 17 c , from the drive pulley 5 to a second fixing point 15 b at the shaft ceiling 13 . this suspension also represents a 2 : 1 suspension for the elevator car 2 . the 2 : 1 suspension — not only for the counterweight 4 , but also for the elevator car 2 — means that the travel of the counterweight 4 corresponds with the travel of the elevator car 2 and basically the weight ( physically correctly , the mass ) of the counterweight 4 must correspond with the mass of the elevator car 2 under normal occupancy . in the case of a usual car size normal occupancy means two to three persons , which equals a mass of approximately 180 kg . this means that the counterweight has to have a mass which corresponds with the mass of the empty elevator car plus approximately 180 kg . departures therefrom are borne by a system coefficient of friction or the drive . the system coefficient of friction is dependent on the traction capability of a traction system . by “ traction system ” there is to be understood here the traction forces transmitted between a drive pulley and a supporting and driving means by way of friction couple . if the traction system has a drive capability with a system coefficient of friction of , for example , 2 , this means that the traction forces are sufficiently high in order to move the elevator car , which is heavier by the system coefficient of friction than the associated counterweight . fig2 schematically shows a duo - mobile elevator installation 100 a with an elevator shaft 1 a which is formed from a shaft base 14 a with buffers 25 a , lateral side walls 18 c and 18 d and a shaft ceiling 13 a . an upper elevator car 2 a and a lower elevator car 2 b are arranged one above the other in the elevator shaft 1 a . with respect to their arrangement and suspension the two individual systems forming the duo - mobile system are identical with the arrangement and suspension , i . e . 2 : 1 suspensions are realized for the elevator cars 2 a and 2 b and 1 : 1 suspensions realized for the counterweights 4 a and 4 b . the upper elevator car 2 a is supported in a support loop 16 c which the supporting and driving means 3 a forms from the drive pulley 5 a to a fastening point 15 c at the shaft ceiling 13 a . in this regard the supporting and driving means 3 a loops under the elevator car 2 a in support rollers 17 d and 17 e . the elevator car 2 a runs along guide rails 7 e and 7 f which are arranged along the overall height h of the elevator shaft 1 a . the upper elevator car 2 a serves an uppermost floor door 8 a , a second - uppermost floor door 9 a and further floor doors 10 a and 10 b , wherein this illustration is symbolic to the extent that there can also be more or also less than only four floor doors . the same applies to the lower elevator car 2 b , which travels to symbolically illustrated floor doors 10 c , 10 d , 10 e , 10 f and a lowermost floor door 11 a . the lower elevator car 2 b also runs along the guide rails 7 e and 7 f and is hung by support rollers 17 f and 17 g in a support loop 16 d , which a supporting and driving means 3 b forms from a first fastening point 15 d to the drive pulley 5 b . the fastening point 15 d for the lower individual system is arranged at approximately half the height of the elevator shaft 1 a . the two drive units 6 a and 6 b with the drive pulleys 5 a and 5 b , respectively , are arranged at the top in a shaft head 12 and allow movability of the counterweights 4 a and 4 b over a respective shaft height h 1 or h 2 , which respectively correspond with the total height h of the elevator shaft 1 a less the height of the shaft head 12 and less the height of a shaft pit 35 . the counterweights 4 a and 4 b are fastened directly to an end of the respective supporting and driving means 3 a or 3 b and run on guide rails 7 d or 7 g which extend over the entire length of the elevator shaft 1 a . abutments 21 a and 21 b are mounted at the guide rails 7 d and 7 g for the counterweights 4 a and 4 b . they can alternatively also stand on the shaft base 14 a and be formed similarly to the buffers 25 a . an exemplifying embodiment of a counterweight 4 c is illustrated schematically in fig3 . it runs on the guide rail 7 d which is fastened to the shaft wall 18 c . the counterweight 4 c is supported by the supporting and driving means 3 and consists of a hollow body 34 which defines a cavity 23 and integrated guide elements 19 a and 19 b . a counterweight of an elevator installation usually runs not on merely one guide rail , but on two guide rails 7 , but the second would not be visible in the illustrated side view . the second guide rail can be enclosed by a third and a fourth integrated guide element 19 . the cavity 23 is filled with a filling 20 , for example with sand . the hollow body 34 is so designed or constructed that on impact on the abutment 21 a it bursts and the sand escapes . a counterweight 4 c which is , in principle , identical is illustrated in fig4 , but at its underside carries an explosive charge 22 . ignition of the explosive charge 22 can be effected in principle by an abutment 21 or , however , also by means of a ripcord or by means of detection of the speed of the counterweight 4 c . fig5 schematically shows an exemplifying variant of embodiment of a counterweight 4 d , which comprises a hollow body 34 with a projection 32 . fastened on a strut 26 is a knife 24 which moves into the projection 32 and thus slits open the hollow body 34 . the hollow body 34 thereby empties its filling 20 when the counterweight 4 d hits the abutment formed by the strut 26 . it is evident in this fig5 thanks to a perspective illustration that the counterweight 4 d runs by two guide elements 19 c and 19 d along a guide rail 7 e arranged parallel to the guide rail 7 d . a further variant of embodiment of a counterweight 4 e is illustrated in fig6 , which counterweight runs along the guide rails 7 d and 7 e . the counterweight 4 e hangs at supporting and driving means 3 and if this should break a sensor 27 detects the absence of tensile stress and thereby triggers , for example , a pyrotechnical capsule , which is not illustrated in more detail and which brings a gas bag 28 to an expansion similar to an explosion , which in turn allows side walls 33 a and 33 b of the hollow body 34 to break open at frangible seams 31 a and 31 b . the filling 20 , which in this case is preferably a liquid , can thus escape , although the hollow body 34 together with the filling 20 is disposed in freefall . the side walls 33 a and 33 b are preferably provided with a notch 30 a or 30 b , respectively , so that the side walls 33 a and 33 b can more easily open . the frangible notches 31 a and 31 b weaken the material of the side walls 33 a and 33 b so that the internal pressure of the gas bag 28 or the suddenly increased internal pressure of the filling 20 lets the side walls 33 a and 33 b tear at these points . the notches 30 a and 30 b , thereagainst , weaken the material less and , in particular , only so that they still withstand the internal pressure , but nevertheless represent an intended bending point . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment . however , it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope .
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fig2 through 9 , discussed below , and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure . those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged mobile terminal . in the following descriptions , the term “ batch acquisition ” is used to refer to a process for acquiring a plurality rights objects ( ros ) in batch processing manner . in order to accomplish the batch acquisition of multiple ros , the present invention provides a novel user interface of a mobile terminal . in the following descriptions , the batch ro acquisition can be done for acquiring ros for newly acquired contents items and / or updating the expired ros . in order to simplify the explanation , the term “ acquisition ” is used interchangeably with “ update ”. in the following description , the mobile terminal can be any of information devices that support data communication with network elements ( e . g ., contents server and ri ) via wired or wireless communication network , such as a cellular phone , an mp3 player , a digital broadcast receiver , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a laptop computer , a palmtop computer , and their equivalent devices . fig2 is a message flow diagram illustrating an ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig2 , when an ro acquisition command requesting at least one drm content item is input by a user , the mobile terminal 200 generates and sends a rights object acquisition protocol trigger request ( roap trigger request ) message to the ri 250 ( s 201 ). the roap trigger request message may contain at least one content identifier ( cid ) for the at least one drm content item , a device id ( deid ) of the mobile terminal 200 , and constraints per drm content item for limiting usage rights for each drm content item . in a case that at least two ros have an identical parent ro , the roap trigger request message may contain the information about the parent ro . for example , when requesting ros for track 1 and track 3 of a music album a , the mobile terminal 200 may add an album id as a parent cid within the roap trigger request message in addition to the child cids of the tracks 1 and 3 . in this case , the mobile terminal 200 can acquire the ro for the album a which allows using either track 1 or track 3 . by depending the constraints in the ros for the tracks 1 and 3 on the constraint for the album a , the tracks 1 and 3 can be played until the constraint for the album a expires . accordingly , the user may use either the track 1 and track 3 up to the times limited by the constraint for the album a regardless of individual constraints for the tracks 1 and 3 . such a shared constraint can be applied for acquiring ros for the contents items belonged to different parent content items . for example , the user can make a group of content items in the form of a list such as “ my list ”, “ most frequently used list ”, and “ favorite list ” and designates the list as a parent content item . in this case , the constraints of ros for the content items grouped into the parent content item are dependent on the constraint of the ro for the parent content item . in the meantime , the mobile terminal 200 activates a web browser to show a webpage indicated by a uniform resource locator ( url ) information of the ri 250 which is contained in the header of the drm content item . in this embodiment , a drm content format ( dcf ) provides fields for containing url information on at least one ri supporting the batch ro acquisition , such as batchriurl and batchriurllength . the url information fields can be arranged in a part of the dcf . for example , the url information fields can be added within the common header of the dcf structure or included in an extended header field located in the common header . however , the present invention is not limited thereto . for example , the batch ro acquisition can be accomplished without adding the batchriurl within the dcf structure . the mobile terminal 200 can select the ri 250 for acquiring the ros for at least one drm content item with reference to ri urls stored in its memory and open a webpage of the url . the mobile terminal 200 also can request the ri 250 for an ri url from which the ros for the at least one drm content item can be acquired . the ri url received from the ri 250 is stored in the memory for ro acquisition process afterward . returning to fig2 , upon receipt of the roap trigger request message , the ri 250 generates and sends an roap trigger message to the mobile terminal 200 ( s 203 ). the roap trigger message contains ro price information for the at least one drm content item . the roap trigger message also contains at least one ro identifier ( roid ) assigned to each content item . the roap trigger message also contains at least one of ro url ( roapurl ), ri id , ri alias , domain id , domain alias , and nonce . upon receipt of the roap trigger message , the mobile terminal 200 displays a cost for purchasing the ros for the at least one drm content item with reference to the roap trigger message . in response to a user command , the mobile terminal 200 sends an ro request message to the ri 250 ( s 205 ). at this time , the drm content items for which ros are requested can be changed according to the user &# 39 ; s modification of the list of the drm content items . upon receipt of the ro request message , the ri 250 generates and sends an ro response message containing the ros requested by the mobile terminal 200 ( s 207 ). once the ro response message is received , the mobile terminal 200 extracts the ros contained in the ro response message so as to acquire the ros for multiple drm content items at one time . the ro response message may further contain a session id for establishing a session between ri 250 and mobile terminal 200 for checking whether the ro acquisition is successfully completed . in this case , the mobile terminal 200 receives the ro response message and establishes a session with the ri 250 referring to the session id and sends a ro confirm request message to the ri 250 . the ro confirm request message contains a parameter such as an ro confirm information for indicating successful ro acquisition . the ri 250 receives the ro confirm request message and may end the ro acquisition procedure or resend the requested ro according to the information contained in the ro confirm request message . if it is confirmed that the mobile terminal 200 has acquired the ros , the ri 250 may send an ro confirm response message to the mobile terminal 200 . in this embodiment , the mobile terminal 200 and ri 250 may perform a web transaction after the mobile terminal 200 sends the roap trigger request message . at this time , the user can set permissions and constraints of ros for respective content items . for example , if the ri 250 posts the information on the purchase prices with reference to the cids contained in the roap trigger request message , the mobile terminal 200 sets the permissions and constraints of each ro in response to the user command and sends the information of each ro to the ri 250 . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . although the mobile terminal is depicted as an exemplary mobile phone , the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone . as shown in fig3 , the mobile terminal 200 includes a radio frequency ( rf ) unit 310 , an audio processing unit 320 , an input unit 330 , a memory unit 340 , a display unit 350 , and a control unit 360 . the rf unit 310 is responsible for radio communication of the mobile terminal 200 . the rf unit 310 establishes a communication channel with a communication system for voice and data communications . particularly in this embodiment , the rf unit 310 exchanges radio signal carrying the messages related to the ro acquisition procedure with a server . the rf unit 310 includes an rf transmitter for up - converting and amplifying transmission signal frequency and an rf receiver for low noise amplifying and down - converting reception signal frequency . the rf unit 310 allows the mobile terminal 200 to download drm contents from a contents server and acquire the ros required for playing the drm contents . the rf unit 310 also sends radio signals carrying the roap trigger request message and ro request message to an ri and receives the radio signals carrying the roap trigger message and ro response message transmitted by the ri . the audio processing unit 320 processes an audio signal to be output through a speaker in the form of audible sound wave and processes the sound wave input through a microphone ( mic ) to be output to the control unit 360 in the form an audio signal . particularly in this embodiment , the audio processing unit 320 can process the audio data contained in a drm content item to be output in the form of audible sound wave according to the user &# 39 ; s intention . the input unit 330 is provided with a plurality of alphanumeric keys for receiving alphanumeric data and various functions keys for configuring and executing functions of the mobile terminal 200 and sends the key sequences generated by user key input to the control unit 360 . the input unit 330 can be implemented with at least one of a touchpad , a keypad , a qwerty keyboard , and a touchscreen . particularly in this embodiment , the input unit 330 is configured to generate and send key sequences for selecting an item ( including drm content item and ro ) and canceling the selection to the control unit 360 . the item selection and selection cancellation can be performed on multiple items listed on an item list according to the user &# 39 ; s key manipulation . a drm content list may be provided with content information ( such as content name and genre ) and ro information ( such as permissions and constraints ). the memory unit 340 stores application programs and data produced by the user or received from other devices such as a contents server , an ri , and other mobile terminals . the data may include still and motion pictures , music files , ros , and phonebook data . the application programs may include a file playback application program . particularly , in this embodiment , the application programs include a content manager application for managing and controlling drm content items . the memory unit 340 may be implemented with at least one buffer for buffering the data generated while the application programs are operating . particularly in this embodiment , the memory unit 340 stores drm content information about drm content items and ro information about ros for the drm content items . the drm content information includes size , time , name , permitted playback time and count , detailed description , and usage rights of each drm content item . the display unit 350 displays application screens showing operation status of various application program , data input by key manipulation , and various operation status indication objects . the display unit 350 is implemented with a liquid crystal display ( lcd ). in a case that the lcd integrates touchscreen functionality , the display unit 350 can work as a part of the input unit 330 . particularly in this embodiment , the display unit 350 provides a user interface screen for showing the web browsing and data download progress status in order to allow the user to monitor and control the batch ro acquisition procedure . the control unit 360 controls general operations of the mobile terminal 200 and signaling among the internal components . that is , the control unit 360 controls the signaling among the rf unit 310 , audio processing unit 320 , input unit 330 , memory unit 340 , display unit 350 , and other internal components . the control unit 360 may incorporate a data processing unit having a codec and a modem . particularly in this embodiment , the control unit 360 is configured to control the batch ro acquisition procedure for acquiring drm content items and ros for the drm content items in batch data processing manner . the control unit 360 also controls a series of presentations of menu screens for facilitating the display of drm content and ro lists and the selection of items from the list . the control unit 360 determines success or failure of ro acquisition for each content item and classifies the drm content items into ro acquisition success and failure groups in the batch ro acquisition procedure . the control unit 360 also controls the display of the content items with information indicating whether the ros for each content item were successfully acquired or failed in the forms of lists . particularly , the control unit 360 can instruct that the ro - requested entire content items , ro acquisition - succeeded content items , and ro acquisition - failed content items be displayed separately . the control unit 360 may be configured to retry acquisition of the failed ros automatically . in this case , the control unit 360 analyzes the cause of acquisition failure and determines whether to retry the acquisition process according to the analysis result . the operations of the control unit 360 are described later in more detail . although the mobile terminal 200 is depicted with basic components of a mobile phone in fig3 , the structure of the mobile terminal according to the present invention is not limited thereto . for example , the mobile terminal 200 may further include at least one of a camera module , an electronic settlement module , a local area network ( lan ) module , a digital broadcast reception module , and their equivalent function modules . also , at least one of the internal components of the mobile terminal 200 depicted in fig3 may be omitted or replaced by their equivalent modules . until now , basic structures and functions of a mobile terminal according an exemplary embodiment of the present invention have been described . the operations and functions of the above - structured mobile terminal are described hereinafter in more detail in association of a batch ro acquisition method . however , the present invention is not limited to the following exemplary embodiments but can be embodied in various manners . fig4 is diagram illustrating a ro acquisition mode screen for selecting content items in a batch ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig4 , if a contents list item ( e . g ., playlist ) has been selected from a menu screen , the control unit 360 of the mobile terminal 200 displays a contents list listing content items . here , the contents items can be selected from multiple contents lists . in this case , the control unit 360 generates a composite contents list listing the contents items selected from the multiple contents list . in fig4 , the reference number 410 denotes a composite contents list listing the content items for batch ro acquisition . the composite contents list is a list of content items having ros with constraints that must be updated . the composite contents list can be generated with the contents items queried from a contents database . the reference number 420 denotes an information window for presenting information on the content item on which the cursor stays . typically , the content item on which the cursor stays is shown highlighted . the information window shows the name of the content item , a purchase date and price of the ro for the content item , and a current state of usage permission ( constraint ). the reference number 430 denotes check boxes for selecting content items for which ros are to be purchased . the reference number 440 denotes a summary information region for showing a number of selected content items and a total cost of the ros for the selected content items . the reference number 450 denotes a menu soft key for calling a menu screen showing options for detailed settings . for example , the user can set the conditions for updating ros and constraints of the ros using the submenu options of the menu soft key . the constraints may be usage periods or usage counts . the reference number 460 denotes a select / cancel soft key for selecting content items from the content list or canceling the selection . by selecting the select / cancel soft key , a mark appears or disappears in the check box of the content item on which the cursor stays . the reference number 470 denotes a “ pre - play ” soft key for previewing or pre - listening the content item . the content items are assumed to support pre - play function . in this case , each content item is configured to have a preview ( pre - listening ) section or provided with a sampled preview ( pre - listening ) part . with the ro acquisition mode screen shown in fig4 , the user can select at least one content item and set the constraints linked to the at least one selected content item . fig5 is a diagram illustrating steps of a batch ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 , when a user requests an ro acquisition mode , the control unit 360 of the mobile terminal 200 causes the ro acquisition mode screen 510 to be displayed on the display unit 350 . the user can select content items for which ros are to be acquired on the ro acquisition mode screen 510 and requests an ri for the ros . while the mobile terminal 200 attempts to connect to the ri , a connection progress screen 520 is displayed . that is , the control unit 360 causes the connection progress to be displayed while establishing a connection to the ri in response to the user command . once the connection to the ri is established , the control unit 360 starts downloading the ros for the drm content items selected on the ro acquisition mode screen 510 . while downloading the ros , the control unit 360 controls causes a downloading progress screen 530 to be displayed . after the download of the ros has completed , the control unit 360 compares the requested ros with the downloaded ros and checks the successfully downloaded ros and download - failed ros . next , the control unit 360 causes a download result screen 540 to be displayed that shows the total number of download - requested ros , a number of successfully downloaded ros , and a number of the downloaded - failed ros . in this embodiment , the download result screen 540 shows that , among twelve download - requested ros , eight ros have been successfully downloaded and four ros have failed to download . the download result screen 540 can be provided with the number of drm contents items linked to the total , successfully downloaded , and download - failed ros . the download result screen 540 can be provided with menu items for selecting a detailed download information display mode . for example , the user can select one of the detailed information display modes : & lt ; all & gt ; mode for presenting the entire content items for which ros are requested , & lt ; succeeded & gt ; mode for presenting the content items for which ros are successfully downloaded , and & lt ; failed & gt ; mode for presenting the content items for which ros are failed to download . accordingly , the user can check the download result in various manners . in response to the selection of the & lt ; all & gt ; mode , the control unit 360 causes the entire content items for which ros are requested to download . at this time , the content items for which ros are successfully downloaded and failed to download can be presented distinguishably . for example , the content items can be categorized by genre , album , and artist and displayed by category . also , the content items can be classified into movie , music video , audio , game , and picture and displayed by file formats . also , the ros can be displayed in the form of a gird or a combination of the above display methods . the download - succeeded and failed ros can be displayed in a distinct and distinguishable manner as shown in the screen images 550 and 560 . the detailed download result screen 550 shows the content items in the grid manner , and the detailed download result screen 560 shows the contents items in the categorized manner . as shown in the screen image 550 , the content items are displayed distinctively according to whether the ros for the respective content items have been successfully downloaded or failed to download . the content items can be displayed in the form of thumbnail image . the number of thumbnail images per page can be set by the user . the & lt ; all & gt ;, & lt ; succeeded & gt ;, and & lt ; failed & gt ; display modes can be provided in the form of menu taps . when displaying the content items by category as shown in the screen image 560 , the screen image 560 can be provided with the & lt ; all & gt ;, & lt ; succeeded & gt ;, and & lt ; failed & gt ; taps such that the user can select one of the taps . if a category is selected by the user , the control unit 360 may display a contents list listing the content items corresponding to the selected category . the content list may list the content items in the form of texts or thumbnail images or combinations of texts and thumbnail images . also , the content items can be displayed in the form of a grid as shown in the screen image 550 . when displaying the content items in the form of a list , the content items for which ros have successfully downloaded and failed to download are displayed distinguishably . the download result display method can be changed using a soft key such as a menu key in real time . although not shown in the screen images 550 and 560 , each screen may be provided with a soft key for selectively checking the content items that have successfully downloaded and failed to download . in the case that the user selected one of & lt ; succeeded & gt ; and & lt ; failed & gt ; display modes , the detailed download result screen can be displayed in the form of a combination of the screen images 550 and 560 . in response to the selection of & lt ; succeeded & gt ; or & lt ; failed & gt ; display mode , the control unit 360 displays the content items for which ros have successfully downloaded and failed to download by category , file format , or content type . in the case of being displayed by category , the content items may be displayed in the form of a grid according to a preset display method . in a case that an automatic re - download function is activated , the control unit 360 attempts downloading the download - failed ros automatically when the & lt ; failed & gt ; display mode is selected . the re - download procedure is performed through the steps corresponding to the screen images 520 and 530 . after the re - download procedure has completed , the control unit 360 performs the process described with reference to the screen image 540 . the screen images 550 and 560 also can be provided with a pre - play ( preview or pre - listening ) menu option such that the user can pre - play a specific content item supporting the pre - play function . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating a batch ro acquisition procedure of an ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in the following description , the term “ ro acquisition ” is used for a procedure including steps of purchasing content items , acquiring ros for the purchased items , and updating expired ros . referring to fig6 , the control unit of a mobile terminal detects an ro acquisition command for requesting ros for at least one content item ( s 601 ). once the ro acquisition command is detected , the control unit instructs the mobile terminal to access an ri supporting batch ro acquisition ( s 603 ) and download the ros by browsing a website provided by the ri ( s 605 ). next , the control unit determines whether the download session has completed ( s 607 ). if the ros have not completed , the control unit continues downloading ( s 605 ). once the download session have completed , the control unit classifies the download - requested ros into successfully downloaded ros and download - failed ros ( s 609 ). whether an ro has been successfully downloaded is determined by comparing the requested ros and the downloaded ros . the requested ros having identical downloaded ros are regarded as successfully downloaded ros , and the requested ros having no identical downloaded ros are regarded as download - failed ros . next , the control unit outputs a download result informing the user of the successfully downloaded ros and download - failed ros ( s 611 ). fig7 is a flowchart illustrating a contents objects display procedure of an ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig7 , a procedure after the completion of the download session for downloading the requested ros is described . in the following description , the term “ ro acquisition ” is used for a procedure including steps of purchasing content items , acquiring ros for the purchased items , and updating expired ros . referring to fig7 , once the download session has completed , the control unit analyzes the download result and categorizes the download result into one of three categories ( s 701 ). as described above , the each acquisition - requested ro is checked whether it is successfully downloaded or failed to down . in the meantime , the three download result categories are “ perfect success ” indicating that all ros have been successfully downloaded , “ partial success ” indicating that some ros have been downloaded but the others have not , and “ perfect failure ” indicating that all ros have failed to download . if it is determined that the download result is “ perfect success ” at step s 701 , the control unit causes the download result to be displayed in a download result display mode set by the user ( s 711 ). before displaying the download result , statistical information can be displayed for informing of the numbers of the acquisition - requested ros , successfully downloaded ros , and download - failed ros . next , the control unit causes a follow - up process to be performed in response to a user input ( s 713 ). the follow - up process can be any of display mode change or reset process , content execution process , new ro acquisition process , and ro acquisition mode termination process . if it is determined that the download result is “ partial success ” at step s 701 , the control unit classifies the ros into a set of successfully downloaded ros and a set of download - failed ros ( s 721 ). next , the control unit displays the download result with the content items corresponding to the successfully downloaded and download - failed ros in distinguishable manner as shown in fig5 ( s 723 ). before displaying the download result , statistical information can be displayed for informing of the numbers of the acquisition - requested ros , successfully downloaded ros , and download - failed ros . while displaying the download result , the control unit determines whether a download retry event for requesting download of the download - failed ros is detected ( s 725 ). if a download retry event is detected , the control unit retries download of the download - failed ros ( s 727 ). here , the download retry can be performed in response to a user command or by an automatic download retry function . that is , the mobile terminal generates and sends an ro request message requesting the ri for the download - failed ros according to the user command or a preset automatic repeat request function . once the download session has completed ( s 729 ), the control unit causes the content items corresponding to the re - downloaded ros to be displayed together with the content items corresponding to the previously downloaded ros in the preset display mode ( s 731 ). next , the control unit causes a follow - up process to be performed in response to a user input ( s 733 ). the follow - up process can be any of display mode change or reset process , content execution process , new ro acquisition process , and ro acquisition mode termination process . although the re - download procedure has been explained under the assumption that all download - failed ros are successfully downloaded through steps s 729 and s 731 , the re - download may fail fully or partially again . in this case , the download failure analysis , download retry , and ro acquisition procedure termination processes can be selectively performed . meanwhile , if it is determined that the download result is “ perfect failure ” at step s 701 , the control unit displays the content items corresponding to the download - failed ros in a display mode set by the user as shown in fig5 ( s 741 ). before displaying the download result , statistical information can be displayed for informing of the numbers of the acquisition - requested ros , successfully downloaded ros , and download - failed ros . while displaying the download result , the control unit determines whether a download retry event is detected ( s 743 ). if a download retry event is detected , the control unit retries download of the download - failed ros ( s 745 ). here , the download retry can be performed in response to a user command or by an automatic download retry function . once the download session has completed ( s 747 ), the control unit controls causes the content items corresponding to the successfully downloaded ros to be displayed in a preset display mode ( s 749 ). next , the control unit causes a follow - up process to be performed in response to a user input ( s 751 ). the follow - up process can be any of a display mode change or reset process , a content execution process , a new ro acquisition process , and an ro acquisition mode termination process . although the re - download procedure has been explained under the assumption that all download - failed ros are successfully downloaded through steps s 747 and s 749 , the re - download may fail fully or partially again . in this case , the download failure analysis , download retry , and ro acquisition procedure termination processes can be selectively performed . fig8 is a flowchart illustrating a download - failed ro acquisition procedure of an ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig8 , when an acquisition retry event for retrying download of the download - failed ros is detected ( s 801 ), the control unit analyzes the cause of the ro download failure ( s 803 ). the acquisition retry event can be a detection of a user request or an interrupt generated by an automatic repeat request function . the cause of the ro download failure can be any of a network problem , a target ro absence , and a problem with the mobile terminal . when the cause of the download failure is a network problem , the control unit causes a network status information to be displayed ( s 811 ). the network status can be displayed with one of several channel status level between the mobile terminal and the ri . for example , the network status may be classified into a class , b class , and c class . class a indicates that the channel quality between the mobile terminal and ri is very good , class b indicates that the channel quality between the mobile terminal and ri is good , and class c indicates that the channel quality between the mobile terminal and ri is bad . the channel qualities of “ very good ,” “ good ,” and “ bad ” are determined with the threshold values defining the respective signal strength ranges . although the network status is classified into three classes in this embodiment , the present invention is not limited thereto . for example , the network status can be classified into two or four classes according to the network characteristics . if it is determined that the network status is class a , the control unit considers the communication channel between the mobile terminal and the ri to be very good and attempts to connect to the ri . if it is determined that the network status is class b , the control unit considers the communication channel to be good between the mobile terminal and the ri . in this case , the control unit instructs the mobile terminal to wait for a predetermined time period and then attempt to connect to the ri . when the network status is class b , it is regarded that a download error may occur , whereby the control unit checks the network status within a predetermined period and then attempts to connect to the ri . meanwhile , if it is determined that the network status is class c , the control unit considers the communication channel between the mobile terminal and the ri to be unstable such that connection to the ri is impossible . in this case , the control unit instructs the mobile terminal to quit attempting connection to the ri . after displaying the network status information at step s 811 , the control unit analyzes the network status ( s 813 ). if the network status is class c , the control unit outputs an alert message notifying that the network status is too bad to connect to the ri ( s 815 ). for example , an alert message saying “ network connection is impossible . try again later .” is displayed in the form of a popup window . next , the control unit deactivates the download function within a predetermined time ( s 817 ). if the network status is class a at step s 813 , the control unit attempts to connect to the ri for downloading the download - failed ros through web browsing ( s 819 ). if the network status is class b , the control unit waits for a predetermined time period and then attempts to connect to the ri for downloading the download - failed ros ( s 821 ). in the meantime , if it is determined that the cause of the download failure is the absence of a target ro at step s 803 , the control unit causes an alert message to be displayed notifying that the target ros do not exist in the ri ( s 831 ). next , the control unit determines whether a forced download command is input ( s 833 ). if a forced download command is input , the control unit searches for another available ri providing the target ros ( 835 ). the forced download command can be generated by a user input or the automatic repeat request function . the available ri can be selected from the ri url information contained in the content item corresponding to the target ros or stored in the memory unit of the mobile terminal . once an available ri is selected , the control unit connects to the ri and retries downloading the download - failed ros ( s 837 ). if it is determined that the cause of the download failure is a client problem , the control unit causes an alert message to be displayed notifying that the download failure is caused by the mobile terminal itself ( s 841 ). next , the control unit performs a follow - up process in response to the user &# 39 ; s command ( s 843 ). the follow - up process can be any of deleting previously stored data and terminating ro acquisition mode . after completing the follow - up process , downloading the download - failed ro may be retried manually or automatically later . fig9 is a flowchart illustrating a download - failed ro processing procedure of an ro acquisition method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig9 , the control unit causes , in response to a user command , the contents items corresponding to the download - failed ros to be displayed in a predetermined display mode ( s 901 ). next , the control unit determines whether a pre - play command for playing a pre - play ( preview or pre - listening ) part of at least one of displayed content items is input ( s 903 ). if a pre - play command input has been detected , the control unit causes the pre - play part of the selected content item to be pre - played ( s 905 ). in this embodiment , each content item is provided with a pre - play part . that is , even though their ros have expired , the content items can be played within their pre - play parts . next , the control unit detects a user command input while pre - playing the content item and determines whether the user command is a download command for requesting acquisition of the ro corresponding to the currently pre - playing content item ( s 907 ). if the user command is not the download command , the control unit performs an operation corresponding to the user command ( s 909 ). the user command can be an ro acquisition procedure termination command or a pre - play termination command . otherwise , if the user command is the download command at step s 907 , the control unit checks the reason for the previous download failure ( s 911 ) and then determines whether the download of the ro for the currently pre - playing content item is available ( s 913 ). the reason of the download failure can be a bad network status , an absence of the target ro in the ri , or a lack of storage space on the mobile terminal . the control unit can determine whether the download of the ro is available on the basis of the network status , whether the ro exists in the ro , and whether the storage space on the mobile terminal is enough to store the ro . if it is determined that the download of the ro is available , the control unit attempts to download the download - failed ro again ( s 915 ). otherwise , if it is determined that the download of the ro is unavailable , the control unit causes an alert message notifying the unavailability of the ro download to be displayed ( s 917 ). similar to the pre - play parts of the content items for which ros have failed to download , the content items for which ros have successfully downloaded have pre - play parts . as described above , the ro acquisition method of the present invention allows acquiring multiple ros for a plurality of content items in a batch processing manner , resulting in improvement of user convenience . also , the ro acquisition method of the present invention reduces a number of repetitive acquiring / updating processes , thereby reducing the time for acquiring multiple ros and improving user convenience . although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment , various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art . it is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .
6
the invention can be used to make various articles of manufacture , compounds , compositions of matter , coatings , etc . two preferred forms are sealing compounds , and flexible films , both useful in packaging of food and non - food products . it is known to use sealing compounds in the manufacture of gaskets for the rigid container market . large , wide diameter gaskets are typically made using a liquid plastisol . this plastisol is a highly viscous , liquid suspension of polymer particles in a plasticizer . in the manufacture of metal or plastic caps , lids , and the like , this liquid plastisol is applied to the annulus of a container such as a jar , and the container with the applied plastisol is “ fluxed ” in an oven to solidify the plastisol into a gasket . the result is a gasket formed around the annulus of the container . smaller gaskets are typically made for use in beer crowns in bottles . a polymer melt is applied by cold molding to the entire inner surface of the crown . both pvc and other polymers are used in this application . discs for plastic caps are typically made by taking a ribbon of gasket material and making discs , and inserting the discs into the plastic cap . in all of these applications , the use of an oxygen scavenger and zeolite beneficially provides removal of oxygen from the interior environment of the container , while controlling undesirable by - products of the oxygen scavenging reaction . thus , a gasket includes a polymeric composition , an oxygen scavenger , and a zeolite . the gasket adheres a metal or plastic lid or closure to a rigid or semi - rigid container , thus sealing the lid or closure to the container . referring to fig1 a multilayer film 10 is shown , having layer 12 and layer 14 . fig2 shows a multilayer film with layers 12 , 14 , and 16 . layers 12 , 14 , and 16 are preferably polymeric . layer 12 comprises a zeolite . preferred materials are the molecular sieves of the type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 795 , 482 ( gioffre et al . ), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . also useful in the present invention are zeolites supplied by the davison division of w . r . grace & amp ;, co .- conn . preferred particle sizes for zeolites used in the present invention are between 0 . 1 and 10 micrometers , and more preferably between 0 . 5 and 3 micrometers . layer 14 comprises an oxygen scavenger , preferably a polymeric oxygen scavenger , more preferably one of the materials described above . layer 16 comprises an oxygen barrier material , such as ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer ( evoh ), saran ( vinylidene chloride copolymer ), polyester , polyamide , metal , silica coating , etc . fig3 shows a laminated film in which a three layer film is adhered to a second film . layers 32 , 34 , and 36 correspond functionally and compositionally to 12 , 14 , and 16 respectively of fig2 and layer 38 is an intermediate layer which can comprise any polymeric material such as polyolefin , more preferably ethylenic polymers such as ethylene / alpha - olefin and ethylene / unsaturated ester copolymers , more preferably ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer . layer 31 represents a conventional adhesive such as polyurethane adhesive . comparative 2 in table 6 exemplifies the laminated film of fig3 . fig4 shows a laminated film in which a four layer film is adhered to a second film . layers 42 , 44 , 46 and 48 correspond functionally and compositionally to layers 32 , 34 , 36 and 38 respectively of fig3 . layer 49 is an innermost heat sealable layer which can comprise any polymeric material such as polyolefin , more preferably ethylenic polymers such as ethylene / alpha - olefin and ethyene / unsaturated ester copolymers , such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer . layer 46 provides oxygen barrier to the film structure , and adheres to layer 48 by means of conventional adhesive 41 . this adhesive corresponds to layer 31 of fig3 and is shown simply as a thickened line . examples 2 and 3 of table 6 exemplify the laminated film of fig4 . fig5 shows a nine layer film . example 1 and comparative 1 in table 2 exemplify the film of fig5 . layer 57 is an abuse - resistant layer useful as an outermost layer of a film when used in a packaging application . layers 54 and 56 correspond functionally and compositionally to layers 14 and 16 respectively of fig2 and 3 , as well as to layers 44 and 46 respectively of fig4 . layers 52 , 53 , 58 and 59 comprise an adhesive . the adhesive is preferably polymeric , more preferably acid or acid anhydride - grafted polyolefins . in addition , these layers can comprise a zeolite . layer 55 comprises a heat resistant material . this can be any suitable polymeric material , preferably an amide polymer such as nylon 6 , or a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate . layer 51 comprises a heat sealable material . this can be any suitable polymeric material , preferably an olefinic polymer such as an ethylenic polymer , more preferably an ethylene alpha olefin copolymer . in addition , layer 51 can further comprise a zeolite . the invention may be further understood by reference to the examples shown below . table 1 identifies the materials used in the examples . the remaining tables describe the films made with these materials , and organoleptic or migration data resulting from testing some of these films . the target ( and approximate actual ) gauge ( in mils ) of each layer of the nine - layer film is shown below . layer 9 would preferably form the food or product contact layer in a typical packaging application . the films of example 1 and comparative 1 were subjected to food law migration tests to evaluate whether zeolites could reduce the concentration of extractables . the films were triggered by ultraviolet light according to the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 211 , 875 . the films were converted into 280 cm 2 pouches and the pouches were filled with a food simulant . the filled pouches were then retorted at 100 ° c . for 30 minutes and stored at 50 ° c . for 10 days . the food simulant was decanted from the pouches and analyzed . table 3 shows a list of potential extractables . table 4 shows the concentration of the same extractables , where the films were extracted with 8 % ethanol solution as the food simulant . table 5 shows the concentration of the same extractables , where the films were extracted with water as the food simulant . in both tables 4 and 5 , the concentration of each extractable is in units of nanograms / milliliter . zeolites can reduce the concentration of certain extractables which could cause regulatory issues . in table 6 , two five - layer laminate structures in accordance with the invention , and one comparative four - layer laminate structure , are disclosed . the two five - layer structures were each made by laminating a coextruded four - layer film , using a conventional adhesive , to a second film (= layer 5 ). the comparative structure was made by laminating a coextruded three - layer film , using a conventional adhesive , to a second film (= layer 4 ). the film of examples 2 and 3 were subjected to food law migration tests to evaluate whether zeolites could remove oxidation by - products . their efficacy was compared with comparative 2 . the list of extractables can be found in table 3 . the test results from the extraction of the films with miglyol 812 ( available from huls america ), a fatty food simulant , are summarized in table 7 . zeolites can reduce the concentration of certain extractables which could cause regulatory issues . in table 8 , three five - layer laminate structures in accordance with the invention , and one comparative five - layer laminate structure , are disclosed . the five - layer structures were each made by laminating a coextruded four - layer film , using a conventional adhesive , to a second film (= layer 5 ). sliced turkey breast was stored in packages made from the films of examples 4 , 5 , 6 and comparative 3 . a sensory panel tasted the turkey slices to evaluate whether or not zeolites can reduce the off - flavor caused by byproducts of the oxygen - scavenging reaction . the films were triggered by ultraviolet light according to the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 211 , 875 . the films were converted into packages on a multivac ® r7000 packaging machine . cryovac ® t6070b film was used as the bottom web of the packages . each package contained one slice of turkey . each package was flushed with a gas mixture consisting of 99 % n 2 and 1 % o 2 . packages were stored in the dark for 7 days at 40 ° f . a sensory panel rated the taste of the turkey slices . the scale ranged from 1 to 6 , with 1 indicating extreme off - flavor and 6 indicating no off - flavor . the average scores are summarized in table 9 . in some cases , zeolites can reduce the off - flavor caused by the byproducts of the oxygen - scavenging reaction . in table 10 , two five - layer laminate structures in accordance with the invention , and two comparative five - layer laminate structure , are disclosed . the five - layer structures were each made by laminating a coextruded four - layer film , using a conventional adhesive , to a second film (= layer 5 ). sliced turkey breast was stored in packages made from the films of examples 7 and 8 and comparatives 4 and 5 . a sensory panel tasted the turkey slices to evaluate whether or not zeolites can reduce the off - flavor caused by the byproducts of the oxygen - scavenging reaction . the films were triggered by ultraviolet light according to the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 211 , 875 . the films were converted into packages on a multivac ® r7000 packaging machine . cryovac ® t6070b film was used as the bottom web of the packages . each package contained one slice of turkey . each package was flushed with a gas mixture consisting of 99 % n 2 and 1 % o 2 . packages were stored in the dark for 7 days at 40 ° f . a sensory panel rated the taste of the turkey slices . the scale ranged from 1 to 6 , with 1 indicating extreme off - flavor and 6 indicating no off - flavor . table 11 summarizes the percentage of the panelists which did not taste an off - flavor ( i . e . a score of 6 ) in the packaged turkey slices . in some cases , zeolites can significantly reduce the off - flavor caused by the byproducts of the oxygen - scavenging reaction . a headspace gas chromatography ( gc ) method was used to determine the ability of a material to absorb aldehydes . the material ( either 6 to 7 mg of powder or 25 mm disk of lldpe film containing 4 % absorber ) was placed in a headspace gc vial ( 22 ml ), and 2 μl of an aldehyde mixture containing about 0 . 1 % each of the indicated aldehydes in methanol was injected into each vial . the vials were incubated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour and were injected into a gc . the data in table 12 shows the percent change in the aldehyde concentration for each material relative to an appropriate control ( vial with no absorber or lldpe disk ). the data in table 12 shows that various zeolites are capable of reducing the migration of aldehydes . in addition , due to specificity of various materials it can be seen that blends of materials can be advantageous . films of the invention can been made by any conventional means , including coextrusion , lamination , extrusion coating , or corona bonding , and then optionally irradiated and / or oriented . they can be made heat shrinkable through orientation or tenterframing if desired , at orientation ratios of 1 : 2 to 1 : 9 in either or both of the machine and transverse directions . for shrink applications , they can be made to have a free shrink of at least 10 %, more preferably at least 20 %, most preferably at least 30 %, in either or both directions at 90 ° c . gasket compositions of the invention can be made by any conventional process , including , but not limited to , extrusion compounding for thermoplastic compositions , and conventional mixing equipment for plastisol compositions . the gasket compositions of the invention can then be formed into gaskets on lids by any conventional process , including but not limited to , cold molding processes , inserted discs , application of liquid plastisols via pressurized nozzles followed by solidification in an oven , etc . various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention defined below . for example , a blend of different zeolites can be used in the same article ( e . g . film or sealing compound ). in films , although it is preferred that the zeolite be used in the film and as a packaging material such that the zeolite is disposed closer to the contents of the package , which can be food or any oxygen - sensitive product , than the oxygen scavenger , there may be applications where the zeolite is disposed “ outside of ” the oxygen scavenger , such that the oxygen scavenger - containing layer is disposed closer to the contents of a package made from the film , than the zeolite - containing layer . the zeolite can alternatively be disposed on both sides of the oxygen scavenger . also , within the same film , a first zeolite can be used in a first layer , and a second zeolite , different from the first zeolite , can be used in another layer of the film . alternatively , the zeolite , in addition to or instead of the arrangements described above , can be disposed in the same layer or layers as the oxygen scavenging material . thus , by way of example , any of layers 14 , 34 , 44 , and 54 of the examples and figures can include any suitable percent , by weight of the layer , of a zeolite . a preferred blend of oxygen scavenging and zeolite in such a blend layer is between 95 % and 99 . 5 % oxygen scavenger , and between 0 . 5 % and 5 % zeolite . any suitable polymeric materials can be employed in films containing the zeolites , and are not limited to those listed herein . the amount of zeolite used in a film of the present invention is preferably between 0 . 1 % and 5 % of the layer in which it occurs . these percentages are based on the zeolite material ( e . g . zeolite ) per se , with suitable adjustment to be made if the zeolite material is used as a masterbatch with another material such as polyethylene . above 5 % of the layer , optics of the film can be compromised to some extent , although the film can still be used in many applications . in end - use applications where optics are not a critical feature of the package , such as opaque films or gaskets for containers , higher amounts of zeolites can be beneficially used . zeolites disclosed herein can be used with or in films or coatings , or absorbed into a variety of other supports for scavenging or other uses , such as a layer or coating on another object , or as a bottle cap or bottle liner , as an adhesive or non - adhesive insert , sealant , gasket , fibrous matte or other inserts , or as a non - integral component of a rigid , semi - rigid , or flexible container .
2
referring to the drawings , fig1 depicts a perspective view of an upright carpet extractor 60 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the upright carpet extractor 60 comprises an upright handle assembly 62 pivotally connected to the rear portion of the floor - engaging portion or base assembly 64 that moves and cleans along a surface 74 such as a carpet or bare floor . the base assembly 64 includes two laterally displaced wheels 66 ( only the left wheel 66 l being shown ) rotatably attached thereto . a supply or solution tank assembly 76 is removably mounted to the handle portion 62 of the extractor 60 . a combined air / water separator and recovery tank 80 with carrying handle 332 removably sets atop a suction motor / fan assembly 81 ( fig2 ) of the base assembly 64 and is surrounded by a hood portion 82 . a floor suction nozzle assembly 124 is removably mounted to the hood portion 82 of the base assembly 64 and is in fluid communication with the recovery tank 80 for transporting air and liquid into the recovery tank 80 . the floor suction nozzle 124 assembly is extends forwardly down to the front portion of the base assembly 64 . the floor suction nozzle assembly 124 includes a front plate secured to a rear plate that in combination define dual side ducts 130 , 132 separated by a tear drop shaped opening 134 . the suction nozzle 124 has an inlet 138 located forwardly adjacent the front end of the base assembly 64 . further details of the above mentioned elements of the carpet extractor are disclosed in co pending application having ser . no . 10 / 165 , 731 ; the disclosure being incorporated herein by reference . as depicted in fig2 the base assembly 64 includes a brush assembly 70 having a plurality of rotating scrub brushes 72 for scrubbing the surface . a suitable brush assembly 70 is taught in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 867 , 857 , the disclosure which is incorporated herein by reference . brush assembly 70 is operated by a suitable gear train ( or other known means ). an electric motor 73 with gear assembly drives the gear train on the brush . one such suitable electric motor is disclosed as best illustrated in fig2 in co - pending patent application ser . no . 09 / 956 , 297 ; the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference . other brush assemblies could be also used such as , for example , a horizontal brush roll or a vibrating or oscillating type brush assembly . the supply tank assembly 76 comprises a clean water supply tank 620 and a detergent supply tank 622 adhesively mounted to the clean water supply tank 620 as depicted in fig1 . the supply tank assembly 76 includes a combination carrying handle and tank securement latch 78 providing a convenient means for carrying the tank and / or securing the tank to the extractor handle assembly 62 . with reference to fig2 the carpet extractor 60 includes a solution hose 794 that fluidly connects the outlet of the clean water tank 620 to a shut off valve 800 used for selectively turning on and off the flow of clean water . another solution hose 790 fluidly connects the outlet of the water tank 620 to an inlet 812 of a pressure actuated shut off valve 804 . the outlet of the detergent tank 622 is fluidly connected to the inlet 523 of a mixing valve 796 via a suitable flexible hose 798 . the pressure actuated shut off valve 804 is fluidly connected between the clean water tank 620 and the mixing valve 796 for turning off and on the flow of water . this shut off valve 804 is opened and closed by outside pressure via a conduit 806 connected between it and the outlet 807 of a pump 808 through a tee 817 . the valve 804 includes a pressure port 822 fluidly connected to the outlet 807 of a pump 808 . the outlet of the valve 814 is fluidly connected to the inlet 521 of the mixing valve 796 via hose 815 . it should be known that clean water tank 620 could be fluidly connect to the outlet 814 of the valve 804 with the inlet 812 of the valve 804 being fluidly connect to the mixing valve 796 so that fluid could flow the opposite direction if desired . in operation , when the pressure at the pressure port 822 is below a predetermined value such as between 7 to 10 psi , the valve 804 opens to allow water to flow in both directions . such a pressure value at the pressure port 822 occurs when the main shut off valve 820 is opened and the pump 808 is turned on . the pump 808 also pressurizes the water mixed with detergent to draw it to the distributor 792 . when the pressure exceeds a second predetermined value such as between 20 to 30 psi , the valve 804 closes . this would occur if the main shut off valve 820 is closed and the pump is turned on . thus , with the valve 804 closed , clean water or detergent is prevented from flowing through it . various types of pumps can be used such as a gear pump or centrifugal pump . the outlet 525 of the mixing tee 796 is fluidly connected via flexible hose 823 to the inlet of the pump 808 , which provides pressure to draw the cleaning solution to the distributor 792 , when it is turned on . a relief valve 809 is fluidly connected across the pump 808 to limit the pressure at the outlet 807 of the pump 808 to a predetermine value . the outlet 807 of the pump 808 is fluidly connected to the main shut off valve 820 via flexible hoses 825 , 874 and 876 . both of the shut off valves 800 , 820 are in the form of a solenoid valve , however , other electrical actuated valves could be also used . the valves 800 , 820 are operated by a trigger switch 821 as depicted in fig1 . the trigger switch 821 is pivotally connected to the upper handle portion 358 approximately near a closed looped handgrip 824 . slide switch 858 is used to select one of the shut off valve 800 , 822 to be opened and closed by the trigger switch 821 . slide switch 856 is the main power switch , which turns on and off the suction motor 81 , pump 808 , and brush motor 73 . alternatively , a separate switch could be incorporated to turn on and off the brush motor independent of the main power switch . the water or detergent mixed with water cleaning solution from the tanks 620 , 622 flows to their associated shut off valves 800 , 820 . the cleaning liquid distributor 792 evenly distributes the cleaning liquid to each of the rotary scrub brushes 72 . the scrub brushes 72 then spread the cleaning liquid onto the carpet ( or bare floor ), scrub the cleaning liquid into the carpet and dislodge embedded soil . a solution discharge valve 877 allows mixed detergent and clean water to flow through an integrally formed nipple 218 and a detachable solution tube 216 to a hand - held cleaning attachment ( not shown ) and dispense by typical spray means . as is commonly known , a user pivots the handle 62 in an incline position while moving the carpet extractor 60 over the surface to clean it . the carpet extractor 60 distributes the cleaning solution to the carpeted surface using the brushes 72 and substantially simultaneously extracts it along with the dirt on the carpet in a continuous operation . in particular , soiled cleaning liquid is extracted from the carpet by the suction nozzle 124 and transported into the recovery tank 80 where the liquid and air are separated . a vacuum is created in the recovery tank 80 by the suction motor 81 , which draws air from the recovery tank 80 and exhausts the air to the carpeted surface . a user interface module 200 is provided on the handle 62 to allow the user to select additional options on the extractor 60 to clean the surface . these options include distributing an amount of cleaning solution based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , controlling the speed of the scrub brushes 72 scrubbing the surface , and controlling the suction motor 81 to vary the amount of suction based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the surface . other options can also be incorporated into module . the module 200 can be in the form of a touch screen having touch sensors to select the options , or the module could comprise pushbuttons , rotary switches , or other suitable means to select the options . a controller 202 is electrically connected to the module 200 for receiving a signal from the module 200 representing the selected option . a speed sensor 204 is also electrically connected to the controller 202 and outputs a signal representative of the speed of the base assembly 64 with respect to the cleaning surface . fig3 shows in more detail the speed sensor 204 and related parts . the speed sensor 204 includes a hall sensor 206 secured to an arm 210 and positioned spacedly adjacent a magnetic disk 222 mounted to the rear extractor wheel 66 l by screws 208 or other suitable means such as for example , adhesive . the magnetic disk 222 can also be keyed to securely fit into a complimentary configured axle . the magnetic disk 222 has a multiple of alternating pie - shaped segments of opposite polarity such as the north and south segments 224 , 226 as shown . as the wheel 66 l rotates when rolled over the cleaning surface , the magnetic disk 222 rotates with it . the arm 210 includes axles 227 with rollers 228 that ride on the magnetic disk 222 to ensure clearance between the hall sensor 206 and the magnetic disk 222 . as seen in fig4 the rear extractor wheel 66 l includes an axle 67 that slidably extends through an opening in the arm 210 and rotates within the opening . the arm 210 is further positioned in a recess 211 of the frame or body 84 so that the arm 210 and hall sensor 206 remain stationary while the axle 67 rotates as the base assembly 64 moves along the cleaning surface . the hall sensor 206 is electrically connected to the controller 202 . alternatively , the hall sensor 206 can be mounted on the body 84 . as the magnetic disk rotates , the hall sensor 206 breaks into the positive gauss of the magnetic field of the north pole thereby causing the hall sensor 206 to output a pulsed signal , which is representative of the rotation speed of the wheel 66 l , to the controller 202 . optionally , a commonly known rc network can adjust the signal to a proportional output voltage type before it is inputted into the controller . the speed sensor 204 can also be an infrared or optical sensor or other suitable type of sensor . the outputs of the controller 202 are electrically connected to the pump 808 , the mixing valve 796 , brush motor 73 , and suction motor 81 . additional outputs of the controller 202 can be incorporated and electrically connected to other devices on the extractor 60 such as one for controlling the amount of pressure exerted by the brush assembly 70 on the cleaning surface . also , other devices that detect an operating characteristic of the carpet extractor 60 can be electrically connected to additional inputs of the controller 202 . the controller 202 first determines what option was selected by comparing the option signal outputted by the module 200 and data stored in the controller 202 . if the controller 202 receives the option signal representing distributing an amount of cleaning solution based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , the controller 202 compares the speed signal from the speed sensor 204 with data stored in it . the controller 202 then outputs a pulse width modulated control signal to the pump 808 , which controls the amount of cleaning solution flowing to the distributor 792 based on that speed signal . for this option , the controller 202 is programmed to control the pump 808 so that the amount of cleaning solution flowing to the distributor 792 increases in proportion to the speed of the base assembly 64 moving along the surface . a driver 232 is electrically connected between an output of the controller and power switching device 234 , which is electrically connect to he pump 808 . upon receiving the control signal from the controller , the driver 232 adjust the voltage to a proper value for input to the power switching device 234 which switches on and of the controls of the motor in the pump 808 thereby controlling the amount of cleaning solution flowing to the distributor 792 . if the controller 202 receives the option signal representing setting the speed of the brushes 72 scrubbing the cleaning surface based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , the controller 202 compares the speed signal from the speed sensor 204 with data stored in it . the controller 202 then outputs a pulse width modulated control signal to the brush motor 73 , which controls the speed of the brushes 72 scrubbing the cleaning surface based on the speed signal . a driver 236 is electrically connected between an output of the controller 202 and power switching device 238 , which is electrically connect to the brush motor 73 . for this option , the controller 202 is programmed to control the brush motor 73 so that the rotary speed of the brushes 72 scrubbing the cleaning surface increases in proportion to the speed of the base assembly 64 moving along the cleaning surface . upon receiving the control signal from the controller 202 , the driver adjust the voltage to the proper value for input to the power switching device 238 , which switches on and of the controls of the brush motor 73 thereby controlling the rotational speed of the brushes 72 scrubbing the cleaning surface . if the controller 202 receives the option signal representing setting the speed of the suction motor 81 based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , the controller 202 compares the speed signal from the speed sensor 204 with data stored in it . the controller 202 then outputs a pulse width modulated control signal to the suction motor 81 . a driver 240 is electrically connected between an output of the controller 202 and power switching device 242 , which is electrically connect to the suction motor 81 . for this option , the controller 202 is programmed to control the suction motor 81 so that the speed of the suction motor 81 generating suction increase in proportion to the speed of the base assembly 64 moving along the cleaning surface . upon receiving the control signal from the controller 202 , the driver 240 adjust the voltage to the proper value for input to the power switching device 242 , which switches on and off the controls of the suction motor 81 thereby controlling the amount of suction generation or power related to the speed of the suction motor 81 . if the controller 202 receives the option signal representing setting of the mixing valve 796 based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , the controller 202 compares the speed signal from the speed sensor 204 with data stored in it . the controller 202 then outputs a pulse width modulated control signal to the mixing valve 244 . a driver 244 is electrically connected between an output of the controller 202 and valve controller 246 , which is electrically connect to the mixing valve 796 . for this option , the controller 202 is programmed to control the mixing valve 796 so that the proportion of detergent in cleaning solution increases in proportion to the speed of the base assembly 64 moving along the cleaning surface . upon receiving the control signal from the controller 202 , the driver 244 adjusts the voltage to the proper value for input to the valve controller 246 , which controls the mixing valve 796 to adjust the mixing ratio of detergent and water . in a second embodiment of the invention as shown in fig5 two pumps 248 , 250 are used to draw the cleaning solution to the distributor 792 . components from the previous embodiment shown in fig1 through 4 , which are identical in structure and have identical functions will be identified by the same reference numbers . in this embodiment , one pump 248 for the clean water tank 620 is fluidly connected between the clean water tank 620 and distributor 792 . the other pump 250 for the detergent tank 622 is fluidly connected via conduit 260 between a tee 252 provided in the conduit 256 connecting the water pump 248 and clean water tank 620 . the pumps 248 , 250 are gear pumps but they can be also centrifugal pumps or other suitable type pumps . the controller 202 is electrically connected to each of the pumps 248 , 250 at one or more of its outlets . a check valve 258 is provided in the conduit 256 connecting the outlet of the water pump 248 . if the controller 202 receives the option signal representing controlling the pumps 248 , 250 to pump the amount of detergent and / or clean water based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the cleaning surface , the controller 202 compares the speed signal from the speed sensor 204 with data stored in it . the controller 202 then outputs pulse width modulated control signal ( s ) to the pumps 248 , 250 . for this option , the controller 202 is programmed to control the pumps 248 , 250 so that the proportion of detergent in cleaning solution increases in proportion to the speed of the base assembly 64 moving along the cleaning surface . also , the pumps 248 , 250 can control the amount of mixed cleaning solution based on the speed of the base assembly 64 moving across the surface , if the user selected such an option signal . further , if desired , the user can increases or decrease the amount of cleaning solution on the module 200 irrespective of the speed of the base assembly 64 across the cleaning surface . the controller 202 can be a microprocessor or an analog circuit . the power switching devices can be field effect transistors , triacs or other suitable power switching devices . in addition to speed , the speed sensor 204 could also detect the forward or rearward direction of movement of the extractor 60 and output such a signal to the controller 202 . in this situation , the controller 202 compares the signal with stored data and outputs one or more control signals to the various devices ( such as the brush motor 73 , suction motor 81 , and pump 808 or pumps 248 , 250 ) to control their functions . for example , if the speed sensor 204 outputs a signal indicating that the extractor 60 is moving in the rearward direction , the controller sends a control signal to the valve controller 246 to control the mixing valve 796 to allow only clean water to flow to the distributor 792 . if the second embodiment is used in this example , upon the speed sensor 204 detecting the rearward direction of the extractor 60 , the controller 202 sends a control signal to the detergent pump 250 to turn it off to allow only clean water to flow to the distributor 792 . additionally , upon the speed sensor 204 detecting the rearward direction of the extractor 60 , the controller 202 sends a control signal to the brush motor 73 to reverse the rotational direction of the brushes 72 agitating the surface so that the brushes 72 scrub the surface of the cleaning path in both the clockwise and counter clockwise direction when the extractor 60 is moved forward and rearward over the cleaning path . optionally , a speed sensor can be operatively associated with the brush assembly 70 and controller 202 to detect the speed of the brushes 72 ( or brush roll ) agitating the surface and output a speed signal representative of that agitating speed to the controller 202 . the controller 202 compares the signal with stored data and outputs one or more control signals to the various devices ( such as the valve controller 246 , brush motor 73 , suction motor 81 , and pump 808 or pumps 248 , 250 ) to control their functions as previously described based on the speed of the brush assembly 70 agitating the surface . the present invention has been described by way of example using the illustrated embodiments . upon reviewing the detailed description and the appended drawings , various modifications and variations of the embodiments will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . all such obvious modifications and variations are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention and of the claims appended hereto . in view of the above , it is intended that the present invention not be limited by the preceding disclosure of the embodiments , but rather be limited only by the appended claims .
0
a transport module 10 reproduced in fig1 to 5 is engaged with two guide rails 12 , 14 of a rotary conveyor system of a packaging machine , which is not illustrated in detail here . the guide rails 12 , 14 are arranged parallel to and on top of each other and are spaced apart from one another at a distance e . said guide rails 12 , 14 are rods or pipes with a circular outer cross - section . guide rails having another suitable outer cross - section are also conceivable . the transport module 10 includes a central , vertically disposed module carrier 16 comprising carrier parts 18 , 20 projecting in pairs laterally and horizontally therefrom , said carrier parts being furnished with guiding ducts 22 , 24 for receiving vertically disposed upper and lower supports 26 , 28 for upper and lower support roll pairs 46 , 48 . the upper support 26 overlaps a stepped , cylindrical shaft part 36 of the lower support 28 with a stepped , hollow - cylindrical shaft part 34 while forming a hollow space 38 that is annular in cross - section . a spiral coiled spring 40 , which overlaps the stepped part of the cylindrical shaft part 36 of the lower support 28 , is disposed in the hollow space 38 . the spiral coiled spring 40 is seated at one end against the upper support 26 and at the other end against the lower support 28 . each support 26 , 28 ends in the form of a head part 42 , 44 at an end opposite to the shaft part 34 , 36 , said head part including the upper and lower support roll pair 46 , 48 arranged thereon . the rolls of each support roll pair 46 , 48 are mounted on roll axes a which are at a right angle to each other and project from the head part 42 , 44 . the supports 26 , 28 are mounted in the cylindrical guiding ducts 22 , 24 in the horizontally projecting carrier parts 18 , 20 and also so as to be rotated relative to each other about a vertical axis z . when the transport module 10 is in the inserted position , the rolls of each support roll pair 46 , 48 are situated between the two guide rails 12 , 14 and are seated against the guide rails 12 , 14 from the inside . the diameter and the spatial position of the rolls of the support roll pairs 46 , 48 are matched to the outside diameter of the guide rails 12 , 14 such that the running surfaces of the rolls of the support roll pairs 46 , 48 are perpendicular to a diametrical plane of the guide rails 12 , 14 . the spiral coiled spring 40 is preloaded under pressure with a sufficient force ; thus enabling the transport module 10 on the one hand to be held sufficiently stable by the support roll pairs 46 , 48 disposed between the guide rails 12 , 14 and to be secured against an unintended decoupling and on the other hand to be engaged between the guide rails 12 , 14 without excessive force being applied by the hand of the operator and to again be removed from the same by the operator lifting the transport module and rotating it out of the guide rails from below . in order to propel the transport module 10 , provision is made pursuant to fig4 for a toothed drive belt 52 , which is disposed parallel to the guide rails 12 , 14 and is connected to a drive that is not depicted in the drawing . two entrainment cams 54 , 56 disposed vertically on top of each other are arranged on the module carrier 16 . in the example shown , the lower entrainment cam 56 is engaged with the toothed drive belt 52 . the upper entrainment cam 54 is intended for an engagement with a second toothed drive belt , which is not depicted in the drawing , and then , for example , goes into action if the transport speed of the transport module 10 is to be changed at a location of the rotary conveyor system . this change in speed of the transport module can result , for example , by means of the second toothed drive belt being driven slower than the first toothed drive belt 52 . the entrainment cams 54 , 56 are disposed in a housing 58 which is furnished with opening slots 60 and which is fixed to the module carrier 16 . said entrainment cams 54 , 56 have an oblong hole 62 which extends horizontally and in which a stud 64 fixed to the housing 58 engages . spiral coiled springs 66 preloaded under pressure are disposed between the back wall of the housing 58 and the back side of the entrainment cams 54 , 56 , said springs pushing the entrainment cams 54 , 56 away from the module carrier 16 in the direction of the toothed drive belt 52 ( fig5 ). the toothed drive belt 52 is arranged with respect to the guide rails 12 , 14 such that the entrainment cam 54 is always in engagement with said toothed drive belt 52 , wherein the distance between said toothed drive belt 52 and the transport module 10 is adjusted in such a manner that while being engaged with said toothed drive belt 52 , the entrainment cam 54 lies within the tolerance range predetermined by the end stops of the oblong hole 62 across the entire rotary conveyor system . in the variant to the roll system for a transport module 10 pursuant to fig1 , which is depicted in fig6 , the guide rails 12 , 14 are disposed between the rolls of each support roll pair 46 , 48 and are seated against the guide rails 12 , 14 from the outside in the inserted position of the transport module 10 . as is the case in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the diameter and the spatial position of the rolls of the support roll pairs 46 , 48 are matched to the outside diameter of the guide rails 12 , 14 such that the running surfaces of the rolls of the support roll pairs 46 , 48 are perpendicular to a diametrical plane of the guide rails 12 , 14 . the spiral coiled spring 40 is connected here at one end to the upper support 26 and at the other end to the lower support 28 and is preloaded under tension with a sufficient force such that the transport module 10 is held on the one hand sufficiently stable on the guide rails 12 , 14 by the support roll pairs 46 , 48 together with said guide rails 12 , 14 that are disposed between the same and is secured against an unintended decoupling . on the other hand , said transport module 10 can be engaged across the guide rails 12 , 14 and removed from the same without excessive force being applied by the hand the operator . in the transport module 10 depicted in fig7 , the lower support roll pairs 48 are fixedly mounted to the lower carrier parts 20 of the module carrier 16 . the spacing f of the inner rolls can be reduced with respect to the spacing g of the outer rolls . the rolls are thereby also well guided when the arrangement thereof on the lower carrier part 20 is tight . the upper carrier parts 18 are manufactured from an elastic material and comprise a region 19 of less material thickness opposite to a central part 17 . the spring effect is produced by the elastic material . it is also alternatively possible to produce the spring effect by means of a supporting elastic element . the upper carrier parts 18 are fixed to the module carrier via the central part 17 and a spring plate 72 is placed underneath said upper carrier parts 18 . the spring plate 72 is preloaded under pressure with a sufficient force in the inserted position of the transport module 10 so that said transport module 10 is kept on the one hand sufficiently stable between the guide rails 12 , 14 by the support roll pairs 46 , 48 disposed between said guide rails 12 , 14 and is secured against unintended decoupling , and on the other hand can be engaged between the guide rails 12 , 14 and removed from the same without excessive force being applied by the hand of the operator . in a curved segment 30 of a rotary conveyor system 50 , the distance between the entrainment cam 56 attached to the transport module 10 and the toothed drive belt 52 is less than in a linear segment 32 . because the entrainment cam 56 is resiliently attached to the transport module 10 , the varying distance between transport module 10 and toothed drive belt 52 is continually compensated . in order to keep this compensation travel within limits and to minimize a negative effect on the accuracy of the system due to the enlarged leverage effect of too long an entrainment cam , the following action can be taken in the curved segment 30 , in which action the center z zr of the toothed drive belt is displaced with respect to the center z fs of the guide rails 12 , 14 pursuant to fig8 parallel to an adjacent linear segment 32 by a specific displacement amount v away from the curved segment 30 . in so doing , the distance of the transport module 10 to the toothed drive belt 52 in the curved segment 30 of the rotary conveyor system 50 is approximately equal to the distance of the transport module 10 to the toothed drive belt 52 in the linear segment 32 . as a function of the type , configuration , size and if required further parameters of the objects provided for transport , a suitable receiving area is mounted on the transport module . in the transport module 10 depicted in the drawings , a mounting plate 68 furnished with boreholes 70 is provided for mounting a receiving area to the central module carrier 16 . a particularly advantageous embodiment of the entrainment cams 54 , 56 is shown in reference to fig9 to 11 . the entrainment cams 54 , 56 are in this case arranged in pairs adjacent to one another . it can therefore be said that the entrainment cams are enabled in pairs for each mesh point with the drive means , in this case with the toothed drive belt 52 . each of the entrainment cam pairs 54 , 56 thereby comprises two entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b and 56 a , 56 b arranged side by side . the entrainment cams shown in the aforementioned fig9 to 11 have basically the same features as those entrainment cams depicted in the preceding figures , in particular the entrainment cams depicted in fig4 and 5 . in applications , where the transport modules are transferred to the next station by means of a toothed drive belt 52 , problems can arise when only one single entrainment cam is used . if the tooth gap of the succeeding drive belt is missed when only one entrainment cam is present , the entrainment cam then rests on the tooth of the drive belt and can slip as it is not properly fixed . this is not critical in many applications ; however , precisely in those situations where a high degree of accuracy and process reliability are required , the arrangement in pairs is very advantageous . the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b or , respectively , 56 a , 56 b have the advantage that a particularly good and most importantly exact engagement in a specific tooth gap 74 or , respectively , in a specific tooth gap pair 74 of a toothed drive belt 52 can be provided . in other words , an arrangement is preferred comprising two entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b or , respectively , 56 a , 56 b , which are spring - loaded independently of one another using resilient means or more specifically spiral coiled springs 66 . with regard to the design of the drive means in the form of a toothed drive belt , it is clear from the figures that said toothed drive belt has a plurality of alternating tooth gaps 74 and teeth 76 . in each case , two adjacent teeth 76 thereby delimit one tooth gap 74 . an embodiment is advantageous in which the entrainment cam 54 a , 54 b or , respectively , 56 a , 56 b is narrower than the tooth gap 74 of the toothed drive belt as viewed in the direction of rotation . it is thereby ensured that in the case of major irregularities ( during the transfer of transport module ), at least one of the two entrainment cams is reliably engaged in the toothing or more specifically in the tooth gap 74 of the toothed drive belt and that the transport module is therefore unambiguously positioned . this can be seen clearly in fig1 , the entrainment cam 54 a being in this case in connection with the toothed drive belt 52 . the entrainment cam 54 b abuts in this instance the tooth 76 of the drive belt 52 . nevertheless , it is ensured here that one of the two entrainment cams , in this instance cam 54 a , engages in the corresponding tooth gap 74 and therefore a transmission of force from the drive belt 52 to the entrainment cams can take place . as is shown in fig9 , the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b , 56 a , 56 b , which are arranged in pairs adjacent to one another can thereby in turn be arranged in pairs on top of each other so that in total four entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b , 56 a , 56 b are enabled . the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b or 56 a , 56 b furthermore have each at least one chamfer 78 . the chamfer 78 assists in positioning the corresponding cam . a force from the cam abutting the tooth 76 , here the cam 54 b , is provided by the resilient means 66 ; thus enabling the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b or , respectively , 56 a , 56 b to displace relative to the toothed drive belt 52 , whereby it can be ensured that the two entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b or 56 a , 56 b which are arranged in pairs and adjacent to one another can engage in the corresponding tooth gaps 74 . this is shown in fig1 . in other words , it can be said that the transport module pushes itself into the correct position on the drive belt by means of the chamfer 78 on the entrainment cam 54 b that is not yet situated in engagement with the drive belt 52 ; thus enabling both entrainment cams 54 a and 54 b to project into the corresponding tooth gap 74 of the drive belt 52 . the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b , 56 a and 56 b arranged in pairs are disposed in a housing 58 which is fixed to the module carrier 16 and is furnished with opening slots 60 . as can be seen in fig5 , the entrainment cams 54 , 56 comprise an oblong hole which extends horizontally and in which a stud 64 fixed to the housing 58 engages . spiral coiled springs 66 preloaded under pressure are disposed between the back wall of the housing 58 and the back side of the entrainment cams 54 , 56 , said springs pushing the entrainment cams 54 , 56 away from the module carrier 16 in the direction of the toothed drive belt 52 ( fig5 ). in an advantageous manner , the entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b , 56 a and 56 b are designed narrower than the tooth gap 74 . if the entrainment cam 54 a , 54 b , 56 a and 56 b now projects into the tooth gap 74 , play is then present between said entrainment cam 54 a , 54 b , 56 a , 56 b and the drive belt . this is correspondingly shown in fig1 and 11 . said entrainment cams 54 a , 54 b , 56 a and 56 b are preferably designed narrower than the tooth gap 74 in the region of the engagement area , i . e . in the foremost region . the narrower configuration has the advantage that said entrainment cam 54 a , 54 b , 56 a and 56 b cannot come to rest on a tooth when engaging in a tooth gap if said gap is not exactly met .
1
fig1 schematically illustrates a blow molding machine m for containers , for example a stretch - blow molding machine for plastic bottles . a blowing station s with a non - depicted blow molding star is connected to a conveyor path f which at least in sections runs through a heating device h for preforms p to be heated or to be treated thermally . the conveyor path f in operation moves in the conveying direction 1 and contains a plurality of mandrel devices d placed close to each other , each consisting of a mandrel holder 2 transportable in the conveyor path f and mounted to be suspended in this case , and a pre - forming mandrel 3 attached thereto in an exchangeable manner , onto which one preform p each can be placed . the mandrel devices d are possibly rotated about their axes in the sense of rotation 5 in operation . according to fig2 and 3 , the pre - forming mandrel 3 is mounted at the mandrel holder 2 mounted via a shaft 11 in an exchangeable manner by means of a releasable coupling k to be able to exchange a pre - forming mandrel 3 for a preform type with a predetermined mouth concept for another pre - forming mandrel 3 for another preform type . the releasable coupling k is releasable by means of a releasing element 4 at which a handle 6 projecting outwards for mechanical or manual application is attached . adjacent to a head portion 9 , the pre - forming mandrel 3 has an upper peg 10 and at the lower end for example several o - rings 8 which expand at least one clamping jaw 100 for holding a preform p that has been put on . cooling fins 7 can be formed at the mandrel holder 2 . the lower part of the head portion can also be equipped with cooling fins 7 ′. in operation , these are located within the mouth of the preform , so that radiant heat can be taken up by the head portion and introduced into the preform during the heating process . the head portion 9 is equipped with clamping jaws 100 at its lower end which apply a retention force on the inner surface of the mouth of the preform to be held . the clamping jaws can be here e . g . several clamping jaws 100 perpendicularly attached in grooves , however they can also be one or several clamping jaws 100 attached in the circumferential direction . according to fig3 , a ball joint lock g is the principal component of the releasable coupling k . the ball joint lock g and the releasing element 4 are arranged in the mandrel holder 2 . in anon - depicted alternative , the ball joint lock g as well as the releasing element 4 could be accommodated in the respective pre - forming mandrel 3 . the preform p is fixed at the pre - forming mandrel 3 with its mouth 12 . from the peg 10 , a further peg 13 extends over a shoulder , which can be inserted in a push - in seat of the mandrel holder 2 and therein fixed by means of the ball joint lock g . an annular ball clearance zone 14 is defined in the mandrel holder 2 which is limited outside by an obliquely or conically extending surface 15 and inside by a wall 22 of the mandrel holder 2 . the surface 15 is inclined obliquely ( in fig3 downwards ) inwards and serves as clamping surface for the ball joint lock g . the ball joint lock g comprises at least one ball 16 ( or several balls 16 distributed in the circumferential direction ) which acts on the peg 13 through a passage 23 in the wall 22 . the passage 23 is for example designed as inwardly tapered counterbore which permits a certain axial clearance for the ball 16 , is however inside smaller than the ball diameter . in the peg 13 , an indentation indicated by a dotted line for engagement of the ball is possibly provided in the ball application region , for example a shallow circumferential groove 30 . the releasing element 4 is a sleeve 29 which is guided to be movable on the wall 22 with a slight sliding fit and here extends beyond the ball 16 upwards and exits at the bottom from the lower end of the ball clearance zone 14 . in the sleeve 29 , an opening 20 is designed approximately with the ball diameter in which the ball can be displaced inwards and outwards . at the upper side adjacent to the opening 20 , an o - ring 21 facilitating the assembly of the ball joint lock g is placed in the sleeve 29 at the outside . a spring 24 , for example an ondular , washer , acts with pretension on the sleeve 29 from above downwards . the handle 6 is an outwardly projecting ring flange in the shown embodiment which is rotatably mounted on the lower end of the sleeve 29 by means of a locking ring 17 . in a non - depicted alternative , the sleeve 29 could also only act on the ball 16 from the bottom and be secured in the mandrel holder 2 so that it cannot be pulled out in a different way . in a further , non - depicted alternative , at least one diverting lever could be attached at the outside at the mandrel holder 2 , which lever is movable by pressure or pulling transverse to the axis of the mandrel holder and acts on the releasing element 4 to axially adjust the same . this lever diverts the lateral actuation force to the axial actuation force of the releasing element 4 . in fig3 , the ball joint lock g is shown in its locked position . each ball 16 rests on the surface 15 with pressure and simultaneously on the outer circumference of the peg 13 with pressure . in this manner , the pre - forming mandrel 3 is held down against being pulled off by each ball 16 being supported in the passage 23 and thus in the wall 22 . to release the ball joint lock g and remove the pre - forming mandrel 3 , a force in the direction of the arrow 18 is exerted on the releasing element 4 upwards from the shown passive position , so that the ball 16 is moved upwards along the surface 15 and thereby abandons its action on the peg 13 . the pre - forming mandrel 3 then either falls down automatically , or it is pulled out manually or by means of a non - depicted preform gripper . for inserting a new pre - forming mandrel 3 , the peg 13 only has to be shifted into the push - in seat , for example until the shoulder abuts between the peg 10 and the peg 13 at the wall 22 , and this without actuating the releasing element 4 , whereupon the ball joint lock g automatically takes the locking position , e . g . supported by the spring 24 . the releasing element 4 can be actuated manually or mechanically . fig4 illustrates a change system for pre - forming mandrels , where two mandrel devices d are shown of which the left one still contains the pre - forming mandrel 3 in the mandrel holder 2 , and an actuator b is acting on the releasing element . in the mandrel device d on the right in fig4 , the pre - forming mandrel 3 is already removed from the mandrel holder 2 of the conveyor path f . an automatic or semiautomatic change machine a can be provided for inserting or removing the respective pre - forming mandrel 3 , the machine being either located stationarily at the conveyor path f , or it can be laterally moved and possibly docked to it , or it can even travel along with the conveyance device ( direction arrows 25 ). the automatic machine a can comprise one or several mandrel grippers 26 and drivable actuators b to change one , or simultaneously several , pre - forming mandrels 3 . the automatic machine a either comprises separate drives for the mandrel gripper or grippers 26 , 26 ′ and the actuators b , or it is partially also manually actuated to move the respective mandrel gripper 26 , 26 ′ and / or the respective actuator b during the change . advantageously , the automatic machine a comprises at least one mandrel gripper 26 , 26 ′ for removing pre - forming mandrels da and putting them down in a magazine 27 , and at least one mandrel gripper 26 , 26 ′ for picking up and inserting a new pre - forming mandrel dn each , e . g . from another magazine 28 . the automatic machine a can be designed for carrying out both change activities or only for carrying out one of the change activities . advantageously , the automatic machine a is positioned at a site of the conveyor path where the conveyor path f is diverted and the mandrel holders 2 are thus somewhat further spaced apart than in the straight course of the conveyor path . in this region , good access to the releasing element 4 of each mandrel holder 2 is provided . the mandrel device d according to fig2 and 3 can also be used for other machines , where an object is to be transported or positioned by means of a mandrel , and where different mandrels can be exchanged .
1
referring now to fig3 a cpp magnetic head 10 has an mr element 15 . the width of the mr element extends in the same general direction as the tracks of a magnetic recording medium ( not shown ) placed under the head 10 . a generally extending plane of the mr element 15 is defined by a surface 15 . in fig3 the magnetic head 10 has an upper shield 11 and a lower shield 12 . these two magnetic shields 11 , 12 are fabricated from a soft magnetic material , such as fezrn , with a film thicknesses around 1 to 2 mm . these shields 11 , 12 are electrically conductive and also function as lead terminals . a gap 9 is formed between the shields 11 , 12 . the mr element 15 is located in the gap 9 , and it is electrically connected to the upper shield 11 and the lower shield 12 through electrically conductive upper gap material 13 and lower gap material 14 , respectively . thus , the sense current ( not shown ) flows from the upper shield 11 ( or the lower shield 12 ) through the upper gap material 13 ( or lower gap material 14 ) into the mr element 15 , and then flows perpendicular to plane or surface 15 a through the lower gap material 14 ( or upper gap material 13 ) to the lower shield 12 ( or upper shield 11 ). the mr element 15 described above can be a tmr element or an svmr element . the tmr element can be a laminated film composed of al 2 o 3 as the insulating layer on the bottom , followed by the deposited layers of pdptmn ( 20 )/ co ( 2 )/ al2o3 ( 5 )/ co ( 1 )/ nife ( 2 ) ( the numbers enclosed by parentheses indicate the thickness of each layer in nanometers ( nm ).). a laminated film composed of cu can be used as the nonmagnetic layer on the bottom of the svmr element , followed by the deposited layers of nife ( 2 )/ cofeb ( 4 )/ cu ( 3 )/ cofeb ( 2 . 2 )/ pdptmn ( 25 ). the tmr element and svmr element can also be laminated films with the layers deposited in the reverse order than previously described . electrically conductive copper , gold , silver , platinum , or an alloy composed of these elements can be used for the upper gap material 13 . preferably , the upper gap material 13 is formed from copper with a film thickness about 20 nm . this also applies to the lower gap material 14 . a 20 nm thick copper film can be used for the lower gap material . to form the preferred film formation , however , about 5 nm of tantalum ( ta ) film 16 is formed as an underlayer of the lower gap material 14 . each layer described above can be formed as sequentially deposited layers using conventional thin film fabrication techniques . referring again to fig3 bias portions or bias application layers 21 a , 21 b are provided on ends 15 b , 15 c of the mr element 15 . in fig3 the insulating antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b are respectively , and preferably , placed above the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b . insulating layers 19 a , 19 b are placed below the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b . the biasing portions 21 a , 21 b are provided with left - right symmetry on both ends of the mr element 15 . the antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b are preferably a single 30 - nm thick layer of nio , and can also be iron oxide ( α - fe 2 o 3 ) if it is a single layer . in the alternative , the antiferromagnetic layer 17 a or 17 b can be a laminated body with multiple layers with , for example , insulating cobalt oxide - nickel oxide ( coo — nio ) or iron oxide - nickel oxide ( α - fe 2 o 3 — nio ). in this case , the cobalt oxide or the iron oxide should be placed in contact with the magnetic layer 18 a or 18 b . the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b are preferably 20nm thick and can be either insulating or electrically conductive , depending on the goal of the design . since layers 17 a , 17 b already insulate , magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b can be electrically conductive permalloys such as ( nife ), cobalt or cobalt ferrite ( cofe ). if on the other hand , more insulation to suppress current leaks is desired , the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b can be soft or hard magnetic material . the hard magnetic materials can be cobalt ferrite ( cofe 2 o 4 ), barium ferrite ( bao . 6fe 2 o 3 ) cobalt - platinum - silicon oxide ( copt — sio 2 ), or ferrite metals ( mo . fe 2 o 3 , mo indicates a metal oxide where m is any metal , for example , cu or mg ). the soft magnetic materials mentioned above can be manganese - zinc - ferrite ( mnznfe 2 o 4 ) or nickel - zinc - ferrite ( niznfe 2 o 4 ). the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b are preferably placed in contact with the antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b and with both ends 15 b , 15 c of the mr element 15 . by shifting a b - h loop by exchange coupling with antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b , the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b have their directions of magnetization fixed . as a result , because unidirectional anisotropic magnetic fields are generated in the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b , a stable longitudinal bias magnetic field can be applied from the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b to the mr element 15 . the insulating layers 19 a , 19 b can be formed from material such as alumina ( al 2 o 3 ) to a 30 - nm thicknesses . the insulating layers 19 a , 19 b can also be an insulating antiferromagnetic material , for example , 30 - nm thick nio . the bias application layers 21 a , 21 b form a sandwich including a magnetic layer between two antiferromagnetic layers ( nio / nickel - zinc - ferrite / nio ) so that the magnetic layer 18 a , 18 b is exchange coupled to both antiferromagnetic layers 17 a and 19 a or 17 b and 19 b , respectively , on both ends 15 b , 15 c of the mr element 15 . with this structure , the biasing portions become powerful insulators , and the longitudinal bias magnetic field from the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b is very stable . referring now to fig4 a , the film fabrication process in the method for manufacturing the magnetic head 10 includes forming a fezrn layer about 2 - μm thick as the lower shield 12 by sputtering on an alumina - tantalum carbide substrate ( al 2 o 3 — tic ). on top of this , a tantalum film about 5 - nm thick is formed as the lower gap substrate 16 , and a copper film about 20 - nm thick is formed as the lower gap material 14 . materials for the head 10 are successively deposited by sputtering one layer on top of another layer starting with the lower gap material 14 on the bottom . each layer of the svmr element and the tmr element is formed as described above . then a copper layer about 20 - nm thick is formed on the mr element 15 as the upper gap material 13 . the film fabricating process described above can be implemented as a continuous or a discontinuous process . referring now to fig4 b , about 1 μm wide by about 3 μm high resist 5 is patterned on the upper gap material 13 and then etched by ion milling until the copper of the lower gap material 14 or the tantalum of the lower gap substrate 16 is detected . referring now to fig4 c , after ion milling , the longitudinal bias application layers 17 a to 19 b are formed on both ends of the mr element 15 . the films are successively formed from the bottom up by sputtering . alumina ( al 2 o 3 ) or nio is used for the insulating layers 19 a , 19 b ; nickel - zinc - ferrite is used for the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b ; and nio is used for the antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b . the thicknesses of the layers are about 30 nm , 20 nm , and 30 nm , respectively . then the resist 5 is lifted off . finally , the fezrn film is formed as the upper shield 11 ( shown in fig3 ) on the mr element 15 to complete the magnetic head 10 of fig3 . referring now to fig5 another aspect of the present invention includes a magnetic head 20 . the same reference numbers used for parts in fig3 are assigned to the same parts for fig5 . longitudinal bias application layers or biasing portions 22 a , 22 b of the magnetic head 20 each has two layers , an insulating antiferromagnetic layer 27 a or 27 b and an electrically conductive magnetic layer 28 a or 28 b in contact with the antiferromagnetic layer 27 a or 27 b respectively . the antiferromagnetic layers 27 a , 27 b can be insulating nio . the magnetic layers 28 a , 28 b can be a magnetic material such as electrically conductive nife or cofe . in the magnetic head 20 , the mr element 25 has extensions 23 a , 23 b on both ends 25 a , 25 b of mr element 25 that are part of the biasing portions 22 a , 22 b . on the biasing portions 22 a , 22 b , magnetic layers 28 a , 28 b are disposed between insulating antiferromagnetic layers 27 a , 27 b and the extensions 23 a , 23 b , respectively . thus , at least a portion of the same layer used to form the mr element 25 is present at the lead terminal sides or biasing portions 22 a , 22 b in the laminated structure , but only the region 26 of the mr element 25 interposed between the biasing portions 22 a , 22 b functions as the actual mr element 25 . the magnetic head 20 can be manufactured in the same manner as shown in fig4 a - 4c to manufacture the magnetic head 10 . however , the magnetic head 20 reduces the amount of etching of the mr element 25 required and eliminates the need to etch the lower gap material 14 , since the magnetic head 20 preferably only requires etching through a portion of the mr element 25 ( as best seen in fig5 ). specifically , mr element 25 can be an svmr element with films successively deposited in layers from bottom to top of nife ( 2 nm )/ cofeb ( 1 nm )/ cu ( 3 nm )/ cofeb ( 2 nm )/ pdptmn ( 20 nm )/ nife ( 2 nm ), or a tmr element with films successively deposited in layers from bottom to top as nife ( 2 nm )/ pdptmn ( 20 nm )/ co ( 2 nm )/ al 2 o 3 ( 5 nm )/ co ( 1 nm )/ nife ( 2 nm ). for the longitudinal bias application layers or biasing portions 22 a , 22 b in magnetic head 20 , the svmr element is preferred for suppressing the effect of leakage current . both ends 25 a , 25 b are etched by ion milling until the top layer of nife of the mr element 25 is detected . then the remainder of the biasing portions are formed from a nife magnetic layer 28 about 10 nm thick and an insulating nio antiferromagnetic layer 27 about 40 nm thick . referring now to fig6 a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus 50 equipped with a composite magnetic head 30 has a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk 51 rotatably mounted in the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus 50 . at a specific flying height above the surface of the hard disk 51 , magnetic reproduction is performed by a composite magnetic head 30 , which has the mr element 15 on the reproduction part of the head . the composite magnetic head 30 is fixed to the front end of a slider 71 at the front end of an arm 70 . positioning the composite magnetic head 30 can be accomplished by a two - stage actuator that combines an ordinary actuator and an electromagnetic fine motion actuator . from the description above , it will be appreciated that the free magnetic layers ( not shown ) in the mr elements 15 or 25 have magnetic domains controlled in preferred states by the longitudinal bias magnetic fields originating from the biasing portions 21 a , 21 b or 22 a , 22 b , and specifically from the magnetic layers 18 a , 18 b or 28 a , 28 b due to coupling with the antiferromagnetic layers 17 a , 17 b or 27 a , 27 b respectively . the magnetoresistance effect can then effectively eliminate or reduce problems like barkhausen noise . the antiferromagnetic layers 18 a , 18 b or 27 a , 27 b also suppress the generation of leakage current . consequently , the sense current efficiently flows in the direction perpendicular to the mr elements 15 or 25 , and the magnetic head 10 or 20 can accurately detect the signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium . thus , the biasing portions 21 a , 21 b or 22 a , 22 b replace the known hard films that had strong insulating properties and provided the desired coercive force but were difficult to manufacture . in addition , the yield is improved . it will be appreciated that although magnetic heads 10 , 20 are designed to reproduce the signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium with high sensitivity , either magnetic head 10 or 20 of the present invention can be combined with an inductive thin - film head to form a recording / reproducing head or composite head . although preferred embodiments of the present invention were described above , the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments . various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention as described in the appended claims .
6
fig1 is a schematic view in side elevation showing how the nested cups are formed . fig2 is a plan view of a filter cup according to the invention . fig4 is a detailed view of the cup - forming die and the heating and cooling tube . fig5 is a plan view of the punching die assembly . fig6 is a cross - section taken along line 6 -- 6 of fig5 . fig7 is a side elevation in section of a percolator basket and wand having a filter cup therein . referring now , particularly to fig1 a plurality of single sheets or webs 10 of filter paper are assembled as illustrated into a composite web 12 , which is fed by suitable roller means 14 , 16 , 18 , and 20 into the forming die 22 operated by the ram press 24 , where the composite web 12 is cut and shaped into nested cups 26 , which pass through the heating tube 28 and the cooling tube 30 . the roller 18 is constructed and arranged to take up the slack in the composite web during the forming operation , in which case the roller 14 operates continuously . alternatively , the roller 12 may be operated intermittently to feed the composite web to the forming die 22 as needed . the forming die 22 is provided with an annular cutting ring 32 operating on the annular anvil 34 and is provided with a female portion 36 and a male portion 38 , which latter is operated to and from the position shown in dotted lines by the ram press 24 . the female portion 36 of the die 22 is provided with alternating lands 40 and grooves 42 and the male portion is provided with complementary lands and grooves 44 and 46 adapted to form flutes in the annular portion of the cut filter discs which are clamped between the annular portions of the female and male die portions 36 and 38 . the female portion 36 of the forming die 22 has a tubular extension 48 and the lands and grooves 40 and 42 extend into this tubular extension as shown by the dotted lines up to the shoulder 50 , where the tubular extension 48 is enlarged to receive the heating and cooling tube 52 which is composed of heating section 28 and cooling section 30 . the heating section 28 is provided with one or more heating elements 54 which may be continuous or spaced about its length as shown in fig4 and the whole is lapped with insulating material 56 which may be asbestos , polyurethane foam , or any other suitable insulating material . the female die 36 with its tubular projection 48 is sweated into or otherwise fastened to a collar 58 which is fastened to the ram press 24 by tie rods 60 . the male die member is affixed to the ram 62 of the ram press 24 . the ram 62 is hollow , having a diameter roughly corresponding to that of the forming die . disposed axially in the hollow ram is a pusher 64 , the front end 66 of which has a diameter roughly corresponding to the inside diameter of the nested cups . advantageously , the pusher 64 may slope outwardly as shown at 68 at an angle of between about 1 and 5 degrees and , if desired , may be fluted to provide alternating lands 70 and grooves 72 corresponding , respectively , to the grooves 42 and lands 40 of the female die 36 and its tubular extension 48 . the pusher 64 is affixed to the end of rod 74 which can be actuated by means , not shown , in the ram press 24 to push the composite web out of the die after it has been cut and formed therein and into the tubular extension 48 . after repeated operation as above described , the heating and cooling tube 52 will be filled with a plurality of columnarized nested cups 26 . finally , after the requisite number of operations , one set of nested cups 26 will be ejected from the heating and cooling tube 52 as shown in fig1 . the set of nested cups thus ejected is then transferred either by hand or by mechanical means to a die where a center hole is punched in the bottom of the cup . fig5 shows in fragmentary form a suitable die machine for this purpose , including a turntable 76 adapted to be rotated by indexing means , not shown , from loading station a to punching station b to discharge or unloading station c . a fourth station , d , is shown which may be utilized for unloading or for loading as desired , or may be omitted entirely . each station is provided with a punch die 78 . each punching die 78 is provided with a base 80 having an annular flange 82 at the bottom thereof . the base 80 is secured to the turntable 76 by means of fasteners 84 in the flanges 82 . the base of the die 80 is shaped like a truncated cone , the top surface of which has essentially the same diameter as the bottom of the filter cups and the sides of which slope outwardly and downwardly as shown at 88 substantially at the angle of flare of the nested cups after they are discharged from the cooling tube . ordinarily , it will be sufficient if the sides slope outwardly and downwardly at an angle of about 10 to about 30 degrees . the top of the die base 80 has an axial die - hole 90 , axially aligned with punch 92 . when the nested cups 26 are placed on the die base 80 , as shown in fig6 the cups are automatically centered so that the punch 92 will punch a hole in the bottom of the nested cups which is at the exact center of the several cups in the nest . if desired , a clamp , not shown , may be arranged to press the nested cups firmly in contact with the top 86 of the die base 80 before the punching operation . the individual cups are proportioned to conform with the basket 94 of a standard percolator , not shown . the basket in the form shown in fig7 has an upstanding sidewall 96 and a bottom 98 . the bottom is perforated and , if desired , part or all of the sidewall 96 may be perforated . extending axially upwardly through the basket 94 is a wand 100 . in the form shown , the basket 94 has an axial collar 102 projecting upwardly from the bottom 98 of the basket . the wand 100 has a slidable fit with the collar 102 so that the basket can be removed from the wand and replaced as desired . in some forms of percolators , the basket rests on spring 104 which is affixed to the wand 100 at some lower point 106 . in other forms , not shown , the collar 102 is omitted and the bottom 98 of the basket is attached to the wand . the filter cup 26a produced by the process of the invention is shown in fig2 and 3 . it has an annular bottom 108 with an axial opening 110 of the same diameter as the collar 102 , and upstanding sidewalls 112 . the upstanding sidewalls 112 are provided with a plurality of flutes 114 about the periphery thereof which function , as shown in fig7 and 8 like accordion pleats when the filter cup is placed in the basket of the percolator , thus acting to take up the surplus paper and allowing the cup to assume roughly the cylindrical shape of the basket of the percolator , with the outermost apices of the flutes being substantially entirely in contiguous relationship with the inner wall of the basket of the percolator . in order for the filter cup to effectively assume the cylindrical shape of the basket of the percolator , it is advantageous that the center hole be accurately centered and the flutes be relatively small . preferably , there should be at least 1 flute for every 10 degrees of the periphery of the annular base of the filter cup and , advantageously , 1 flute for at least every 15 degrees . advantageously , also , the filter paper is composed essentially of bleached cellulose fiber from chemically prepared wood pulp which is uncalendered and unsized , is creped about 6 to about 15 percent , has a moisture content between about 3 and about 6 percent , and has about 28 to about 40 pound basis weight . when the filter cups are so constructed and the flutes are heat - set by adequate heating in the heating tube , and adequate cooling in the cooling tube , a filter cup is provided which is inexpensive to make , elegant in appearance , and efficient for its intended purpose . the cooling tube 30 , advantageously , is perforated as shown at 116 and , if desired , the perforations may extend up into the portion of the heating tube 28 which is covered by the heating element 54b . the female member 36 of the forming die 22 is dish - shaped or concave , whereas the male portion 38 is convex . this facilitates the pulling out of the annular fluted portions from the die when the pusher 64 engages the central portion of the cut and formed composite web to push it into the tubular extension 48 . thus , the annular portion of the female member 36 slopes upwardly as shown in fig4 and the annular portion of the male member 38 has a complementary slope . the angle of slope ordinarily is around 10 to 15 degrees , but , if desired , may range from an angle of about 10 to about 30 degrees . the length of the heating tube 28 and the length of the cooling tube 30 is not critical and may be varied over a wide range consistent with the purpose of obtaining a good set of the flutes in the filter cup . it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact details of the operation or structure shown and described as obvious modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art .
1
fig1 shows a schematic view of a pull string 801 according to the present invention . pull string 801 includes , for example , a plurality of knots 501 - 507 arranged along its length , the knots being separated by a plurality of string segments 401 - 406 . it can be understood that many different elements could take the place of and perform the function of knots 501 - 507 . for example , solid objects could be glued , clamped , or otherwise fixed to the pull string 801 . alternatively ( or in addition ), a liquid could be applied to points on the string , the liquid beading and then hardening into a solid . other variations are possible . for purposes of clarity , the description below employs only the term “ knot ,” but that term is intended to include those embodiments described above as well as other suitable embodiments . it should thus not be construed as a limitation on the present invention . fig2 shows an embodiment of a ligating band dispenser including the pull string of fig1 . the ligating band dispenser includes , for example , a substantially cylindrical housing having a distal support surface 100 and an adaptor 101 designed to couple the ligating band dispenser to an endoscope or other suitable device ( not shown ). while being substantially cylindrical , the housing may have features not shown in the drawings such as a slight taper towards the distal end ( the distal end being located to the right in the figures ). the ligating band dispenser includes , for example , a substantially cylindrical channel 111 ( not shown on the side views ) extending therethrough . support surface 100 includes , for example , a plurality of slots 301 - 306 , which are smaller , for example , than the knots 501 - 506 . fig2 illustrates a ligating band dispenser holding , for example , six ligating bands 201 - 206 , but the ligating device may include any suitable number of bands . the ligating band dispenser may also include , for example , a substantially cylindrical casing 103 attached to the ligating band dispenser , for example , at or near the proximal end of the distal support surface 100 . casing 103 may cover the distal support surface 100 to ease insertion of the device and to ensure that bands 201 - 206 remain in place while the device travels through the body . as can be seen from fig2 casing 103 may extend further distally than support surface 100 . casing 103 may also include , for example , an outlet hole 105 near its distal end so that pull string 801 may be drawn beyond support surface 100 , outside casing 103 and away from the lesion and bands 201 - 206 . further , casing 103 may include an inlet hole 107 near its proximal end so that pull string 801 may be threaded , for example , into adaptor 101 and through the endoscope to the operator . the arrangement of bands 201 - 206 and pull string 801 begins , for example , with the proximal - most band 201 ( that is , the band appearing furthest to the left of fig2 ). knot 501 is placed and retained , for example , behind slot 301 . the term “ behind ” in this context designates a position within channel 111 . as shown schematically in the figures , slots 301 - 306 may be shaped , for example , to accommodate knots 501 - 507 in a position behind slots 301 - 306 and to retain knots 501 - 507 in place . with knot 501 retained in place , the pull string 801 may be threaded through slot 301 , so that pull string 801 is outside the ligating band dispenser , and extended proximally along the distal support surface 100 . band 201 is then stretched over support surface 100 and placed , for example , over pull string 801 near the proximal end of support surface 100 . once band 201 is in place , the pull string 801 may , for example , be looped back over band 201 . pull string 801 is then threaded , for example , down through slot 301 and back up through slot 302 . in this manner , knot 502 is retained , for example , between slots 301 and 302 ( e . g . behind slot 302 ). therefore , as shown in the exemplary arrangement of fig2 string segment 401 is wrapped around band 201 , with any slack portion 601 of string segment 401 resting , for example , along the distal support surface 100 proximal to band 201 . slack portion 601 may , of course , be longer or shorter than pictured in fig2 and other figures . with knot 502 retained , for example , behind slot 302 , pull string 801 can again be extended proximally along the support surface 100 . band 202 may then be stretched over the support surface 100 and placed , for example , just distal of band 201 . for purposes of clarity , fig2 illustrates some distance between the bands 201 - 206 . bands 201 - 206 , however , may contact each other if desired . once band 202 is in place , pull string 801 may be looped over band 202 and threaded through slots 302 and 303 so that knot 503 is retained behind slot 303 . the slack portion 602 of string segment 402 ( the portion of pull string 801 looped around band 202 ) may extend proximally over the support surface 100 and be tucked under band 201 . in the same manner , pull string 801 may again be extended proximally over support surface 100 . band 203 may then be placed over pull string 801 and support surface 100 , and pull string 801 may be looped back over band 203 and wound through the appropriate slots . this process may continue until remaining bands 604 - 606 are arranged in the same manner . specifically , each band 604 - 606 is placed , for example , distally of the previous bands , with the corresponding knot 504 - 506 retained behind a corresponding slot 304 - 306 . knot 507 may also be retained , for example , behind slot 306 , thereby ensuring that pull string 801 does not migrate distally . it may be noted that , when referring to pull string 801 , “ distally ” refers to a direction along pull string 801 itself away from the operator , without reference to “ distal ” or “ proximal ” portions of the support surface 100 . as shown in fig2 the slack portions 603 - 606 of string segments 403 - 406 may be extended proximally over the support housing and , for example , over any proximal bands except band 201 . slack portions 603 - 606 may then , for example , be tucked under band 201 . it will understood that as each slack portion 601 - 606 is placed on support surface 100 , the corresponding slack increases in each case unless string segments 401 - 406 decrease in length . while string segments 401 - 406 of decreasing length may be employed , in an exemplary embodiment string segments 401 - 406 are equal or substantially equal in length . in this exemplary embodiment , pull string 801 may then be drawn by a spooler ( not shown ), which may take up the same amount of thread with rotation , for example the amount of thread required to deploy one of bands 201 - 206 . to deploy bands 201 - 206 , the ligating band dispenser is fixed , for example , to the end of an endoscope ( not shown ), inserted into the body , and maneuvered to the desired location . once the ligating device reaches the desired location , suction , for example , is applied to the lesion as known in the art so that the lesion is drawn , for example , into channel 111 . the operator may then draw pull string 801 proximally ( or cause pull string 801 to be so drawn ), so that string segment 406 arranged around band 206 is drawn , for example , through the outlet hole 105 and proximally to the operator . pull string 801 thus takes up the slack portion 606 and begins to urge band 206 toward the distal end of support surface 100 . because knot 506 is retained behind slot 306 , the portion of the pull string 801 arranged around bands 201 - 205 is not drawn toward the operator , and bands 201 - 205 remain in place . upon reaching the distal end of the support surface 100 , band 206 will deploy to ligate the tissue drawn into the channel 111 . the deployment may be facilitated , for example , by a taper or bevel of the distal end of support surface 100 ( not shown ). with the band deployed , knot 506 is freed from slot 306 . when the pull string 801 is further drawn to the operator , knot 506 will exit , for example , the outlet hole 105 , allowing band 205 to be deployed in a manner described above . this process may continue with an operator ligating successive portions of tissue with each of the bands 202 - 206 until all of the bands 202 - 206 have been deployed . when the ligating band dispenser is fixed to the distal end of an endoscope , the support surface 100 is preferably oriented so that the point where the string 801 extends from the distal rim of the support surface 100 is as close as possible to the lumen of the endoscope through which the string 801 extends back to the operator . this ensures that the string 801 does not interfere with either the field of vision or the drawing of tissue into the channel 111 . fig3 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a ligating band dispenser according to the present invention . this second exemplary embodiment includes a second substantially cylindrical support layer 100 a disposed , for example , within support layer 100 . second support layer 100 a could also be disposed outside support layer 100 , for example between support layer 100 and outer casing 103 . fig3 also shows support layer 100 extending , for example , further distally than second support layer 100 a , but this configuration may also be reversed . second support layer 100 a contains , for example , additional slots ( represented by slot 301 a ), which have the same configuration , for example , as slots 301 - 306 . second support layer 100 a allows the ligating device to hold a greater number of bands without unsuitably extending the length of the ligating band dispenser . additional bands ( not shown ) may be arranged on second support layer 100 a , for example , in the same manner as bands 201 - 206 are arranged on support layer 100 . pull string 801 may include additional knots to deploy the additional bands ( represented by knot 501 a ). these additional bands may , for example , be placed on the ligating band dispenser prior to bands 201 - 206 . bands 201 - 206 may then be arranged as described above . in this manner , band 206 will , for example , be deployed first , followed by bands 201 - 205 in descending order . after bands 201 - 206 are deployed , the additional knots will deploy the additional bands , for example one at a time as described above , until all bands are deployed . fig4 and 5 illustrate an alternative arrangement of the bands and pull string 801 . the dispenser of fig4 deploys , for example , three bands 201 - 203 . accordingly , pull string 801 includes , for example , only four knots 501 - 504 , separated by three string segments 401 - 403 . the dispenser , however , still includes , for example , six slots 301 - 306 . to arrange bands 201 - 203 , knot 501 and knot 502 are placed and retained , for example , behind slots 301 and 303 , respectively . string segment 401 , which forms a loop with knots 501 and 502 retained , is extended proximally and placed against the external face of the support surface 100 . band 201 may then be stretched over support surface 100 and placed over string segment 401 . with band 201 in place , string segment 401 may be folded , for example , back over band 201 and looped between slots 501 and 502 , as shown in fig5 . this arrangement forms two loops 401 a and 401 b around band 201 , which will both urge band 201 distally when the pull string 801 is drawn towards the operator . two slack portions 601 and 602 of loops 401 a and 401 b are also formed . these may lay proximally against the external face of the support surface 100 , and may , for example , be of equal length . alternatively , slack portion 602 may be pulled proximally , thereby extending slack portion 602 and decreasing slack portion 601 until slack portion 601 is minimized ( i . e . until loop 401 a has no slack portion 601 ). in this manner , when band 201 is deployed , all the slack portions 601 and 602 will be taken up before either loop 401 a or loop 401 b applies a force to band 201 . once band 201 is placed on the support surface 100 , the pull string 801 may be threaded up slot 303 and back down slot 304 , and knot 503 may be retained , for example , behind slot 305 . string segment 402 is extended , for example , proximally along the external face of the support surface 100 , and band 202 is then placed over string segment 402 . with band 202 in place , string segment 402 may be folded back over band 202 and looped around slots 503 and 504 . this creates loops 402 a and 402 b and slack portions 603 and 604 , which may be arranged as described above . slack portion 603 , slack portion 604 , or both may be tucked , for example , under band 201 . band 203 may be similarly placed on the support surface 100 . knot 504 may be retained behind slot 306 to prevent , for example , distal migration of the pull string 801 . in addition , slack portion 605 , slack portion 606 , or both may each be tucked , for example , under band 201 , 202 , or both . note that outer casing 103 , while not shown in fig4 and 5 , may be included in this exemplary embodiment . other elements not specifically described in conjunction with this particular exemplary embodiment may also be included . it can be understood that this is generally true for each exemplary embodiment described herein : for purposes of clarity , certain elements shown in one pictured embodiment may not appear in other pictured embodiments , but these elements may be included when not shown if desired . fig6 illustrates an exemplary ligating band dispenser with the band / pull line arrangement of fig4 and 5 , having , for example , a second support layer 100 a . the second support layer 100 a shown in fig6 may have , for example , the same structure as the second support layer of fig3 . likewise , the arrangement of the second support layer 100 a of fig6 is analogous to the arrangement of the second support layer of fig3 . specifically , additional bands ( not shown ) may be placed on second support layer 100 a using , for example , the arrangement described above with respect to the embodiment of fig4 and 5 . once the additional bands have been loaded , bands 201 - 203 may be loaded , for example , as described with respect to the embodiment of fig4 and 5 . in use , band 203 will , for example , be deployed first , followed by bands 202 and 201 . the additional bands may then be deployed , with the distal - most additional band being deployed first , for example , followed by the remaining additional bands . fig7 and 8 illustrate another exemplary embodiment of a ligating band dispenser according to the present invention , the ligating band dispenser including a plurality of axially - running grooves 109 formed on the external face of support surface 100 . grooves 109 , which reduce friction between bands 201 - 206 ( not shown ) and support surface 100 , are formed , for example , around the entire circumference of support surface 100 . in addition , slots 301 - 306 may each be aligned , for example , along the center of one of grooves 109 . fig9 shows an end view of a ligating band dispenser having grooves 109 of fig7 and 8 . the exemplary embodiment of fig9 includes a second support surface 100 a . as with the embodiment of fig7 and 8 , slots 301 - 306 , as well as slots 301 a - 306 a of support surface 100 a , may be aligned , for example , with grooves 109 . moreover , slots 301 - 306 may , as a group , be circumferentially offset from slots 301 a - 306 a . this offset allows the pull wire 801 , for example , to traverse the slots 301 - 306 , 301 a - 306 a without excessive circumferential motion . in addition , the relatively small distance between slots 306 and 301 a eliminates the possibility of the pull string 801 not having sufficient length to loop around the bands associated with slots 306 and 301 a . fig1 - 13 illustrate further exemplary embodiments of a ligating band dispenser according to the present invention . the embodiments shown in fig1 - 13 may deploy , for example , six bands 201 - 206 , but a greater of lesser number of bands may be included . in these embodiments , support surface 100 does not , for example , include any of slots 301 - 306 to retain knots 501 - 506 . instead , knots 501 - 506 are actively employed , for example , to urge bands 201 - 206 towards the distal end of support surface 100 for deployment . in the embodiment of fig1 , in order to arrange bands 201 - 206 and pull string 801 , knot 501 of pull string 801 is arranged , for example , on the external face of support surface 100 , with pull string 801 extending from knot 501 distally along support surface 100 . as shown in fig1 , knot 501 is disposed , for example , at the extreme distal end of pull string 801 . band 201 may then be stretched over support surface 100 and pull string 801 , and placed over pull string 801 just distal of knot 501 . pull string 801 is then wound , for example , around support surface 100 , for example clockwise when viewed from the distal end of the ligating band dispenser , so that knot 501 rests distal of band 201 . the length of string segments 401 - 405 may be such that the pull string 801 winds , for example , approximately once around support surface 100 before the next knot ( in this case , knot 502 ) rests against support surface 100 . once knot 502 rests against support surface 100 , band 202 may be stretched over support surface 100 and placed over pull string 801 just distal of knot 502 . again , pull string 801 may be wound , for example , around support surface 100 until knot 503 rests against support surface 100 , at which point band 203 may be placed over pull string 801 just distal of knot 503 . this process may continue until all bands 201 - 206 are arranged on the support surface 100 . to deploy bands 201 - 206 , the ligating band dispenser may be placed over a lesion as described above and the lesion may be drawn into the distal end of the ligating band dispenser as known in the art . once in place , pull string 801 may be drawn , for example , proximally through the endoscope ( not shown ) towards an operator . as pull string 801 is drawn proximally , knot 506 will be drawn distally along support surface 100 , contacting band 206 and pulling band 206 towards the distal end of support surface 100 and eventually deploying band 206 . as knot 506 is pulled , pull string 801 unwinds , for example , around support surface 100 , taking up any slack in pull string 801 . after band 206 is deployed and any slack taken up ( which may be accomplished , for example , with one turn of a spool taking up pull string 801 ), the ligating band dispenser is ready to deploy band 205 . as described above , when the ligating band dispenser is fixed to the distal end of an endoscope , the support surface 100 is preferably oriented so that the point where the string 801 extends from the distal rim of the support surface 100 is as close as possible to the lumen of the endoscope through which the string 801 extends back to the operator . this ensures that the string 801 does not interfere with either the field of vision or the drawing of tissue into the channel 111 . this also allows the operator to employ the lumen to introduce other devices to the distal end of the endoscope . fig1 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a ligating band dispenser having an arrangement similar to the dispenser of fig1 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , however , a plurality of knots may be employed between each pair of bands 201 - 206 . for example , knot 506 of fig1 corresponds to knots 506 a - 506 d of fig1 . these additional knots ensure that even if one of knots 506 a - 506 d ( e . g . knot 506 a in fig1 ) slips under band 206 , band 206 will not be stranded on support surface 100 . of course , more or less than four knots may be used . in addition , although fig1 shows only one knot behind band 201 , additional knots may be included behind band 201 as well . fig1 and 13 illustrate alternative arrangements of string segments 401 - 405 , which essentially form slack between knots 50 - 506 . in the arrangement of fig1 , string segments 401 - 405 are , for example , looped and arranged proximally along support surface 100 . these may be tucked , for example , under any bands proximal to the corresponding knot , tucked under all such bands , or lain over top of such bands . in the arrangement of fig1 , string segments 401 - 405 are wound , for example , around support surface 100 as in fig1 . in the arrangement of fig1 , however , the direction of winding changes for each consecutive string segment 401 - 405 , creating a “ zig - zag ” path of the pull string 801 . fig1 illustrates a further exemplary feature of a ligating band dispenser according to the present invention , a guide ring 115 . to prevent any precession of the pull string 801 around the support surface 100 , pull string 801 may be threaded , for example , through guide ring 115 . guide ring 115 may be disposed , for example , on the internal face of support surface 100 ( i . e . within channel 111 ). guide ring 115 may , of course , be present in any of the embodiments described above . the present invention has been described with respect to several exemplary embodiments . there are many modifications of the disclosed embodiments which will be apparent to those of skill in the art . it is understood that these modifications are within the teaching of the present invention which is to be limited only by the claims .
0
the uv curable compound includes any compound which polymerizes by a free radical process and which contains reactive unsaturated groups . the preferred compounds have carbon - carbon double bonds . a still more preferred composition contains at least a part and preferably consists essentially all of an alkenyl functional polysiloxane as the uv curable compound . exemplary of suitable reactive unsaturated groups are : acrylics , methacrylics , styrenics , acrylamides , acrylonitriles , vinyl acetates , alkynes , and alkenes such as vinyl and allyl . exemplary of suitable uv curable compounds , which are well known to those skilled in the art , are : siloxanes having alkene reactive groups as illustrated by u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 064 , 027 , 4 , 596 , 720 and 4 , 608 , 270 ; triorganosiloxane - endblocked polydiorganosiloxane fluids having mercaptoalkyl radicals ; mercapto - olefins and a methylvinyl polysiloxane as illustrated by u . s . pat . no . 4 , 052 , 529 ; organopolysiloxanes having acrylic functionality such as exemplified by gb no . 2 151 243 a , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 697 , 026 , and 4 , 563 , 539 , methacrylate functional polymers ; acetylenic functional polymers ; acrylated polymers such as urethanes , epoxies , and acrylic esters ; unsaturated polyesters such as polyvinylesters and polyvinyl acetals ; vinyl endblocked butadiene and polyisoprene polymers and oligomers ; and organopolysiloxanes containing acrylamidoalkyl functionality . typical polysilanes for use in the invention are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos ., 4 , 260 , 780 , 4 , 276 , 424 , 4 , 314 , 956 , 4 , 324 , 901 , and jp no . 58 : 049 , 717 . they include linear and branched peralkyl polysilanes , such as me ( me 2 si ) x me and me ( phmesi ) x me , cyclic peralkyl polysilanes such as ( me 2 si ) x and ( phmesi ) x , and polysilacycloalkanes , but is preferably a cyclosilane of the formula : wherein r and r &# 39 ; are independently selected from aliphatic and aromatic radicals , and x is an integer of from 4 through 7 . in the above formula , and elsewhere in the specification and claims , me and ph represent the methyl and phenyl radicals respectively . suitable aromatic radicals include aryl such as phenyl , naphthyl , and benzyl and may be substituted with alkyl and alkoxy groups of from 1 to 10 carbon atoms , and other substituents such as halogen , carboxylate and nitrogen containing groups . suitable aliphatic radicals are alkyl groups which have from 1 to 10 carbon atoms , which can be substituted with halogen , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , cyclohexyl , 3 , 3 , 3 - trifluoropropyl , and tertiary butyl . the most preferred silane has the formula : the peroxide should be compatible in the composition and be activated by uv light to form free radicals . only a minor but effective amount of peroxide , and silane is required . generally , from about 0 . 1 % to about 10 % of each or preferably from 2 % to 5 % is employed of each . exemplary of suitable peroxides ( to include peroxy compounds ) are : dibenzoyl peroxide , cumene hydroperoxide , di - t - butyl peroxide , diacetyl peroxide , hydrogen peroxide , peroxydisulphates , and 2 , 2 - bis ( terbutylperoxy )- 2 , 5 - dimethylhexane . while the thickness of the coating will depend upon the particular use , typical coatings will have a thickness of between about 2 mils and about 500 mils . coatings can be applied to glass , metals , electrical and electronic devices and other conventional substrates by conventional techniques such as draw bar coating , and dip coating . the compositions can be cured by exposure to a dose of ultraviolet ( uv ) radiation by conventional equipment such as a broad spectrum wavelength ultraviolet source . the compositions may require high doses of uv radiation to cure in air but readily cure under an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen in the amount of as little as 200 millijoules per square centimeter and still heat cure in the shadow areas or dark areas , i . e ., where the composition is not exposed to the ultraviolet radiation . as is well known in the art , shadow cure is beneficial in that it allows one to cure areas that are not easily cured by uv to obtain optimum cured physical properties . the temperature necessary to heat cure the compositions will depend upon the particular composition but will generally be between about 80 ° c . and about 150 ° c . conventional heating equipment can be employed such as convection ovens and infrared cure reactors . it does not matter whether the composition is first subjected to uv radiation or first heated but it is preferred to subject it to uv radiation for ease of handling . if desired , other compatible ingredients can be incorporated in the composition and are well known to those skilled in the art . typical ingredients include reinforcing agents , thickeners , flow control additives , adhesion additives , and other conventional processing and performance aids . all patents and other references referred to herein are incorporated by reference . the following examples will serve to illustrate the invention . all parts and percentages in said examples and elsewhere in the specification and claims , are by weight unless otherwise indicated . wherein me is methyl , and vi is vinyl , various compositions were prepared as shown in the following table . the compositions were prepared by making a physical blend of the desired ingredients in a vial . the compositions were prepared using 20 g portions of the uv curable polysiloxane . to the 20 g portions was added the desired amount of photosensitization system . compositions containing ( me 2 si ) 6 were prepared by first adding it to the uv curable polysiloxane , heating for several minutes at 80 ° c . to aid disolution , cooling and then adding the remainder of the photosensitization system . uv cure was obtained by placing a 10 g portion of the composition in an aluminum weighing dish ( approx . 2 &# 34 ; in diameter ) and irridating with an ultraviolet cure unit ( ashdee uv - 12h / 2 horizontal cure reactor manufactured by ashdee products , koch technical division ) which contained two median pressure hg vapor arc lamps . the conveyor speed was 33 ft / min and both lamps were on the high setting . this resulted in an irradiation time of 3 . 65 sec . and a dose of 112 mj / cm 2 for each pass . the cure dose was obtained using a uv powermeter equipped with a 365 nm filter manufactured by optical associates , inc . time was allotted for samples to cool between passes . the appearance at the surface of the composition , whether fluid or cured , was then noted . next , the cured thickness was measured with a hand held caliper manufactured by b . c . ames company , waitham , mass . the cured thickness was first measured without releasing the pressure foot . the pressure foot was then released and a second thickness measured . in this manner a measure of the uv cure depth ( no pressure reading ) and also the cure effectiveness ( pressure reading ) was obtained . the larger either reading , the better the uv cure . thermal cure response was measured by placing 5 g of the composition into an aluminum weighing dish or placing 1 g of the composition into a small capped vial , followed by thermal aging in a forced air oven for 1 hour at 128 ° c . table i shows the results of both heat curing and subjecting several compositions to uv radiation . of the seven compositions , only the last is a composition of the invention ( b + c ), and it can be seen that it was the only composition to cure both on the surface and to the bottom . table i__________________________________________________________________________photosensitization system uv cure response . sup . btype amount ( pph ) heat . sup . a cure 1 min 2 min 4 min surface__________________________________________________________________________ * a 4 n / n gel gel 15 / 3 cured * b 4 n / y 160 . sup . c / 91 160 . sup . c / 141 160 . sup . c / 152 fluid * b 8 n / y 160 . sup . c / 118 160 . sup . c / 142 160 . sup . c / 154 fluid * c 1 n / n . sup . 40 / 6 45 / 7 55 / 8 cured * a + b1 + 8 n / y gel gel 90 / 7 cured * a + c8 + 1 n / n gel gel gel cured b + c8 + 1 y / y 160 . sup . c / 27 160 . sup . c / 104 160 . sup . c / 149 cured__________________________________________________________________________ pph = parts of additive per 100 parts uv curable compound . sup . a first letter open container ( weighing dish ), second closed ( capped vial ), cured 1 hr @ 128 ° c . n = no cure , y = yes cured . . sup . b depth of cure in mils . first value no pressure . second value squeezed between caliper . . sup . c cured to bottom of container . ( 160 mils ) a = 2hydroxy - 2 - methyl - phenylpropan - 1 - one b = dit - butyl peroxide c = dodecamethylcyclohexasilane * included for purposes of comparison the above procedure was repeated employing a vinyl functional polymer of the average structural formula the other ingredients were the same and the results are shown in table ii . of the six compositions , only the last ( b + c ) is a composition of this invention . table ii______________________________________photosensitization system uv cure response . sup . btype amount ( pph ) 4 min surface______________________________________ * a 2 . sup . 55 / 32 cured * b 2 160 . sup . c / 94 fluid * b 4 160 . sup . c / 152 fluid * c 2 . sup . 40 / 15 cured * a + c 2 + 2 . sup . 65 / 24 cured b + c 8 + 1 160 . sup . c / 154 cured______________________________________ . sup . c cured to bottom of container ( 160 mils ) . sup . b as defined in table i * included for purposes of comparison from the data reported in the tables , it can be seen that only the compositions with the dual photoinitiators of this invention provide both a surface cure and a deep cure . similar results are found with the other materials of the invention described , and they can be both shadow cured and heat cured . the above disclosure contains the best mode and describes a number of materials which can be employed . nevertheless , obvious modifications may appear to one of ordinary skill and thus the invention is intended to be limited only by the appended claims .
2
referring now to the accompanying drawings , a detailed description will be made of a preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 there is shown a motion control apparatus for a vehicle , which detects yawing motion occurring in the vehicle , and also controls motion of the vehicle in a stable condition by utilizing the detected yawing motion . in this drawing , yawing momentum of the vehicle is detected by employing an acceleration sensor ( will be referred to a &# 34 ; g - sensor &# 34 ;). more specifically , a yawing - angle acceleration and a yawing angular velocity are detected , and then the yawing motion of the vehicle is controlled by utilizing the yawing - angle acceleration and the yawing angular velocity as a feedback signal . in this motion control apparatus , there are provided two g - sensors &# 34 ; g a &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; g b &# 34 ;, and also another sensor 14 . furthermore , there are employed as an apparatus for controlling yawing motion of a vehicle , for instance , an anti - lock break system ( will be referred to as an &# 34 ; abs &# 34 ;) 15 , a four - wheel steering system ( will be referred to as a &# 34 ; 4ws &# 34 ;) 16 and so on . in addition , there is provided a control unit 6 for receiving signals derived from the above - described sensors and for performing a predetermined calculation process so as to control actuators of abs , 4ws and the like . first , two g - sensors &# 34 ; g a &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; g b &# 34 ; will now be explained . a pair of these g - sensors are symmetrically arranged in a plane which vertically intersects a vertical axis passing through the center of gravity of a vehicle . specifically , as shown in fig2 these g - sensors are mounted on a plane parallel to a floor plane of the vehicle 100 in such a manner that they are provided on both symmetrical positions with respect to a center line &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of a vehicle 100 along a driving direction ( namely , a left direction as viewed in this figure ). the mounting directions of these sensors are indicated by arrows &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; ii &# 34 ;. in other words , these sensors are mounted in the above - explained plane in such a way that they are directed opposite to the driving direction of the vehicle . such g - sensors will now be described more in detail . as shown in fig4 the g - sensors are semi - conductor g - sensors for utilizing the electrostatic servo system . in this sensor example of fig4 inertia force is exerted to an inertia body 30 when acceleration is applied thereto along either direction depicted by the arrow , and thus a cantilever 31 is deflected so that the position thereof is moved in a direction along which the acceleration is applied . at the same time , in response to a change occurring in a size of a space between the inertia body 30 , and also electrodes 34 and 35 formed on insulating plates 32 and 33 , a capacitance ( electrostatic capacity ) of a capacitor formed by two upper / lower electrodes 34 , 35 and the inertia body 30 . generally speaking , a capacitance &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; of a capacitor is expressed as follows : where symbol &# 34 ; ε &# 34 ; indicates dielectric constant , symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; denotes an area of an electrode , and symbol &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; represents a size of a space . that is to say , the g - sensor used in the present invention , detects acceleration by an acceleration detecting circuit 36 by utilizing such an acceleration dependency of this capacitance . an acceleration detecting system is a so - called electrostatic servo system in which a voltage appearing between the electrodes is controlled based on an amount of feedback received in response to a certain degree of the detected acceleration , so that the position of the inertia body 30 is continuously positioned at a center between two electrodes 34 and 35 . in an acceleration detecting circuit 36 , a variation amount &# 34 ; δc &# 34 ; of the capacitance &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is detected by a detector 37 , the detected variation amount &# 34 ; δc &# 34 ; is amplified by an amplifier 38 , and then , for example , a pulse - width - modulation ( pwm ) inverter 39 is controlled in such a manner that this resultant signal becomes zero ( 0 ). also , such a control is carried out that the inertia body 30 is always positioned at constant position ( namely , a center between the electrodes 34 and 35 ) by way of the electrostatic force exerted on both of the electrodes 34 and 35 , by applying a voltage signal which is obtained by converting an output from the pwm inverter 39 in a converter 40 , to the electrodes 34 and 35 vertically arranged in relation to each other . then , the control signal from the pwm inverter 39 is input via a low - pass filter 41 into an amplifier 42 , and acceleration is produced from an output of this amplifier 42 . a relationship between the output from the &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; sensor and the acceleration is represented as a solid line in fig5 . this output characteristic ( namely , indicated by a solid line 18 of this figure ) is referred to a basic output characteristic of this &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; sensor . also , other sensors 14 include the known various sensors such as a parking brake switch 41 , a foot brake switch 42 , a wheel speed sensor 3 , a steering wheel angle sensor 4 , a vehicle speed sensor or the like . referring back to fig1 in an apparatus 7 for controlling yawing motion of a vehicle , the abs 15 is constructed of an abs control unit 10 and an abs actuator 12 , and on the other hand , the 4ws 16 is arranged by a 4ws control unit 11 and a 4ws actuator 13 . then , a control unit 6 is constructed of , as shown in fig3 a central processing unit ( cpu ) 150 , a read - only memory ( rom ) 151 functioning as a storage device , and a random access memory ( ram ) 152 . the cpu 150 executes a predetermined calculation on four fundamental arithmetic rules , a comparison calculation , and also a control of input / output signals , whereas the rom 151 stores therein constants used in the above - described calculations or the like and programs . the ram 152 is employed so as to store variables or the like . further , this control unit 6 is constructed of , as represented in fig1 a yawing - momentum calculating unit 8 , a yawing - momentum predicting unit 9 , an abs control unit 10 and a 4ws control unit 11 , in view of controlling contents . the flow of signals among these constructive units are indicated by the arrows of fig1 . first , both a signal θ f derived from the steering wheel angle sensor 4 , and a signal v derived from the vehicle speed sensor 5 are input into the yawing - momentum predicting unit 9 . then , yawing momentum ω t and d / dt ( ωt ) of the vehicle is inferred based upon these signals by this yawing - momentum predicting unit 9 . the yawing - momentum calculating unit 8 received as input signals , output signals from the g - sensors g a , g b ; a signal ss from the parking brake switch 1 ; a signal fs from the foot break switch 2 ; a signal wv from the vehicle speed sensor 3 , a signal θ f from the steering wheel angle sensor 4 , and also a signal f abs from the abs control unit 10 . then , both ωs and d / dt ( ωs ) are calculated by the yawing - momentum calculating unit 8 as the yawing momentum in accordance with a method ( will be discussed later ). on the other hand , the signal fs from the foot brake switch 2 , the signal wv from the wheel speed sensor 3 , the signal v from the vehicle speed sensor 5 , the yawing - momentum signal ωs , d / dt ( ωs ) from the yawing - momentum detecting unit 8 , and also the inferred yawing - momentum signal ωt , d / dt ( ωt ) from the yawing - momentum predicting unit 9 are input into the above - described abs control unit 10 . based on these signals , the abs control unit 10 outputs to the abs actuator 12 , a signal capable of controlling the yawing motion , while maintaining the braking force or effect . also , the yawing - momentum signal ωs , d / dt ( ωs ) from the yawing - momentum calculating unit 8 , the signal θ f from the steering wheel angle sensor 4 , the signal v from the vehicle speed sensor 5 , and furthermore the inferred yawing - momentum signal ωt , d / dt ( ωt ) from the yawing - momentum predicting unit 9 are supplied to the 4ws control unit 11 , so that a control signal for controlling the yawing motion of the vehicle is output to the 4ws actuator 13 based on these signals . referring now to fig6 a method for obtaining the yawing momentum ωs and d / dt ( ωs ) of the vehicle based on the output signals s ga and s gb derived from the g - sensors g a and g b , which is carried out in the above - explained yawing - momentum calculating unit 8 , will be described more in detail . first of all , the signals s ga and s gb derived from the g - sensors g a and g b are fetched into a g - sensor output fetching unit 19 , so that these signals are filtered to eliminate noise components and the like therefrom . the characteristics of the signals s ga and s gb which have been filtered by the g - sensor output fetching unit 19 , are different from the basic output characteristic 18 shown in fig5 due to variations in the characteristics of the g sensors per se , changes in ambient temperatures of the g - sensors , positional shifts and angular shifts in setting of the g - sensors , and the like . for example , in case that a sensing axis of the g - sensors ( namely , corresponding to a direction along which the inertia body 30 is moved shown in fig4 i . e ., a vertical direction ) is inclined by a predetermined amount with respect to the horizontal direction , due to the positional shifts and angular shifts in setting of the g - sensors , the outputs from the g - sensors may be influenced by the gravitational acceleration , the output characteristic of which is different from the above - described basic output characteristic . accordingly , for instance , when the output signals s ga and s gb from one pair of g - sensors g a and g b represent such a characteristic as shown in fig7 a , a reference output value for zero - point correction ( s gs ) is determined based on output values ( sg1 - 0 , sg2 - 0 ) of the g - sensors under such conditions that the acceleration applied to the g - sensors corresponds to 0g ( e . g ., when the vehicle is stopped ) in the zero - point correcting unit 20 . also , in the zero - point correcting unit 20 , a neutral point of this reference output value ( s gs ) is coincident with another neutral point of the non - reference output values ( s g7 , s g2 ) by moving the non - reference output characteristic in a parallel form based on a difference between the basic output value ( s gs ) and the non - reference output values ( s g1 , s g2 ). with the above - described correcting operations , the output characteristics of the g - sensors become such characteristics , as shown by symbols s g1 &# 39 ; and s g2 &# 39 ;, that neutral points thereof are coincident with each other . furthermore , in a span correcting unit 21 , a span correcting reference output is determined based upon an output value when acceleration applied to the g - sensor becomes a certain value . then , a non - reference output characteristic is converted based on a comparison between an incline of the reference output s gs and inclines of the non - reference outputs s g1 &# 39 ; and s g2 &# 39 ;, and therefore output characteristics s g1 &# 34 ; and s g2 &# 34 ; are obtained as shown in fig7 c , in which both neutral points and inclines thereof are coincident with each other . subsequently , the yawing momentum is calculated based on the output signals whose output characteristics have been corrected in accordance with the above - described manner in the yawing - momentum calculating unit 22 . the principle of calculating this yawing momentum will now be explained in detail with reference to fig2 . assuming now that the center 23 of gravity of the vehicle 100 is selected to be an origin in an x - y coordinate system , a positive direction of the y axis is set to a driving direction of the vehicle 100 ( namely , the left direction as viewed in fig2 ), and also a positive direction of the x axis is set to an upper direction of this drawing . it should be noted that a pair of the above - described g - sensors g a and g b are symmetrically arranged with respect to the above - described y axis , and then the above - mentioned x - y plane is positioned to be parallel to a floor plane of the vehicle . assuming now that straight lines passing from the gravity center 23 of the vehicle through the mounting points a , b of the g - sensors g a and g b , are referred to as r a and r b , the following equation can be satisfied for angles θ a and θ b among the x axis , straight lines r a and r b directed toward the points a and b : it should also be noted that since the outputs from the g - sensors own directivities while detecting acceleration , as previously explained , directions as indicated by arrows i and ii of this drawing , have positive polarities . no component related to a roll is detected in the mounting structure of the g - sensors g a and g b shown in fig2 . also , components related to a pitch can be canceled by calculating a difference between the output signals s ga and s gb from the g - sensors g a and g b . thus , velocities v a , and v b along the y axis at the mounting points a and b shown in fig2 correspond to a velocity obtained by synthesizing a velocity v g in a y - axis component of the translation motion with a velocity in an y - axis component of the peripheral speed in the yawing rotation motion . as a result , acceleration signals s ga and s gb detected by the g - sensors are obtained as follows : also , when a difference δg in the detected acceleration is calculated , it is given as follows : ## equ1 ## here , since r a cosθ a - r b cosθ b = r , it becomes : where symbol &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; indicates a width for mounting two g - sensors g a , and g b . as described above , the yawing angular acceleration d / dt ( ω ) of the vehicle may be obtained from the detection signals s ga and s gb derived from the g - sensors g a and g b . in fig8 and 9 , there are shown flow charts for explaining execution of the above - explained operations in detail . that is to say , at steps 201 and 202 corresponding to the g - sensor output fetching unit 19 previously explained in fig6 the outputs s ga and s gb from the g - sensors are fetched every 1 ms by , for instance , a 10 - bit a / d converter , and then an average value calculated from 4 pieces of fetched data is supplied to the g - sensor output fetching unit 19 every 5 ms as the output signals s g1 and s g2 . in addition , at steps 203 to 213 corresponding to the zero - point correcting unit 20 , when all of the following conditions are satisfied , neutral points sg1 - φ and sg2 - φ of the outputs from the respective sensors g a , g b are updated by correction values . these conditions are ; ( i ) for instance , at least one of the parking brakes and foot brakes and operated while the vehicle is stopped ; ( ii ) the vehicle speed is equal to , or lower than 10 km / h ; and ( iii ) all of the wheel speeds are equal to , or lower than 10 km / h ; and further ( iv ) the values of the g - sensors outputs s g1 , s g2 are nearly equal to the neutral point ( namely , a point corresponding to &# 34 ; og &# 34 ;) of the reference output characteristic , in other words , within ± 10 % of the output corresponding to the detected maximum acceleration . this updating operation is repeated if the above - described conditions ( i ) to ( iv ) are satisfied , and correspond to a positional shift in the neutral point of the output characteristic due to temporal variations in temperatures . also , the above - described conditions ( i ) to ( iv ) are also utilized so as to achieve such an object that overall detecting operations for the vehicle speed sensor 5 , the wheel speed sensor 3 and the g - sensors g a , g b can be confirmed . furthermore , two neutral points are produced from the output signals s ga and s gb of the g - sensors g a and g b in the above - described preferred embodiment , and thus either one of these neutral points may be output as the correction value . in accordance with this preferred embodiment , it is so arranged that the comparison is made between these two neutral points , and thus the larger neutral point is output as the correction value . as alternative methods , it may be conceived that the smaller neutral point is output as the correction value , the neutral point close to the neutral point of the reference output is output as the correction value , and also the reference output is output as the correction value . a proper method is selected from the above - described methods , taking account of an amount of computation and of utilization of the outputs from the g - sensors in other control units . subsequently , a difference between a neutral point the correction value output and a neutral point of the non - corrected output , is continuously added to the non - corrected output so that the neutral points of two outputs are coincident with each other . then , this coincident point is assumed as a common point sg - φ . next , the span correcting unit 21 updates the gains span - n and span - w for span correction when the vehicle is running straight on a road with a certain acceleration , there is no yawing motion and the difference between the outputs of two g - sensors is very small . for example , the updating of the gains are made when all the following conditions ( a )-( f ) are satisfied . ( a ) the steering angle is within ± 2 degrees in running of the vehicle ; ( b ) the vehicle speed is 10 km / h or more ; ( c ) deceleration ( negative acceleration ) is 0 . 5 g ; ( d ) the difference between the speeds of the left and right nondriven wheels is within 1 km / h of one another ; ( e ) abs system is not in operative ; and ( f ) the difference between the output signals sg1 &# 39 ; and sg2 &# 39 ; is 0 . 1 g or less . it should be noted that although the above - described certain acceleration is preferably selected to be such a value at braking operation of the vehicle during which a larger absolute value can be obtained as compared with the value at the neutral point , this certain acceleration value may be picked up while the vehicle is positively accelerated . also , when the above - described conditions ( a ) to ( f ) are satisfied , a difference is calculated between the signal sg - φ and the signal sg1 &# 39 ;, or between the signal sg - φ and the signal sg2 &# 39 ;, and therefore a large value is utilized as one span correcting gain span - w , whereas a small value is used as the other span correcting gain span - n . in other words , the large span is used as the reference output , and the span correction is carried out by multiplying the non - reference output with a ratio of span - w to span - n . there are a method for selecting a small span as the correction value and another method for selecting an output close to the span and the correction value among the correction outputs in accordance with the span correcting methods other than the above - described methods . similarly , a proper span - correcting method may be selected , taking account of the computation amount and utilization in other portions of the g - sensors . the above - described correction operation is repeated every time the above - described conditions are satisfied , and responds to change of the span due to the temperature variations . also , the above - described conditions have another object to confirm the operations of the wheel speed sensor , g - sensors and the like . furthermore , the yawing - momentum calculating unit 22 calculates so - called &# 34 ; yawing angular acceleration ( d / dt ( ω ))&# 34 ; by obtaining a difference between the output signals &# 34 ; sg1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; sg2 &# 34 ; which have been corrected by way of the above - explained method , and then by multiplying this difference with a coefficient &# 34 ; gain &# 34 ; related to the mounting distance of the g - sensors and the unit . thereafter , the yawing momentum which has been detected in accordance with the above - described method , is used as the feedback signal in order to control the yawing motion of the vehicle 100 , which will now be explained in the following description . in a so - called &# 34 ; split - μ path &# 34 ; ( namely , a load surface on which coefficients of friction for right and left wheels of a vehicle are different from each other ), as shown in fig1 a , when the vehicle is suddenly braked , the vehicle produces yawing motion along a counterclockwise direction . in fig1 b , there are shown both a yawing angle &# 34 ; θ &# 34 ; of the vehicle and a yawing velocity &# 34 ; ω &# 34 ; thereof during this braking operation . in this graphic representation , curves 81 and 83 , indicated by solid lines , represent both a yawing angle of the wheel and a yawing angular velocity in case that the 4 - wheel steering system is not operated , whereas curves 82 and 84 as indicated by dotted lines represent both a yawing angle of the wheel and a yawing angular velocity in case that the 4 - wheel steering system is under operation . if such a yawing motion happens to occur , a car driver cannot control the vehicle , resulting in an occurrence of a dangerous condition . this yawing motion is caused by unbalanced forces given to the respective wheels of the vehicle , and thus such a dangerous condition may be avoided by controlling the braking force and the steering angle of the wheel . consequently , in accordance with the present invention , the 4 - wheel steering system ( 4ws ) is controlled by utilizing the yawing momentum detected by the above - described operation as the feedback signal , and therefore the yawing motion of the vehicle is intended to be controlled . fig1 is a flow chart for representing a method for calculating a steering angle &# 34 ; θr &# 34 ; or 4ws to control the yawing motion of this vehicle . this routine is initiated for every passing of a predetermined time interval ( for example , 5 ms ) and the flow operation is executed . at a first process 71 , a vehicle speed v is calculated from the wheel speed sensor 3 and is fetched via an a / d converter or the like . at the next process 72 , a steering angle θf is similarly fetched via the a / d converter or the like . at this time , a primary temporal differential component d / dt ( θf ) is simultaneously obtained from the steering angle θf . at a process 73 , target yawing angular acceleration d / dt ( ω t ) is determined based on the fetched signals v , θf and d / dt ( θf ). furthermore , the yawing angular acceleration d / dt ( ωs ) obtained by the yawing - momentum calculating unit 22 ( see fig6 ), is fetched at a process 74 . then , deviation δd / dt ( ω ) between the fetched acceleration signals d / dt ( ω t ) and d / dt ( ωs ) is obtained at a process 75 , and the steering angle θr is calculated from this deviation δd / dt ( ω ) so as to control the 4ws system at a process 76 . in accordance with the present embodiment , safe driving of the vehicle can be achieved by control of this 4ws system , and the momentum as indicated by reference numerals 82 and 84 is represented . as apparent from the above detailed description of the present invention , various errors in detecting of the yawing momentum can be eliminated in accordance with the present invention , which are caused by the characteristics inherent to the acceleration sensors and also the sensor mounting structure or the like . thus , the yawing momentum of the vehicle can be correctly detected . there is such a particular technical advantage that the motion control apparatus with the excellent motion control - abilities can be provided by utilizing such a correctly detected yawing momentum . many different embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in this specification . to the contrary , the present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims .
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a preferred embodiment of a system 100 of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . with the exception of some of the details of the boundary detection logic used in the present system , the other components shown in fig1 are well - known adsl transceiver circuits , and hence will not be explained in detail herein . as mentioned earlier , during an initialization procedure between two linked adsl transceivers , a training process is initiated at one phase by the upstream transceiver ( not shown ) transmitting a signal x ( t ) having a known fft x [ n ] through a channel 105 . the latter channel is made of a regular copper wire and may have differing electrical properties , transmission lengths ( sizes ), varying attenuation characteristics , and a number of impairments or interferences . after passing through channel 105 , a signal y ( t ) is received by a line interface and filter circuit 110 . in the case of adsl , the line interface and filter circuit includes sub - circuitry for separating a dmt signal from a lower end 4 khz pots analog signal , as well as sub - circuits having conventional transformers and isolation circuitry used in a wide variety of high - speed devices interfacing to standard telephone lines . an analog to digital converter circuit 115 uses a recovered sampling clock determined by the nature of the adsl signal received ( which may vary depending on whether the transceiver is a full rate or scaled rate implementation ) to convert the received adsl signal to a series of digital samples . these samples are transmitted to a time domain equalizer ( teq ) 120 , which is an fir ( finite impulse response ) filter configured with channel feedback information so that the combined impulse response has a minimum length to avoid intersymbol interference between adjacent adsl symbols . after passing through the time domain equalizer ( teq ) circuit 120 , the samples are converted into a parallel form and stored in a buffer within a serial / parallel converter 125 . this serial to parallel conversion requires an input from the boundary detect logic 150 to partition serial input into blocks for fft input . a fast fourier transform ( fft ) circuit 130 then demodulates the digital time samples , resulting in frequency domain values y [ n ]. these values are then passed through a frequency domain equalizer ( feq ) 135 and decoded into a recovered serial data stream . while fft 130 and feq 135 are shown coupled closely to the front end stages of a receiving portion of transceiver 100 , they may be implemented in either a dedicated hardware implementation , or , in a preferred embodiment , within a host computing system 170 as part of a “ software ” modem as noted by the dashed lines in fig1 . the present invention can be included within any software modem when host processing computational capability is sufficient to reduce hardware complexity and to provide programming flexibility as various transmission protocol standards evolve . in such software modem applications , the “ front end ” of a transceiver 100 is closely coupled to a telephone line interface , but teq 120 , s / p 125 , and fft 130 may be done in either software or hardware , and the feq is performed by a separate host processing device ( i . e ., such as a microprocessor with sufficient computing capability ) within a computing system using various executable microcode and software routines stored in memory sub - systems of such system 170 . most importantly as concerns the present invention , host processing system 170 further includes suitable various executable microcode and software routines 150 for performing symbol boundary detection in an adsl data transmission environment , using a process described in more detail below in connection with fig2 . fig2 is a flow chart form of a preferred adsl symbol boundary detection process 200 of the present invention . as noted above , prior to establishing a full data transmissions link , two adsl transceivers must first complete a pre - defined initialization procedure such as documented in t1 . 413 , g . 992 - 1 , and g . 992 - 2 standards . at step 205 , during the initialization phase , one transmitter transmits a signal x ( t ) ( which has a known fff x [ n ]) for synchronizing and training teq 120 within transceiver 100 . this time domain signal is received in a form y ( t ) and converted at step 210 by fft 130 resulting in a set of frequency samples y [ n ]. fft 130 can be implemented in either hardware or software form on a transceiver 100 , such as by dedicated hardware logic , or by a dsp associated with the transceiver and operating to run an executable routine stored in an associated memory . in a software modem implementation , of course , this fft operation is performed by a host processing device within a computing system using a computer program configured to perform an fft operation . such dsp routines and computer programs are well - known in the art , and therefore are not explained in detail herein . next , at step 220 , boundary detect logic 150 calculates a channel response function z [ n ]= y [ n ] * x * [ n ], where x * [ n ] is a previously computed and pre - stored complex conjugate of known fft x [ n ]. notably , this multiplication step can be performed extremely rapidly by a conventional microprocessor , unlike the prior art division operation ( noted above ) which normally takes place at this stage of the initialization procedure . in step 220 , an inverse fft z [ i ] of z [ n ] is generated by boundary detect logic 150 . this function in fact corresponds to a correlation function between x [ i ] and y [ i ], and can be considered therefore as a maximum correlation detection ( mcd ) operation . at this point , since x [ n ] is =± 1 ± j , it is apparent that y [ n ]/ x [ n ]= y [ n ] x *[ n ]/ 2 . in other words , z [ i ], as calculated by the present method , is the same as h [ i ] generated in the prior art method , except with the difference of a simple constant numerical factor . accordingly , at this point of the process , h [ i ] is also known , and at step 225 , a boundary detection function is calculated from these values being squared and then summed over a pre - defined cyclic range . for example , if the fft point size is n , the number of z [ n ] samples is n . if the cyclic prefix length is v , the square sum of h [ i ] is calculated over a range of v and cyclic over n . at step 230 , a symbol “ boundary ” is detected as the beginning of the range ( with length v ) that maximizes the square sum . again , in a software modem implementation , of course , all of the above boundary detect logic operations are performed by a host processing device using a computer program or routine appropriately configured to execute the process indicated in fig2 . in another embodiment , boundary detection logic 150 can be implemented as with fft 130 in a transceiver ( i . e ., through dedicated hardware or using a dsp and appropriate executable routines ). again , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art to know how to configure such machine executable routines or programs to perform such operations , and therefore such specific implementation details are not explained herein . it should be noted that , in the case of an adsl implementation , the predetermined range at step 225 is equal to v + 1 , where v is the cyclic prefix length . in brief , the mean square calculation gives the “ window ” for the dmt signal to pass through . by maximizing the size of the window , the particular dmt symbol can be received with maximum energy . on the other hand , the sum of the squares of h [ i ]&# 39 ; s that are outside the range represents the energy of adjacent dmt symbols that can pass through . as a result , by minimizing the square sum of h [ i ]&# 39 ; s outside the window , the isi is minimized . the above system and method , therefore , permits synchronization between linked adsl transceivers to be achieved rapidly , and through computationally simple operations . by eliminating all division operations during the boundary detection process , this procedure can be effectuated much more quickly than with prior art schemes . this makes the present invention extremely attractive for use in software modem applications where processing devices performing dmt demodulation and channel servicing must devote as little time as possible for such operations to avoid constraining other i / o and data processing operations within a host computing system . another advantage , is that as the computation complexity is reduced , less time is required for the detection process , and therefore more time can be allocated for the received signal y [ i ] measurement , which in practice is corrupted by noise . since y [ i ] is periodic , it can be averaged over the periodic samples to suppress the noise . with more time allocated for measuring y [ i ], more received samples can be measured , which leads to better accuracy . for example , the better y [ i ] is determined , the better the channel impulse response can be determined , and , in turn , teq 120 can be more accurately trained to offset such impulse effects . thus , in general , in the present invention , a computation time allotted for detecting the symbol boundary can be advantageously kept relatively small ( i . e . on the order of 50 symbols or so ) compared to a computation time used for measuring characteristics of the training signal . furthermore , by correctly detecting the symbol boundary using the present method that minimizes the isi , an adsl transmission system minimizes potential data errors and maximizes data throughput . although the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alterations and modifications may be made to such embodiments without departing from the teachings of the present invention . for example , it should be noted that typically , demodulating portions of transceiver 100 ( i . e ., teq 120 , s / p 125 , fft 130 , feq 135 and boundary detect logic 150 ) and a front end portion of transceiver 100 ( i . e ., line interface and filter 110 and adc 115 ) are coupled through a system bus ( in a preferred embodiment , a pci bus ) to each other by appropriate interface logic ( not shown ). other combinations are of course possible , and in some applications it may be desirable to “ move ” functionality performed in other hardware circuits within a front end portion of transceiver 100 into software implementations performed by host processing system 170 , and vice - versa . finally , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that for purposes of the present discussion , the block diagram of the present invention has been simplified . other circuits , including data transmission portions of transceiver 100 , analog and digital support logic , and bus interface portions to host processing system 170 are well - known in the art , and are omitted here as they are not material to the present teachings . the microcode and software routines executed by a processor to effectuate the inventive method may be embodied in various forms , including in a permanent magnetic media , a non - volatile rom , a cd - rom , or any other suitable machine - readable format . accordingly , it is intended that the all such alterations and modifications be included within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims .
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