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the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . referring to the drawings , therein fig1 - 3 are illustrative embodiments of the limited use or disposable nonwoven insulative blanket 10 of the present invention , including a spunlace layer 12 having an inner surface 14 and an outer surface 16 and a continuous filament layer 18 having an inner surface 20 and an outer surface 22 . the inner surface 14 of the spunlace layer 12 and the inner surface 20 of the continuous filament layer 18 are positioned face - to - face and bonded , so as to form two or more insulative pockets 24 . “ insulative pocket ” is defined herein as a sealed area wherein the spunlace layer 12 and continuous filament layer 18 are unbonded inside the perimeter of the sealed area . in addition , the nonwoven insulative blanket may include raised regions 26 so as to impart aesthetic appeal to at least one side of the blanket . in one embodiment , and as illustrated in fig2 , the raised regions 26 may take the form of a ribbed pattern . the spunlace layer is of a carded fibrous matrix of staple fiber including natural fiber , synthetic fiber , and combinations thereof . suitable natural fibers may include wood pulp , cotton , rayon , kemp , flax , and combinations thereof , while suitable synthetic fibers , which may be blended in whole or part , include thermoplastic and thermoset polymers , such as polyolefins , including polyethylene and polypropylene , polyethylene and polypropylene copolymers , polyamides and polyesters . it is further contemplated to include elastomeric fibers , wherein suitable elastomers include without limitation a polyurethane elastomer , a copolyether ester , a polyether block polyamide copolymer , an ethylene vinyl acetate ( eva ) elastomer , a styrenic block copolymer , an ether amide block copolymer , an olefinic elastomer , such as polyethylene and polypropylene , as well as other elastomers known to those skilled in the polymer art . the thermoplastic and thermoset polymers may be further selected from homopolymers , copolymers , multi - components , and combinations thereof . the orientation of fibers with respect to the cross - direction and machine - direction , can significantly impact upon the resultant properties and characteristics of the nonwoven fabric . as will be recognized by those familiar with the art , a nonwoven layer may be formed by a “ 100 % in - line card ”, which refers to a staple fiber web formed entirely from carded fibers , wherein all of the fibers are principally oriented in the machine direction of the web . in contrast , a fibrous web formed by “ all cross - lap ” refers to a fibrous web wherein the fibers have been formed by cross - lapping a carded web so that the fibers are oriented at an angle relative to the machine direction of the resultant web . a web can be formed by “ one - half crosslap , one - half card ”, wherein one - half of the basis weight of the web includes a carded fiber web , and one - half of the basis weight includes a cross - lap fiber web . a fibrous web may further be formed with combinations of in - line carded fibers with machine direction orientation , and cross - directional randomized fibers . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 475 , 903 , entitled , “ composite nonwoven fabric and method ”, issued on dec . 19 , 1995 , in the name of inventor collins , illustrates a web drafting apparatus and is hereby incorporated by reference . the thermoplastic polymers typically chosen to form the continuous filament spunbond layer include polyolefins , polyesters , polyamides , and halopolymers , with ethylene - fluorocarbon copolymers , particularly ethylene - chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ectfe ). the polyolefins may include polypropylene , polyethylene , as well as copolymers , derivatives , and combinations thereof . further , the continuous filaments may include homogeneous , bicomponent , and / or multi - component profiles , as well as , performance modifying additives , and the blends thereof . further still , filaments with varying geometric cross - sections may be utilized . exemplary filaments are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 057 , 368 , entitled , “ filaments having trilobal or quadrilobal cross - sections ”, issued on oct . 15 , 1991 , in the name of inventors largman , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 322 , 736 , entitled , “ hollow - trilobal cross - section filaments ”, issued on jun . 21 , 1994 , in the name of inventors boyle , et al ., and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 834 , 119 , entitled , “ filament cross - sections ”, issued nov . 10 , 1998 , in the name of inventor roop , which are hereby incorporated by reference . depending on the blanket end - use application , it may be desirable to have a blanket that exhibits a high degree of strength . it has been contemplated that utilizing polymeric resins with low melt indexes , such as between about 5 to about 20 ml may enhance the strength of the blanket ; however , it is also suitable to utilize polymeric resins with higher melt indexes , about 20 to about 35 ml , depending on the application . in one embodiment , the nonwoven blanket of the present invention may include extruded and thermally bonded continuous polyethylene filaments . the resultant blanket has excellent drapeability and hand with a preferred basis weight of about 50 to about 200 grams per square meter and a most preferred basis weight of about 85 to about 130 grams per square meter . prior to extrusion of the filaments , a pigment may be optionally added to the polymeric melt to impart a color into the blanket . further , subsequent to thermal bonding , the blanket fabric may be subjected to a napping post treatment so as to enhance desired insulative , tactile , and visual properties often sought in a blanket . optionally , the continuous filament layer may be further hydroentangled on an imaged forming surface , wherein such surfaces include three - dimensionally surfaced belt , metal drums , wire screens , and three - dimensional image transfer devices . such surface treatments enhance the aesthetic appearance of the continuous filament layer , as well as improve the overall bulk and hand of the blanket . the present invention further includes a method of making a disposable or limited use blanket , wherein the method includes providing at least one spunlace layer having an inner surface and an outer surface . manufacture of a spunlace layer involves a hydroentangling process . hydroentangling is described in aforementioned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 485 , 706 , previously incorporated by reference . fig4 diagrammatically illustrates an apparatus for practicing a suitable method for hydroentangling the nonwoven fabric . as shown , a precursor web 110 is initially received on a belt 100 . precursor web 110 is subjected to the first of a series of hydroentangling treatments on belt 100 . hydroentanglement of the web 110 being carried by belt 100 is affected by nozzle assembly 120 , which is operated to discharge high - pressure columnar jets or streams of liquid 140 , typically water . the precursor web 110 is typically subjected to entanglement energy generally on the order of 0 . 05 to 0 . 30 horsepower - hour per pound , with the web optionally directed to a hydroentangling apparatus for patterned hydroentanglement of the precursor web . the entangled web may be moved to an entangling drum 160 , which includes a foraminous surface 170 , such as a laser ablated sleeve , perforated metal drum , embossed screens or belts , and the like . nozzle assembly 180 is configured like nozzle assembly 120 , and effects further entanglement of the pre - entangled fibrous web , while imparting one or more raised regions . one suitable foraminous surface ( sometimes referred to as an itd , or image transfer device ) is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 098 , 764 , entitled , “ non - woven fabric and method and apparatus for making the same ”, issued on may 24 , 1992 , in the name of inventors bassett , et al ., hereby incorporated by reference . once entangled and optionally imparted with one or more raised regions , the spunlace layer may be dewatered , dried by one of various methods known in the art , such as by drying cans or through air heat , and wound on a roll . the present invention may also incorporate the use of a support layer or scrim in combination with the spunlace layer , which may be any such suitable material , including , but not limited to , wovens , knits , open mesh scrims , and / or additional nonwoven fabrics . two particular nonwoven fabrics that are of particular benefit to spunlace webs for imparting strength and improved clarity of imparted aesthetic raised regions are spunbond fabrics , as exemplified in u . s pat . no . 3 , 338 , 992 , entitled , “ process for forming nonwoven filamentary structures from fiber - forming synthetic organic polymers ”, issued on aug . 29 , 1967 to inventor kinney and nanofiber fabrics as exemplified in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 536 , 361 , entitled , “ method for producing plastic microfilaments ”, issued aug . 20 , 1985 to inventor torobin and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 114 , 017 , entitled , “ micro - denier nonwoven materials made using modular die units ”, issued sept . 5 , 2000 to inventors fabbricante , et al ., all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . subsequent to hydroentanglement , the spunlace layer may be subjected to one or more chemical and / or mechanical post treatments . chemical post treatments include the application of one or more additives , such as pigments , aromatics , antimicrobials , fire retardants , thermochromics , hydrophobic chemistries , and the combinations thereof . mechanical post treatments include without limitation napping , jet dyeing , mechanical compaction as practiced in micrexing or sanforizing ( sahforized is a registered trademark of cluett , peabody & amp ; co ., inc ), and combinations thereof . the method of making an insulative blanket of the present invention further includes a continuous filament layer . a continuous filament layer is produced by a spunbond process . the spunbond process involves supplying a molten polymer , which is then extruded under pressure through a large number of orifices in a plate known as a spinneret or die . the resulting continuous filaments are quenched and drawn by any of a number of methods , such as slot draw systems , attenuator guns , or godet rolls . the continuous filaments are usually collected as a loose web upon a moving foraminous surface , such as a wire mesh conveyor belt . when more than one spinneret is used in line for the purpose of forming a multi - layered fabric , the subsequent web is collected upon the uppermost surface of the previously formed web . the web is usually at least temporarily consolidated , typically by utilizing heat and pressure , such as by thermal point bonding . using this bonding method , the web or layers of webs are passed between two hot metal rolls , one of which has an embossed pattern to impart and achieve the desired degree of point bonding , usually on the order of 10 to 40 percent of the overall surface area being so bonded . it is further within the purview of the present invention to include one or more discontinuous filament webs through application of the meltblown process . the melt - blown process is related to the spunbond process for forming a layer of a nonwoven fabric , wherein , a molten polymer is extruded under pressure through orifices in a spinneret or die . high velocity air impinges upon and entrains the filaments as they exit the die . the energy of this step is such that the formed filaments are greatly reduced in diameter and are fractured so that microfibers of finite length are produced . this differs from the spunbond process whereby the continuity of the filaments is preserved . nano - filaments may be incorporated into one or mote layers of the insulative blanket as well . the diameters of nano - filaments are generally understood to be less than about 1000 nanometer or one micron . suitable nano - filament layers can be formed by either direct spinning of nano - filaments or by formation of a multi - component filament , such as islands - in - the - sea , segmented pie , or other configurations , which is divided into nano - filaments . these filaments are often referred to in the art as splittable fiber . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 679 , 379 , entitled , “ disposable extrusion apparatus with pressure balancing modular die units for the production of nonwoven webs ”, issued oct ., 21 , 1997 , and incorporated herein by reference , exemplifies direct spinning processes practicable in support of the present invention . additional nano - filament technologies suitable for use with the present invention are described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 382 , 526 , entitled , “ process and apparatus for the production of nanofibers ”, issued may 7 , 2002 , in the name of inventors reneker , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 520 , 425 , entitled , “ process and apparatus for the production of nanofibers ”, issued feb . 18 , 2003 , and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 695 , 992 , also entitled , “ process and apparatus for the production of nanofibers ”, issued feb . 24 , 2004 , both in the name of inventor reneker , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . it is further contemplated that prior to extrusion , the molten polymer can be compounded with various performance enhancing melt - additives , such as thermal stabilizers , softening agents , antimicrobial agents , fragrances , fire - retarding agents , cross - linking agents , slip additives , agents for imparting hydrophobicity , uv , anti - stats , colorants , and nucleating agents . a nucleating agent may be specifically compounded to produce a more stable spinning process , and , at equal process conditions , can produce a further increase in strength . the fabric may be subjected to the application of additional additives as post treatments to fabric formation , such as insect repellents , fragrances , and dyes . in one embodiment , at least one preformed spunlace layer and at least one preformed continuous filament layer are positioned in a face - to - face relationship . the spunlace layer and continuous filament layer may be stitch - bonded , ultrasonically bonded , thermally point bonded , or hot roll calendared so as to form two or more insulative pockets within the blanket . the blanket of the present invention may be disposed of after a single use . alternately , the blankets may be considered semi - reusable , wherein the blanket may be used a limited number of times before needing to be replaced . such blankets may be used as recreational blankets , such as camping , picnicking , and sporting event blankets , emergency rescue blankets , airline blankets , institutional blankets , such as for detention centers , shelter , non - profit relief organizations , nursing homes , churches , schools , and hospitals , as well as in other applications where blankets of limited use are required or in cases where blankets are used once before being discarded . preferably , the nonwoven blanket of the present invention has a basis weight in the range of about 50 - 200 gsm , and more preferably has a basis weight in the range of about 85 - 130 gsm . the nonwoven blanket of the present invention is easily foldable , storable , and transportable . further , the disposability of the blanket eliminates the need for a cleaning process , which may potentially leave behind pathogens if not performed according to specifications . from the foregoing , it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be affected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention . it is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred . the disclosure is intended to cover , by the appended claims , all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims .	1
the present invention ( which can also be referred to herein as “ skyspeak ”) differs from city websites and telephone - based emergency notification systems in as much as the skyspeak application can deploy a software - centric web platform to automatically transmit instant voice notifications and enriched data to those who have installed the application onto their smartphone and internet devices . unlike being notified by an incoming phone call , the skyspeak application can automatically voice its message and display the video stills ( embedded with personalized iconographic identifiers ) on user handheld devices ( e . g ., smartphones , ipads , etc .) and can automatically voice its message as a multilingual transmission without the recipients having do anything to devices in use on their end . most uav software seems to be for navigational and image enhancement purposes . the present invention can be provided as a web - based communication system using push - notifications to provide uv ( unmanned vehicle ) base stations with an emergency alert network for transmission of uv video and other components to internet - connected end - users . referring to fig1 , an unmanned aerial vehicle ( uav ) system 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated that includes avionics and guidance module 101 , a motor 103 , propeller hardware 105 , and a fuel source 107 . reference to an unmanned aerial vehicle ( uav ) is not meant to limit application of features of the present invention to a particular vehicle system . it should be appreciated that the vehicle is unmanned but can also be land - based or maritime - based . reference to an unmanned vehicle ( uv ) can more accurately set the scope for vehicles that can be used to collect data for the present invention . the uv is managed by a controller 110 . an onboard controller can also manage sensors 111 , imaging equipment 113 , and location / gps modules 115 engaged in navigation and data collection within the unmanned vehicle . data collected by the uv can be separated into restricted data 121 and public data 123 . separation into these categories can occur onboard the uv or after transmission to a server ( to be discussed in fig2 ). a communications module 125 enables communication of the uv with remote resources ( e . g ., servers ) via any means of wireless communications ( e . g ., cellular , microwave , satellite , etc .) reasonably available in the unmanned vehicle field . referring to fig2 , a system 200 in accordance with features of the present invention is shown . uvs 100 are shown transmitting data through wireless communications means 203 ( e . g ., cellular transmission ) through a data network 210 wherein data can be received and managed by a server 215 . the server 215 can organize data into restricted data and public data . restricted data can go to clients 220 controlled by authorities ( e . g ., police , government operators ), wherein public data can be provided to mobile devices 230 ( e . g ., smartphones ) that are registered with the server to receive public data . referring to fig3 , a flow chart of a method in accordance with features of the present invention is shown . data collected by a remote unmanned vehicle can be transmitted to be received by a server , as shown in step 301 . data can then be identified as restricted data and public data at the server , as shown in step 302 . then , as shown in step 303 , public data can be provided to users registered at the server to receive the public data . restricted data can be accessed by cleared civil personnel such as police or government operators ( e . g ., homeland security , ice , fbi ), while public data can be received by civilians and reporters and the cleared civil personnel . referring to fig4 , a flow diagram is shown in accordance with features of the invention . as shown in step 401 , users can register their mobile devices with a server to receive data collected by remote unmanned vehicles . then as shown in step 402 , users can request data from the server , wherein the data can be collected by an unmanned vehicle and identified as public data by the server . the server , as shown in step 403 , can then provide public data to registered user mobile devices . referring to fig5 , another flow diagram is shown wherein users can register their mobile devices with a server to receive data collected by remote unmanned vehicles , as shown in step 501 . then , as shown in step 502 , the server can automatically provide public data to registered user mobile devices . instant knowledge is king in - times - of - emergency . the present invention can be used to instantly inform authorities and members of a community with instant voice notifications , which can also supplement other emergency services as the fema national radio system ( fnars ), the emergency alert system ( eas ), which is a national warning system in the united states which uses am , fm , and land mobile radio service as well as broadcasts via vhf , uhf , and cable television including low - power stations and with ean ( emergency action notification ), and with amber alerts and with their existing robo - calling , telephone - based centers serving 911 reverse and ng 911 . robo - callers are often connected to a pubic switched telephone network by multiple phone lines because they can only send out one message at a time per phone line . the advantage of the robo - caller is that it is compatible with the most basic phone service . that very basic service has essentially stayed unchanged for a century because it is just a simple phone on a landline . on the other hand , the present invention does not make phone calls . it cannot get a busy signal because it is not making a phone call . it receives the alert as data regardless if the alert is vocal or text , an application operating on a user &# 39 ; s handheld devices then plays the message . the recipient simply gets the message . text can be transmitted to user handheld device where it can also be converted to speech . one benefit is lower bandwidth , which means you can alert more people more quickly . the other is that the text goes through a non - voice channel to the phone . the present invention can use communications methods other than the phone &# 39 ; s voice channel . alerts can be received by people already talking on their smartphones . alerts can be somewhat intrusive in that they can nag recipients until they at least acknowledge the alert . the registration process can be far simpler in that the user only needs to download the application on their mobile device , everything else ( e . g ., communications with a data providing server ) can be automated . the present invention can be fully capable of delivering vocally recorded alerts , visuals , text alerts , and supplemental information . a data recipient should not need to answer the telephone in order to receive basic alert information because a message can be played on their handheld device display and / or announced via their handheld device speaker with the present invention . spoken data is especially important for drivers and similarly occupied people that cannot take a moment to read a display . as an example of the inventions use , a uav ground base station notifier can select a drone - image and enters it onto the application &# 39 ; s screen display . the notifier can then use the application &# 39 ; s voice recognition to dictate an accompanying voice - activated message that is typed and that can be uttered automatically . the combined content can be transmitted to selected recipients who can then type their own comments to other recipients thus forming an ongoing web - enabled hub for the constant updating of information over os mobile operating systems for smartphones , ipads , and laptops . once the uav ground base station ( land , maritime or air ) notifier selects a screen image and enters on to the interface of a server - based application , the notifier can have the ability to modify his notifications with a voice - activated message that is automatically typed as text and / or uttered via speaker when transmitted to end - user handheld devices . in accordance with an optional feature , once the notification is received recipients in turn can use the present system to type their own comments and forward them to other recipients , thus forming an ongoing web - enabled hub for the constant updating of information . the system can also recognize that notification is not communication , and that the notification , in itself , does not guarantee an ongoing communication . the system can , for example , allow the imagery expert at a drone base stations video terminal to quickly transmit a still frame as captured from the incoming video and automatically resize it , such as to 460 kb , and attach it to the application &# 39 ; s user interface ( ui ) such as a display screen on which a voice and text symbol can appear so that an imagery expert can easily dictate the text caption to be submitted with a photo ( such as using google html + css code for implementation ) and then can automatically submit the notification to the registered recipients smartphone or web - enabled devices along with the expert &# 39 ; s voice . in light of the foregoing and using the forest fire example , suppose that the sheriff who spots a fire could use an application to notify uav control to send up a drone then , when a drone takes flight , incoming video from the uav can be sent automatically to all authorities over a data communication network ( wired or wireless ). in the aforementioned las conchas fire , it is conceivable that a forest ranger could have been in such a position so as to have mitigated the extent of damages by quickly providing more information to the public . authorities can analyze data and determine a risk assessment for the situation . authorities can then decide to send a new request for more data and also whether the data should be shared publically . if data ( e . g ., video , still images ) is approved for public dissemination by authorities ( this needs to be “ authorized ”), then data can be provided to the public using automatic instant voice alerts to mobile devices registered with the system . notification can be sent to registered users along with the authorities desired voice / text / map additions without the registered citizens having to do anything . registered users can also send the notification and their own notes to other recipients using the system or other communications ( e . g ., sms ) and form a community awareness hub .	6
the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings . referring now to fig1 feed stream 111 is cooled by indirect heat exchange with return streams by passage through heat exchanger 100 and the cooled feed 112 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 113 and passed as stream 114 to phase separator 101 . feed 111 contains nitrogen and methane and may also contain a number of other species which normally occur in natural gas reservoirs such as carbon dioxide and higher hydrocarbons having two to four carbon atoms . generally this stream will have been pretreated in order to remove to the extent practical higher hydrocarbons and natural gas liguids . the nitrogen concentration in feed 111 may be as low as 5 percent or as high as 80 percent . feed 111 may have a pressure in the range of from 200 to 2000 psia , but preferably has a pressure in the range of from 500 to 1000 psia . generally feed 111 is in the vapor phase and is partly liquefied when it is cooled 112 . following expansion through valve 113 , some of the liquid would be vaporized due to the lower pressure level but the remaining liquid would be somewhat enriched in methane . vapor from phase separator 101 is passed as stream 128 through heat exchanger 104 where it is cooled by indirect heat exchange with return streams ; the cooled stream 129 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 130 and passed 131 into the nru . fig1 illustrates the embodiment wherein stream 131 is combined with stripping column 102 top vapor 133 and the combined stream 137 introduced into the nru . liquid 115 from phase separator 101 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 116 and the resulting two - phase stream 117 is introduced as feed into stripping column 102 . stripping column 102 operates at a high pressure which is in the range of from about 200 psia to 600 psia . the operating pressure of the stripping column within this range is determined , in part , by the pressure available in the feed . in the stripping column , liquid is passed down against upflowing vapor to produce a top vapor having a nitrogen concentration exceeding that of the feed and a bottom liquid having a methane concentration exceeding that of the feed . fig1 illustrates stripping column reboil from two sources . one source comprises removal of a liquid stream 118 from the stripping column , partial vaporization of the stream by cold end partial traverse of heat exchanger 100 and return of the resulting stream 119 to the column . since this boiling is done at a colder location in the column , this permits cooling of the feed stream to a lower temperature . another source of reboil comprises removal of stripping column bottom liquid as stream 120 , partial vaporization of this stream by warm end partial traverse of heat exchanger 100 to produce nitrogen - richer vapor and methane - richer fluid , and introduction of the resulting stream 121 to phase separator 103 from which nitrogen - richer vapor 122 is passed into stripping column 102 as upflowing vapor . methane - richer fluid is recovered as product methane at a pressure which exceeds that of methane as it emerges from the double - column nru . in this way methane is produced at a higher pressure , without additional compression , than that possible from the nru , resulting in reduced overall compression requirements which translates into reduced capital and operating costs . fig1 illustrates the embodiment wherein methane - richer fluid 123 from phase separation 103 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 124 and the resulting stream 125 is warmed by passage through heat exchanger 100 and recovered as high pressure methane gas 126 . generally the pressure of methane - richer fluid 126 recovered from the stripping column will exceed that of methane 167 as it emerges from the nru . the pressure of the methane product from the stripping column will be a function of feed pressure and feed composition , and generally will be at least 1 . 5 times the nru methane pressure and often will be at least 2 . 0 times the nru methane pressure . generally the stripping column will enable recovery of from about 20 to as much as 90 percent of the methane in the stripping column feed as higher pressure methane - richer fluid . stripping column top vapor 133 is partially condensed by passage through heat exchanger 104 against returning streams and resulting stream 134 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 134 and passed 136 into the nru . as indicated previously , fig1 illustrates the embodiment wherein the top vapor ( which is now a two - phase stream ) is combined with stream 131 and the combined stream 137 introduced into the nru . because the feed to the nru , which in fig1 is stream 137 , contains a higher concentration of nitrogen than would otherwise have been the case , the nru can generate higher quality nitrogen reflux and thus recover a higher fraction of the methane in the nru feed without the need for nitrogen product recirculation or a nitrogen heat pump . it should be noted that this system has the advantage of allowing higher pressure methane recovery over the entire feed composition range of from 5 to 80 percent nitrogen . however , the advantage of improved nru column reflux is attained primarily at the feed composition range of 5 to 35 percent nitrogen . thus , the process of this invention has dual benefits at the lower nitrogen feed composition range of 5 to 35 percent . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 the nru is a double column comprising high pressure column 106 and low pressure column 108 in heat exchange relation through heat exchanger 107 . a double column is the preferred nru for the process of this invention . referring back to fig1 feed containing methane and nitrogen is introduced into high pressure column 106 , which is operating at a pressure in the range of from 200 to 450 psia , and wherein the feed is separated into nitrogen - enriched vapor and methane - enriched liquid . methane - enriched liquid is passed 138 through heat exchanger 105 where it is subcooled by indirect heat exchange with return streams . the resulting stream 139 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 140 and then passed as feed stream 141 into low pressure column 108 . within low pressure column 108 , which is operating at a pressure in the range of from 15 to 45 psia , the feed is separated into nitrogen - richer and methane - richer fractions . the nitrogen - enriched vapor from the high pressure column is condensed by passage through heat exchanger 107 to form stream 143 , and a portion 144 is returned to the high pressure column as reflux . another portion 145 is subcooled by passage through heat exchanger 109 and the resulting stream 146 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 147 and passed 148 into low pressure column 108 as reflux . reboiler duty for low pressure column 108 is provided by withdrawal of liguid bottoms stream 161 and partial vaporization of this stream by passage through heat exchanger 107 to form two - phase stream 162 which is returned to the column . the vapor portion provides vapor upflow for the low pressure column while the liquid portion forms the methane - richer fraction which is withdrawn from the nru as stream 163 at a pressure corresponding to that of the low pressure column . the methane - richer fraction is increased in pressure over the pressure which it has when it emerges from the low pressure column 108 by passage through pump 110 . pressurized return stream 164 is then warmed by passage through heat exchanger 105 and passed 165 through heat exchanger 104 wherein it boils to sustain the cooling and condensation of streams 128 and 133 . the resulting stream 166 is further warmed by passage through heat exchanger 100 and the resulting stream recovered as low pressure methane gas 167 emerging from the nru . the nitrogen - richer fraction from the low pressure column is taken from the column as stream 151 and warmed by passage through heat exchanger 109 to form stream 152 . this stream is successively warmed by passage through heat exchanger 105 to form stream 153 , passage through heat exchanger 104 to form stream 154 , and passage through heat exchanger 100 to form stream 155 which may be recovered in whole or in part or simply released to the atmosphere . another embodiment of the process of this invention is illustrated in fig2 . the fig2 embodiment has particular utility when there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide in the feed . the numerals in fig2 correspond to those of fig1 plus 100 for the elements common to both . for convenience only the process differences from the fig1 embodiment will be specifically described in the discussion of the fig2 embodiment . in the embodiment of fig2 an additional heat exchanger 270 is incorporated for purposes of partially condensing vapor stream 228 from phase separator 201 . the condensed stream 271 is reduced in pressure by passage through valve 272 and the resulting stream 273 is passed into stripping column 202 . the pressure of the methane - richer fraction 263 from the low pressure column is increased to a level exceeding that of the stripping column by liquid pump 210 to allow flow of some of the fraction 263 into the stripping column . the resulting stream 264 is warmed by passage through heat exchanger 205 to form stream 265 . a portion 281 of stream 265 is passed through valve 282 to form wash stream 283 which is passed into stripping column 202 . the remaining portion 284 of stream 265 is expanded through valve 285 to form stream 286 which is then warmed by passage through heat exchanger 204 to form stream 287 . to provide the required cooling in heat exchanger 270 , portion 291 of stream 223 from phase separator 203 is passed through valve 292 to form stream 293 , which is combined with stream 287 to form stream 294 , which is boiled in heat exchanger 270 where it sustains the cooling of stream 228 . resulting stream 295 is warmed by passage through heat exchanger 200 to form low pressure methane product 296 . similarly nitrogen stream 254 is warmed by passage through heat exchanger 270 to form stream 258 which is further warmed by passage through heat exchanger 200 to form nitrogen product and / or waste stream 259 . an advantage of introducing stream 273 and wash liquid 283 into the stripping column is that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the feed to the double column portion of the process is reduced . this feed is the stripper overhead vapor stream 233 . a lower concentration of carbon dioxide can be achieved in the overhead vapor due to washing with liquid methane , since a greater amount of methane which contains carbon dioxide is thereby removed and recovered from the stripping column . the advantage is that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide can be tolerated in the feed stream 211 without exceeding solubility limits ( and therefore encountering freezing problems ) in the colder portions of the process . this embodiment can handle a feed stream 211 having a carbon dioxide content of up to 10 times the amount otherwise acceptable . this serves to reduce the capital and operating costs associated with pretreatment of the feed gas . another embodiment of the process of this invention is illustrated in fig3 . the fig3 embodiment also has particular utility when there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide in the feed . the numerals in fig3 correspond to those of fig1 plus 200 for the elements common to both . for convenience only the process differences from the fig1 embodiment will be specifically described in the discussion of the fig3 embodiment . in the embodiment of fig3 the incoming feed is not phase separated but rather the entire stream 314 is introduced as feed into stripping column 302 . furthermore , a condenser 390 is added to the stripping column . stripping column vapor 331 is partially condensed in condenser 390 and the resulting stream 332 is phase separated in phase separator 380 into stripping column top vapor 333 and liquid 334 which is returned to the stripping column as reflux . to provide the required cooling in condenser 390 , portion 391 of stream 323 from phase separator 303 is passed through valve 392 to form stream 393 , which is combined with stream 366 to form stream 394 , which is boiled in condenser 390 where it sustains the cooling of stream 331 . resulting stream 395 is warmed by passage through heat exchanger 300 to form low pressure methane product 396 . as was the case with the fig2 embodiment , an advantage of the fig3 embodiment is the reduction of the carbon dioxide content of the feed stream 333 entering the double column portion of the process . this is done by removing more methane , and therefore more carbon dioxide , from the feed via the stripping column . this permits a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the feed stream 311 , before freezing problems are encountered in the colder portions of the process , with the attendant savings in pretreatment costs . table i lists typical process conditions obtained by a computer simulation of the process of this invention in accord with the embodiment illustrated in fig1 . the stream numbers correspond to those of fig1 . the designation psia means pounds per square inch absolute , the designation lb - moles / hr means pound moles per hour , and the designation ° f . means degrees fahrenheit . table i______________________________________ compo - ( molestream flow pressure temp sition percent ) no . ( lb - moles / hr ) ( psia ) (° f .) n . sub . 2 ch . sub . 4______________________________________111 1000 950 10 21 79117 776 540 - 160 18 82120 773 540 - 130 5 95126 438 500 - 20 3 97128 234 650 - 160 30 70133 328 540 - 160 38 62137 562 365 - 200 35 65155 186 20 - 20 99 . 1 0 . 1163 376 30 - 260 3 97167 376 200 - 20 3 97______________________________________ now , by the use of the present invention , one can more efficiently separate nitrogen and methane using a double column nru by enabling recovery of a large amount of methane at a higher pressure than that available from the nru and by enabling the nru to operate with higher quality reflux especially at low nitrogen concentrations . although the invention has been described in detail with reference to three preferred embodiments , it is appreciated that there are a number of other embodiments which are within the spirit and scope of the claims .	8
fig1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 2 - 5 and the following description depict specific examples to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention . for the purpose of teaching inventive principles , some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted . those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall within the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention . as a result , the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below , but only by the claims and their equivalents . the operation of coriolis flow meters can be described using mathematical formulas . the general system of first order differential equations describing the motion of a linear system is : [ c m m 0 ] ⁢ { x . x ¨ } + [ k 0 0 - m ] ⁢ { x x . } = { f 0 } ( 1 ) in equation ( 1 ) m and k are the mass and stiffness matrices of the system and c is a general damping matrix which may have a symmetric component due to damping and a skew symmetric component due to coriolis force . equation 1 can be rewritten as equation 2 where a is equal to the matrix insight into the equation of motion can be gained by looking at equations 1 and 2 . the generalized eigenvalue problem associated with equation ( 2 ) may be solved for the right eigenvectors , φ ( r ) , such that : for symmetric a and b matrices , the eigenvector can be used to diagonalize , or decouple the equations of motion . decoupled equations are readily solved . for a non - symmetric system , for example where c includes the coriolis matrix , the right eigenvectors do not diagonalize the equations of motion , resulting in coupled equations . coupled equations are more difficult to solve and hinder insight into the solution . left eigenvectors are required to diagonalize non - symmetric a or b matrixes . the following derivations show the process . the left eigenvectors are obtained by solving the following generalized eigenvalue problem : m and k would generally be symmetric for a coriolis flow meter . for no flow c would also be symmetric , thus , the system matrices , a and b would be symmetric . in this case equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) are identical and the left and right eigenvectors are the same . when there is flow the associated non - symmetry of the c matrix causes the left and right eigenvectors to be different . pre - multiplying equation ( 5 ) by φ i ( l ) t , and post multiplying equation ( 6 ) by φ j ( r ) t and subtracting the two yields : 0 =− φ i ( l ) t aφ j ( r ) ( λ j − λ i ) φ i ( l ) t aφ j ( r ) = 0 for i ≠ j ( 7 ) by multiplying equation ( 5 ) by 1 / λ j and equation ( 6 ) by 1 / λ i and going through the same procedure we can show : φ i ( l ) t bφ j ( r ) = 0 for i ≠ j ( 8 ) equations ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) show that by pre and post multiplying either of the system matrices , a or b , by the matrix of left eigenvectors , φ ( l ) , and the matrix of right eigenvectors , φ ( r ) , respectively , the system matrices are diagonalized . φ ( l ) t ⁢ ⁢ a ⁢ ⁢ φ ( r ) = [ ⋰ m a ⋰ ] ⁢ ⁢ φ ( l ) t ⁢ ⁢ b ⁢ ⁢ φ ( r ) = [ ⋰ m b ⋰ ] ( 9 ) the fact that the left and right eigenvector matrices diagonalize the system matrices means that both the set of right eigenvectors and the set of left eigenvectors are linearly independent . either set can be used as a basis of a coordinate system for the response . recognizing that the difference between the left and right eigenvectors is due to the non - symmetric coriolis matrix , forms the basis of this invention . in terms of a mathematical model of the meter , the mass , stiffness and damping matrices which model non - coriolis effects are symmetric . for a no - flow system the left and right eigenvectors are identical ( within an arbitrary scale factor ). the coriolis force associated with flow , however , manifests itself in the mathematical model as a skew symmetric damping matrix ( the transpose is the negative of the original matrix ). the skew symmetric coriolis matrix causes the left and right eigenvectors of the system to be different . for a flowing system with no non - proportional damping the relative phase between different coefficients of the left eigenvectors is equal and opposite to the relative phase between the same coefficients on the right eigenvectors . for a system with non - proportional damping theses phase values are offset equally for both the left and right eigenvectors , however , the difference remains the same . thus , if the phase characteristics of the left and right eigenvectors can be measured accurately this characteristic allows the phase attributable to zero - offset from non - proportional damping and the phase attributable to material flow to be distinguished , eliminating associated zero - offset errors . residual flexibility , electromagnetic crosstalk and electronic measurement system characteristics also contribute to zero - offset . one interpretation of these effects is that they introduce error in the measurement of the right eigenvector phase . if the drive mode ( right eigenvector ) could be measured exactly , non - proportional damping would be the only effect causing zero offset and this error would be easily distinguished from flow effects using the left and right eigenvector dt information . fig1 a shows a top view of a conduit 102 configured to contain a material flowing through the conduit . d 1 and d 2 are two drivers ( also called actuators ) spaced along the conduit 102 . in the preferred mode the two drivers are spaced symmetrically around the axial center of the conduit . the drivers are configured to impart a force to the conduit 102 to excite a plurality of vibration modes in the conduit 102 . the force may be substantially coherent ( e . g . confined to a narrow frequency ) or may be broadband . the drivers can be such known means as a magnet , attached to the conduit , and a coil , attached to a reference , through which an oscillating current is passed . s 1 and s 2 depict two sensors co - located with drivers d 1 and d 2 . the sensors are configured to produce a plurality of signals representing the location and motion of the conduit 102 . the sensors may include a variety of devices , such as coil - type velocity transducers , optical or ultrasonic motion sensors , accelerometers , inertial rate sensors and the like . in this embodiment there are two sensors shown with each sensor co - located with one of the drivers . in other embodiments there may only be one sensor configured to measure the position and motion of the conduit 102 along the length of the conduit 102 . other configurations having more than 2 sensors are also possible . fig1 a shows the conduit 102 in an un - deflected state . by driving the actuators with equal power , the main bending mode of the conduit can be excited . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 092 , 429 granted jul . 25 , 2000 and entitled “ driver for oscillating a vibrating conduit ”, which is hereby included by reference , discloses drivers configured to excite different modes of vibration in a conduit . fig1 b shows the conduit 102 in a deflected state corresponding to the main bending mode of the conduit . this vibration mode also corresponds to a condition when there is no flow of material through the conduit . the deflection of the conduit 102 in fig1 b and 1c have been magnified for clarity . the actual deflections of conduit 102 would be much smaller . when material is flowing through the vibrating conduit 102 , the flowing material causes coriolis forces to be generated . the coriolis forces deflect the conduit 102 and excite additional vibration modes . fig1 c shows the main vibration mode excited by the coriolis forces . the relative phase difference detected between sensor s 1 and sensor s 2 can be used to determine the material flow through the conduit 102 . in no - flow condition ( as depicted in fig1 b ) there is no phase difference due to flow , detected between s 1 and s 2 . there may be phase differences due to zero - offset conditions . once material is flowing through the conduit 102 there will be a phase difference between s 1 and s 2 , due to flow . the measured phase difference detected between s 1 and s 2 is a measure of the relative phase of the right eigenvector of the system and is proportional to the material flow through the conduit . let θr equal the relative phase of the right eigenvector , θs 1 be the measured phase of the vibration of the conduit at sensor s 1 , and s 2 be the measured phase of the vibration of the conduit at sensor s 2 , then θr = θs 1 − θs 2 . a time difference , delta t , can be calculated from the phase difference by dividing by the vibration frequency to ω . δt =( θs 1 − θs 2 )/ ωto . the time difference δt is also proportional to the material flow through the conduit and is the measurement typically used in the mass flow meters . a more accurate determination for the material flow through the conduit 102 can be calculated by correcting the measured material flow with a zero - offset amount δt c = δt − zero offset . in one example embodiment of the invention , during normal operations , both drivers are used to excite the main bending mode of the conduit . the material flow through the conduit is determined by measuring the relative phase of the right eigenvector , converting to a δt domain , and correcting this value with a zero - offset correction amount . δt rc = δt r − zerooffset . periodically , the conduit is excited using only one , then the other driver . measurements are taken between the phase of the driving signal and a position on the conduit . these measurements are used to determine the relative phase of the left eigenvector of the system . fig2 is a flow chart for determining the left eigenvector in an example embodiment of the invention . at step 202 , during normal operations , both drivers are used to excite the vibration of the conduit . at step 204 , only driver d 1 is used to excite the vibration of the conduit . during this time , the phase between the driving signal used by driver d 1 and the sensor s 1 are measured . call this measured phase difference θ 1 . at step 206 driver d 1 is inactivated and only driver d 2 is used to excite the vibration of the conduit . during this time the phase between the diving signal used by driver d 2 and sensor s 1 is measured . call this measured phase difference θ 2 . at step 208 , the relative phase of the left eigenvector θl for the system may be calculated as θl = θ 1 − θ 2 . converting to the time domain yields the relative delta t of the left eigenvector : δt l =( θ 1 − θ 2 )/ ω . at step 210 normal operation resumes , and both drivers are used to excite the vibration of the conduit . the sequence in which the drivers are switched on and off is not important . because the relative phases ( θ 1 and θ 2 ) for the left eigenvector are determined when exciting the vibration of the conduit with only one driver , the residual flexibility response ( rf ) and electromagnetic crosstalk ( ec ) must be corrected . each driver causes some residual flexibility response and electromagnetic crosstalk . this effect decays to zero almost instantaneously when the driver is shut off . by briefly shutting off a driver , the change in the measured phase at each sensor caused by the residual flexibility response and electromagnetic crosstalk associated with that driver can be determined . the change in the measured phase can be determined by measuring the step change in the difference between the sensors that occurs when each driver is inactivated . fig3 is a flow chart showing one embodiment for determining the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk . in step 302 , during normal operations , both drivers are used to excite the vibration of the conduit . the delta t with both drivers operating , δt d1d2 , is measured between sensor s 1 and sensor s 2 . at step 304 , driver d 2 is shut off and only driver d 1 is used to excite the conduit . during this time the delta t with only driver d 1 operating , δt d1 , is measured between sensor s 1 and sensor s 2 . the difference between δt d1d2 and δt d1 is due to the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk from driver d 2 . at step 306 , driver d 1 is shut off and only driver d 2 is used to excite the conduit . during this time the delta t with only driver d 2 operating , δtd 2 , is measured between sensor s 1 and sensor s 2 . the difference between δt d1d2 and δtd 2 is due to the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk from driver d 1 . to correct a measured δt for the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk from both drivers , the difference between δt d1d2 and δt d1 and the difference between δt d1d2 and δt d2 is subtracted from the measured δt . therefore delta t corrected is δt c = δt −( δt d1d2 − δt d1 )−( δt d1d2 − δt d2 ). using this technique , the delta t for the relative phase of the left eigenvector δt lc can be corrected for the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk . δt lc = δt l −( δt d2 − δt d1 ). fig4 is a chart showing the relative δt values measured using an unbalanced , single tube flow meter while switching between drivers in an example embodiment of the invention . on this meter , drivers dr 1 and dr 2 are oriented at 45 degrees from vertical and are located at the same axial position as sensor pr 3 . by driving dr 1 and dr 2 with the same signal a pseudo - collocated driver / sensor pair is achieved . the same relationship was utilized to obtain a pseudo - collocated driver / sensor pair using drivers dl 1 and dl 2 and sensor pl 3 . the two driver sensor pairs ( dr 1 / dr 2 pr 3 and dl 1 / dl 2 / pl 3 ) were spaced symmetrically around the axial center of the flow meter . at time zero through time 30 , both pseudo driver pairs were used to excite the vibration of the flow meter . the step change in δt values at approximately the 30 second point occurs when the dl 1 / dl 2 driver pair is turned off . this δt change is that caused by the residual flexibility response and electromagnetic crosstalk of the dl 1 / dl 2 pseudo driver . at approximately time 65 driver pair dr 1 / dr 2 is switched off and driver pair dl 1 / dl 2 is switched on . at approximately the 100 second mark the dr 1 / dr 2 driver pair is switched back on and both pseudo driver pairs are used to excite the vibration of the flow meter . the change in the measured δt values between times 100 through 120 is that caused by the residual flexibility response and electromagnetic crosstalk of the dr 1 / dr 2 pseudo driver . for meters where the drivers and sensors are symmetrically located about the axial center of the meter , the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk associated with each driver are equal and opposite . during normal operation , when both drivers are being used to excite the vibration of the conduit , the effects cancel and generally do not have to be corrected for to accurately measure the delta t of the right eigenvector . the measurements for the left eigenvector and the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk can be taken at the same time when each driver is briefly switched off . compensating for non - uniform phase between different electronic measurement channels is well known in the arts . for example , a known signal may be applied to the input and the phase corruption measured . this procedure can be performed during flow by providing a spare measurement channel that assumes the measurement function of the channel under test , while the test is being conducted . once the relative δt for the left and right eigenvectors are measured and corrected for residual flexibility , electronic crosstalk effects , and the like , the contribution from flow and from non - proportional damping are calculated . the flow effect f is the difference between the relative δt of the left and right eigenvectors divided by 2 . f =( δt r − δt l )/ 2 . a new zero offset can be calculated by comparing the flow effect f with the flow determined by measuring the δt r during normal operations . zerooffset = δt r − f . the new zerooffset can be used to correct the measured flow during normal operations until the next time the value for the left eigenvector is determined . the non - proportional damping effect nd is the average of the left and right eigenvectors nd =( δt r + δt l )/ 2 . this value could also be used as the new zerooffset value . fig5 is a flow chart for recalibrating the zero offset of a flow meter during flow in one example embodiment of the current invention . in step 502 , during normal operations , both drivers are used to excite the vibration of the conduit . an uncorrected relative delta t for the right eigenvector is determined . the uncorrected relative delta t of the right eigenvector is then corrected by using a zero offset . the flow through the meter is determined using the corrected relative delta t of the right eigenvector . periodically , in step 504 , the drivers d 1 and d 2 are alternately switched off and the relative delta t of the left eigenvector and the residual flexibility ( rf ) and electronic crosstalk ( ec ) are determined . the relative delta t of the left eigenvector is corrected for the residual flexibility and electronic crosstalk effects . in step 506 the corrected relative delta t of the left eigenvector and the uncorrected delta t of the right eigenvector are used to determine a new zero offset . the new zero offset is substituted for the old zero offset and the process resumes at step 502 . by calculating and substituting the new zero offset into the meter , the meter has been recalibrated for the zero flow condition during material flow through the meter . in one example embodiment , the determination for when the re - calibration should occur may be done by using a fixed time interval between calibrations . in another example embodiment , a re - calibration may be done when changes in the environment or the piping system are detected . for example , when a change in temperature is greater than a threshold amount , a re - calibration may be performed . the determination for when re - calibration occurs may be a combination of a periodic timer and detecting changes in environment . the time period between recalibrations may be shorter for systems that require higher accuracy than for systems than have less stringent accuracy requirements . switching between drivers d 1 and d 2 in order to measure the relative phase of the left eigenvector does not imply that the normal operation of the flow meter has to be interrupted ( i . e . measuring flow using δt of the right eigenvector ). for example , when the drivers are placed symmetrically about the centerline of the conduit , each driver excites the drive mode by the same amount . by , for instance , doubling the current to d 2 when d 1 is inactivated , the magnitude of the driving force can be maintained . in the descriptions above , the invention was described using a single conduit flow meter . as well understood in the art , the current invention may be used in flow meters of other configurations , for example , dual conduit flow meters . the invention was also described using a straight conduit , but other configurations for the geometry of the flow meter are possible , for example a bent conduit .	6
reference is made to fig1 which is a block diagram illustration of the least cost router updating system constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . fig1 illustrates a simplified version of telephone communication system , generally designated 10 , comprising a single telephone dialing unit 12 in communication with a central switching office ( denoted c . o .) 14 of one of a plurality of telephone service providers . the telephone dialing unit 12 can also communicate with other central switching offices 14 as desired . the least cost router updating system comprises a data server , generally designated 20 , which comprises a database 22 . the information in database 22 is updated by a data server operator whenever a change is made in any of the published rates of a telephone service provider , such as an exchange carrier or a central switching office . the updated information is converted into a suitable format for onward transmission and communicated , by data server 20 , to telephone dialing unit 12 . the information stored in database 22 includes , inter alia , all available tariff data from the multiplicity of service providers , both inter and intra - exchange carriers and others , serving the telephone communication system 10 . intra - exchange carriers are carriers operating within a single local area transport area ( lata ). if the dialing system operates with more than one central switching office , the tariffs for the different central switching offices are also stored . the information may be stored in any convenient format , known in the art , such as a look - up table or a database . data server 20 further comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) 24 and a modem 26 or other similar apparatus for communicating via telephone lines or via any other data communication network . central processing unit 24 , which may be any commercially available processor , controls the operation of data server 20 . modem 26 is used to transfer updated data directly to dialing unit 12 . alternatively , modem 26 can transfer updated data to a third party , such as an electronic mail ( e - mail ) address from where it may be collected by dialing unit 12 or by an operator . telephone dialing unit 12 comprises a dialing unit , such as a tone or pulse dialer , a modem or an isdn dialing unit , and also comprises a storage unit ( su ) 30 and a router ( or route selector ) 32 . storage unit ( su ) 30 is any storage medium , known in the art , which can be used , inter alia , for storing the provider and tariff information received from data server 20 . storage unit 30 may also be used to store any other relevant data , such as special negotiated discounts and call accounting data , which may be needed by the router to calculate the optimum least cost route ( lcr ) for telephone calls . router 32 can be any routing unit , known in the art , which recognizes the dialing information input by the call originator and , in accordance with pre - defined parameters , calculates the lcr and consequently reroutes the call . router 32 can also include routing features as described hereinbelow . whenever telephone user ( or subscriber ) 18 originates a call , router 32 intercepts the digits of the dialed number and processes the calling information . router 32 then accesses storage unit 30 , calculates the least cost routing ( lcr ) data to ascertain the optimum route for the call , adds any necessary access and authorization codes , and then passes the resulting route selection data to dialing unit 12 . dialing unit 12 then initiates the call to the central switching office ( denoted c . o .) 14 which routes the call in accordance with the route selection data signals sent by dialing unit 12 . if there are more than one c . o ., the dialing unit 12 also physically switches the connection to the selected c . o . 14 . in order for the telephone user 18 to obtain the maximum benefit from the plurality of constantly changing tariff rates , he needs to maintain an accurate and updated database in storage unit 30 . whenever a change in any of the tariffs is made by any of the providers or central switching offices , the information stored in database 22 is updated by the data server operator . an updated file is then sent by modem 26 to storage unit 30 , either directly or preferably via an e - mail address . alternatively , a diskette containing the updated information can be loaded directly by the telephone user 18 into the storage unit 30 , as is known in the art . reference is now made to fig2 which is a block diagram illustrating the relation of data server 20 to a plurality of telephone dialing units 12 . for simplicity , each telephone dialing unit 12 is shown communicating with only one c . o . 14 . embodiments having similar elements have similar reference numerals throughout . in a first embodiment , telephone dialing unit 102 comprises a computer , such as a personal computer ( pc ) 104 connected to a modem 106 . pc 104 and modem 106 are of types commercially available . pc 104 comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) 108 which controls the operation of the pc 104 and optionally a built - in dialer 110 . modem 106 is used to receive data from data server 20 ( double line 112 ) and to connect dialing unit 102 to c . o . 14 ( double line 114 ). modem 106 may be a dial - up modem which can alternatively be used to directly dial the co 14 , without the need for a separate dialer . pc 104 further comprises the storage unit 30 and router 32 , described hereinabove . built - in dialer 110 is , for example , any commercially available computer based communications program incorporating dialing facilities . to make a call , the user uses a user interface , such as a keyboard , a mouse , etc ., to initiate the call and dial the number . router 32 intercepts the digits of the dialed number , processes the calling information and accesses storage unit 30 , processes the lcr data and selects the optimum route for the call . the call is then dialed by modem 106 in accordance with the optimum routing information ascertained and correspondingly rerouted via the c . o . 14 . in a second embodiment , telephone dialing unit 102 , which is similar to the first embodiment , described hereinabove , is also connected to a telephone communications system serving a plurality of stations , such as a centrex ( or ctx ) or private branch exchange ( pbx ) 120 , having a plurality of telephones 122 connected thereto . the pbx 120 does not have any least cost routing capabilities . in this embodiment , the caller may initiate the call by using the built - in dialer 110 to dial the number , as described hereinabove with respect to the first embodiment . in this case , the call is dialed out via the pbx 120 ( double line 124 ). persons who are not connected to a pc having the relevant lcr data may dial out via the pbx 120 ( double line 124 ). in a further embodiment , pbx 120 is connected directly to pc 104 . the pbx 120 can be configured to intercept dialing by telephones 122 and access the storage unit 30 and router 32 of pc 104 to extract the optimum lcr information and reroute the calls . whenever the pbx 120 , which is connected to pc 104 , receives a call , the pbx 120 accesses the storage unit 30 containing the lcr data . router 32 processes the call data and selects the optimum route for the call and then pbx 120 dials this optimum route . it will be appreciated that the router 32 can be implemented as part of the telephone dialing unit 102 , as part of the pbx 120 or between the pbx 120 and the central switching office 14 . no matter where the router 32 is implemented , it provides routing for the call initiated by the telephone 122 . if the pbx 120 has routing abilities , and the router 32 operates after the pbx 120 , the router 32 can change the routing decisions of the pbx 120 . this is especially useful if the router of the pbx 120 has a difficult interface and therefore , is not updated often . the user will still receive the least cost route since the router 32 is updated frequently by the data server 20 . the data server 20 can communicate with any or all of the systems described hereinabove . whenever it has update tariff information , it sends the updated information to all of the systems with which it communicates . the data server 20 can also update the tariff information within a prior art router by emulating the operator which has to enter the tariff information . it will be appreciated that the router 32 can also be operated in conjunction with a cellular or wireless telephone . as in the previous embodiments , router 32 can be embedded in such cellular or wireless telephones or it can be formed as a separate unit . finally , it is noted that , in accordance with the present invention , the telephone service providers with which the router 32 operates can be any types of service providers , including but not limited to : inter - exchange carriers , intra - exchange carriers , fax - store - and forward providers , call - back service providers and local central switching offices . for fax - store - and - forward providers and call - back service providers , the router 32 or some other portion of the dialing system manages the protocol by which such providers operate . reference is now made to fig3 and 4 . fig3 is a flow chart illustration of a method of real time optimum routing of a telephone call , using the least cost router updating system of the present invention . fig4 is a detailed flow chart illustration of the step of processing the dialing information . when a call is initiated , router 32 intercepts the call ( step 130 ) and processes the dialing information ( step 132 ). the router then processes the dialling information , as described hereinbelow , and calculates , from all the relevant calling and provider charging data , which provider is preferred in order to obtain the least cost route ( step 134 ). having selected the provider , any necessary access and authorization codes are added to the dialing parameters ( step 136 ) and the call re - dialed using the adjusted parameters ( step 138 ). the step of processing the dialing information is detailed in fig4 . the call parameters , such as date and time of the call together with the originating and destination numbers , are identified ( step 140 ). the storage unit 30 containing the lcr data is accessed and scanned to retrieve charging data for the particular calling parameters identified . the basic cost of the desired call is then determined ( step 142 ). the storage unit 30 is also scanned to ascertain whether the call initiator is entitled to any special negotiated discounts from one or more providers , and if relevant , the data is retrieved and the relevant discount is applied ( step 144 ). the result is a first value for the cost of the call , per minute . optionally , a check can be made to determine whether call accounting data , as is known in the art , is available and if so the relevant data is retrieved ( step 146 ). this data provides a history of the calls made with a particular service provider and is utilized , for example , to determine ( step 148 ) whether or not a volume discount currently applies or whether it is useful to utilize a certain service provider in order to achieve the volume discount . an volume discount cost is produced . from the call history , statistics of previous call durations can be made . for example , the statistics can be of the call duration per destination phone number , per distance away from the originating phone number or any other statistic . from these statistics , it can be determined if the call is expected to be short or long , in which case , the tariff of one service provider may be better than that of another for the expected length of the call . an expected cost of the call is produced ( step 150 ). the above steps are repeated ( step 152 ) for all service providers and the &# 34 ; best &# 34 ; service provider ( i . e . the one which provides the lowest cost ) is selected ( step 154 ). in addition , the information regarding the call ( origin , destination , selected provider , and length of call ) are stored in the database for later call history use . reference is now made to fig5 which is a flow chart diagram illustrating the process of updating the storage unit 30 belonging to telephone user 18 . whenever the data server 20 receives notification of a change from one of the telephone service providers ( step 202 ), the database 22 is revised ( step 204 ). a package containing the updated lcr information is prepared ( step 206 ), for example in the form of a data file . the data server 20 then posts the updated lcr package to an accessible medium ( step 208 ), shown by dashed lines , and notifies telephone user 18 , by any suitable means , that an updated file is available for downloading or collection ( step 210 ). the accessible medium to which the lcr package may be posted include , for example , any suitable forum accessible by modem . for example , the files can be made available by the data server 20 to subscribers 18 through a bulletin board ( 212 ), via file transfer using a file transfer page ( ftp ) ( 214 ) or world wide web ( www ) ( 216 ), or similar , such as are available today through the internet . the updated package can also be downloaded by data server 20 to the user &# 39 ; s e - mail address ( 218 ) or copied to a diskette and mailed to the user ( 220 ). to update the routing data stored in storage unit 20 , user 18 can retrieve ( or upload ) the updated file , via his modem 106 , from one of the sites ( described hereinabove ) to which it has been downloaded by data server 20 . the updated data is then stored in storage unit 30 . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims which follow :	7
the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings . the same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements . also , the following detailed description does not limit the invention . instead , the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims . looking first to fig1 , a diagram of an exemplary digital rights management ( drm ) plugins system 100 for delivering metadata , decryption modules and encrypted digital content from a content provider through a service provider to a subscriber is illustrated . the exemplary drm plugins system 100 includes but is not limited to an exemplary content provider 102 , an exemplary service provider 104 and an exemplary subscriber 106 . the content provider 102 provides the digital content to the service provider 104 for distribution to authorized subscribers 106 . in one exemplary embodiment , the content provider 102 can encrypt the digital content with an encryption module associated with a drm system selected by the content provider 102 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the content provider 102 can deliver the encrypted digital content and a compatible decryption module to the service provider 104 . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the subscriber 106 selects an encrypted digital content and the service provider 104 prepares the digital content for delivery . in a further aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the service provider 104 can generate metadata associated with the compatible decryption module and transmit the metadata toward the subscriber 106 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the service provider 104 can transmit the decryption module toward the subscriber 106 and then can transmit the encrypted content toward the subscriber 106 . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the subscriber 106 can process the metadata and can determine a location in the digital stream of the decryption module and can extract the decryption module from the digital stream . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the subscriber can execute the decryption module , decrypt the encrypted digital content and provide the decrypted digital content to a user . in another exemplary embodiment , the metadata , generated by the service provider 104 and transmitted toward the subscriber 106 , can provide the subscriber 106 a reference to the location of the decryption module , with the decryption module located , for example , on a server associated with the service provider 104 or , in another example , on a server associated with the content provider 106 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the subscriber 106 can obtain the decryption module from the location specified by the reference , execute the decryption module , decrypt the encrypted digital content and provide the decrypted digital content to a user . in another exemplary embodiment , the content provider 102 can deliver unencrypted digital content to the service provider 104 and allow the service provider 104 to encrypt the unencrypted digital content with an encryption module associated with a drm system selected by the service provider . in a further aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the service provider 104 can generate the metadata associated with the encrypted digital content and transmit the metadata and the decryption module toward the subscriber 106 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the service provider can forward the encrypted digital content toward the subscriber . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the subscriber 106 can obtain the decryption module based on a location specified in the metadata and can execute the decryption module to decrypt the encrypted digital content . further , the exemplary embodiment subscriber 106 can display the decrypted digital content to a user . continuing with fig2 , another exemplary embodiment of a drm plugins system 200 is illustrated . in this exemplary embodiment , the service provider 104 can include a cable headend 202 as the hardware and software system implementing the server side support of the exemplary drm plugins system 200 and the subscriber 106 can include a client device 204 as the hardware and software system implementing the exemplary drm plugins system 200 framework . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the service provider 104 can have a plurality of cable headends 202 and the cable headends 202 can be from different manufacturers . in a further aspect of the exemplary embodiment , each cable headend 202 can support a plurality of client devices 204 and the client devices 204 can be from different manufacturers . continuing with another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the client device can be a set top box for providing audio and video digital content to a user for viewing on a television or a personal computer . turning now to fig3 , another exemplary embodiment of a drm plugins system 300 can include a cable headend 202 and its associated server framework 302 and content streaming system 312 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the server framework 302 can include metadata storage 304 , decryption module storage 306 , encrypted content storage 308 and a server framework engine 310 . in one aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the metadata storage 304 can provide storage for the metadata associated with a plurality of decryption modules . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the server framework engine 310 can obtain metadata from the metadata storage 304 based on the encrypted digital content selected by a user . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , decryption module storage 306 can provide storage for a plurality of decryption modules associated with encrypted digital content . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the encryption modules can be supplied by , but not limited to , the content provider 102 , the service provider 104 or as part of a drm system obtained from a drm system vendor . further , in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , encrypted content storage 308 can provide storage for a plurality of encrypted content . in one aspect of the exemplary embodiment , an encrypted digital content from the encrypted content storage 308 can be matched to a decryption module from the decryption module storage 306 and metadata from the metadata storage 304 based on a user selection of an encrypted digital content . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , a server framework engine 310 can receive a request from a client device 204 , delivered through a content streaming system 312 , for a particular encrypted digital content stored on encrypted content storage 308 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the server framework engine 310 can obtain the metadata from the metadata storage 304 and the decryption module from the decryption module storage 306 associated with the selected encrypted digital content . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the server framework engine 310 can transmit the metadata , decryption module and encrypted content through the content streaming engine 312 to the requesting client device 204 . looking now to fig4 , another exemplary embodiment of a drm plugins system 400 can include a client device 204 and its associated client framework 402 and display component 410 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the client framework 402 can include a client framework engine 404 , a metadata component 406 and a decryption component 408 . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the client framework engine component 404 can coordinate the operation of the metadata component 406 and the decryption component 408 . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the client framework engine can process communications between the content streaming system 312 of the cable headend 202 and the client device 204 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the client framework engine component 404 can engage the metadata component 406 and / or the decryption component 408 to further process the digital data stream . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the metadata component 406 , when directed by the client framework engine component 404 , can analyze the digital data stream and determine the location of the decryption module associated with the encrypted portion of the digital data stream . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the metadata component 406 can analyze the digital data stream and determine the type of decryption module associated with the encrypted portion of the digital data stream . in the exemplary embodiment , the metadata component 406 can determine if the decryption module type specified in the digital data stream matches the decryption module type currently installed in client device 204 then the encrypted portion of the digital data stream can be decrypted without making any further configuration changes to the client device 204 . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the decryption component 408 can obtain , load and execute the decryption module , located by the metadata component 406 , and decrypt the encrypted portion of the digital data stream . in another aspect of the exemplary embodiment , the decryption component 408 can maintain storage for the currently installed decryption module allowing reuse of the decryption module until the arrival of encrypted digital content associated with a different encryption module . continuing with the exemplary embodiment , the decryption component 408 can direct the decrypted digital data stream to the display component 410 for display on the user &# 39 ; s display device . additionally , it should be noted that as used in this application , terms such as “ component ,” “ display ,” “ interface ,” and other similar terms are intended to refer to a computing device , either hardware , a combination of hardware and software , software , or software in execution as applied to a computing device implementing a virtual keyboard . for example , a component may be , but is not limited to being , a process running on a processor , a processor , an object , an executable , a thread of execution , a program and a computing device . as an example , both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components . one or more components can reside within a process and / or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computing device and / or distributed between two or more computing devices , and / or communicatively connected modules . further , it should be noted that as used in this application , terms such as “ system user ,” “ user ,” and similar terms are intended to refer to the person operating the computing device referenced above . further , the term to “ infer ” or “ inference ” refer generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system , environment , user , and / or intent from a set of observations as captured via events and / or data . captured data and events can include user data , device data , environment data , behavior data , application data , implicit and explicit data , etc . inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action , or can generate a probability distribution over states , for example . the inference can be probabilistic in that the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events . inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher - level events from a set of events and / or data . such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and / or stored event data , whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity , and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources . looking now to fig5 , an exemplary method embodiment 500 based on downloading metadata and decryption modules to a client device 204 for decrypting encrypted digital content by the client device 204 is depicted . starting at exemplary method embodiment step 502 , the client device 204 can receive metadata in a digital data stream from a cable headend 202 . in this exemplary method embodiment , the metadata can provide the location of the decryption module in the digital data stream . for a non - limiting example , the location can be specified as an offset from the beginning of the digital data stream to the beginning of the decryption module , in the digital data stream , and the length of the decryption module . next , at exemplary method embodiment step 504 , the client device 204 can receive the decryption module in the digital data stream . for another non - limiting example , the client device 204 can receive the decryption module by extracting the decryption module from the digital data stream and storing the decryption module for use in decrypting the encrypted portion of the digital data stream . in the exemplary method embodiment , the client device 204 can locate the encryption module in the digital data stream based on the previously received metadata . continuing to exemplary method embodiment step 506 , the downloaded decryption module can be installed in the client framework 402 and executed to decrypt the encrypted portion of the digital data stream . in another non - limiting example , the decryption module can be a java module and can be executed in a java virtual machine . next , at exemplary method embodiment step 508 , the client device 204 can process the decrypted digital data stream and provide the decrypted and processed digital data stream to the display component 410 for display to the user . in a further non - limiting example , the client device 204 can be a set top box and the set top box and the decrypted output can be a pay - per - view movie streamed to a user &# 39 ; s television for display . looking now to fig6 , an exemplary method embodiment 600 for transmitting metadata , decryptions modules , and encrypted digital data is depicted . beginning at exemplary method embodiment step 602 , the cable headend 202 can transmit metadata toward a client device 204 . an exemplary metadata transmission can include , but is not limited to , the location of the decryption module in the digital data stream . next , at exemplary method embodiment step 604 , the cable headend can transmit a decryption module toward the client device 204 . in a non - limiting exemplary method embodiment , the decryption module can be placed in the digital data stream at a location specified in the previously transmitted metadata . in another non - limiting exemplary method embodiment , a reference to the identity of the decryption module and the storage location of the decryption module on the cable headend 202 , can be placed in the digital data stream , at a location specified in the previously transmitted metadata and transmitted toward the client device 204 . next , at exemplary method embodiment step 606 , the cable headend 202 can transmit the encrypted content to the client device 204 . in another non - limiting exemplary embodiment , the encrypted content can be a pay - per - view sporting event transmitted to a user &# 39 ; s personal computer for display . fig7 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 700 in which the claimed subject matter can be implemented , although as made clear above , the computing system environment 700 is only one example of a suitable computing environment for a mobile device and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the claimed subject matter . further , the computing environment 700 is not intended to suggest any dependency or requirement relating to the claimed subject matter and any one or combination of components illustrated in the example operating environment 700 . looking now to fig7 , an example of a device for implementing the previously described innovation includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer 710 . components of computer 710 can include , but are not limited to , a processing unit 720 , a system memory 730 , and a system bus 721 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 720 . the system bus 721 can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . computer 710 can include a variety of computer readable media . computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 710 . by way of example , and not limitation , computer readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media . computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile as well as 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 , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cdrom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical disk storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computer 710 . communication media can 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 and can include any suitable information delivery media . the system memory 730 can include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory ( rom ) and / or random access memory ( ram ). a basic input / output system ( bios ), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 710 , such as during start - up , can be stored in memory 730 . memory 730 can also contain data and / or program modules that are immediately accessible to and / or presently being operated on by processing unit 720 . by way of non - limiting example , memory 730 can also include an operating system , application programs , other program modules , and program data . the computer 710 can also include other removable / non - removable and volatile / nonvolatile computer storage media . for example , computer 710 can include a hard disk drive that reads from or writes to non - removable , nonvolatile magnetic media , a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable , nonvolatile magnetic disk , and / or an optical disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable , nonvolatile optical disk , such as a cd - rom or other optical media . other removable / non - removable , volatile / nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include , but are not limited to , magnetic tape cassettes , flash memory cards , digital versatile disks , digital video tape , solid state ram , solid state rom and the like . a hard disk drive can be connected to the system bus 721 through a non - removable memory interface such as an interface , and a magnetic disk drive or optical disk drive can be connected to the system bus 721 by a removable memory interface , such as an interface . a user can enter commands and information into the computer 710 through input devices such as a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse , trackball , touch pad , and / or other pointing device . other input devices can include a microphone , joystick , game pad , satellite dish , scanner , or similar devices . these and / or other input devices can be connected to the processing unit 720 through user input 740 and associated interface ( s ) that are coupled to the system bus 721 , but can be connected by other interface and bus structures , such as a parallel port , game port or a universal serial bus ( usb ). a graphics subsystem can also be connected to the system bus 721 . in addition , a monitor or other type of display device can be connected to the system bus 721 through an interface , such as output interface 750 , which can in turn communicate with video memory . in addition to a monitor , computers can also include other peripheral output devices , such as speakers and / or printing devices , which can also be connected through output interface 750 . the computer 710 can operate in a networked or distributed environment using logical connections to one or more other remote computers , such as remote server 770 , which can in turn have media capabilities different from device 710 . the remote server 770 can be a personal computer , a server , a router , a network pc , a peer device or other common network node , and / or any other remote media consumption or transmission device , and can include any or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 710 . the logical connections depicted in fig7 include a network 771 , such as a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), but can also include other networks / buses . when used in a lan networking environment , the computer 710 is connected to the lan 771 through a network interface or adapter 760 . when used in a wan networking environment , the computer 710 can include a communications component , such as a modem , or other means for establishing communications over a wan , such as the internet . a communications component , such as a modem , which can be internal or external , can be connected to the system bus 721 through the user input interface at input 740 and / or other appropriate mechanism . in a networked environment , program modules depicted relative to the computer 710 , or portions thereof , can be stored in a remote memory storage device . it should be noted that the network connections shown and described are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used . the above - described exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative in all respects , rather than restrictive , of the present innovation . thus the present innovation is capable of many variations in detailed implementation that can be derived from the description contained herein by a person skilled in the art . all such variations and modifications are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims . no element , act , or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such . also , as used herein , the article “ a ” is intended to include one or more items .	6
the preferred embodiment processes were all carried out in an ultrahigh vacuum system ( e . g . a vg semicon v80 ), a schematic of which is shown in fig1 . the vacuum system is composed of a molecular beam epitaxy ( mbe ) chamber 10 , a metallization chamber 12 , and a chemical vapor deposition chamber 14 . wafers can be transferred between these three chambers through an ultrahigh vacuum transfer system 16 , which is annexed with two loading locks . in the preferred embodiment processes described herein and diagrammatically shown in fig2 , and 4 , the base pressure of the mbe chamber and the metallization chamber were below 1 × 10 - 10 mbar and 1 × 10 - 9 mbar , respectively . the chamber pressure during caf 2 growth was 5 × 10 - 10 mbar and the process pressure during al growth was 2 × 10 - 9 mbar . before al or caf 2 deposition , clean si ( 111 ) surfaces were obtained by annealing si ( 111 ) wafers in the mbe chamber at 950 ° c . for 10 min , plus another 10 min with si fluxing at a rate of 0 . 01 monolayer / sec . reflection high - energy electron diffraction ( rheed ) and auger spectroscopy were used to characterize the cleaning process . the cleaning and characterization processes are shown in steps 18 and 20 of fig2 , and 4 . in the first preferred embodiment process , a flow diagram of which is shown in fig2 caf 2 films were deposited 22 on si ( 111 ) using mbe after the si ( 111 ) substrate temperature had been adjusted 24 to 700 ° c . for better caf 2 crystalline quality , the substrate temperature can be ramped between 100 ° c . and 600 ° c . over five minutes and then held at 600 ° c . for the duration of the caf2 a deposition . after transferring the wafer to the metallization chamber , al films were deposited 26 on the caf 2 films at various temperatures from 25 ° c . to 400 ° c . 28 . x - ray rocking curve measurements taken from the al / caf 2 / si ( 111 ) samples show that single crystal al ( 111 ) was grown epitaxially on caf 2 ( 111 )/ si ( 111 ). fig5 shows the lattice distortion of the al films , compared to bulk al , and fig6 shows the percentage of a - type and b - type domains in the al films grown at different temperatures . it is evident from fig6 that 300 ° c . is the temperature where the al films were a - type with respect to the caf 2 film . &# 34 ; a - type &# 34 ; epitaxy denotes the growth of a film with crystalline orientations identical to the substrate . &# 34 ; b - type &# 34 ; epitaxy refers to film with crystalline orientations identical to the orientations of an azimuthally rotated substrate . for a surface of n - fold symmetry , the azimuthal rotation angle is 360 °/ 2n or 360 °/ 2n plus a multiple of 360 °/ n . for surfaces with threefold symmetry such as si ( 111 ) and caf 2 ( 111 ), the azimuthal rotation angle is 60 ° ( or 180 ° and 300 °). an advantage of a - type films is that when they are grown over small steps in the underlying layer , generally , smaller dislocation densities and improved crystal quality result when compared to b - type films . in a second preferred embodiment process , shown in fig3 al films were deposited 30 in the metallization chamber at 300 ° c . and 400 ° c . 32 to obtain films of different epitaxial relations with respect to the si substrates . the 300 ° c . substrate temperature produced a - type film , whereas 400 ° produced b - type film . after the al growth , the wafers were transferred back to the mbe chamber and caf 2 was deposited 34 on the top of the al films by ramping the growth temperature from 100 ° c . to 300 ° c . in five minutes and then maintaining at 300 ° c . 36 until the end of the caf 2 growth . the ramping step is used to reduce the substrate temperature during the early stage of the caf 2 growth so that intermixing between al and caf 2 can be suppressed . as in the first preferred embodiment process , x - ray diffraction measurements were carried out at room temperature on the samples . fig7 ( a ) shows a standard ( 111 ) projection of a cubic crystal and the x - ray rocking curve of si ( 111 ), caf 2 ( 111 ), and al ( 111 ) peaks detected from a caf 2 / al / si ( 111 ) sample . fig7 ( b ) shows the rocking curves of al ( 113 ), caf 2 ( 224 ) and si ( 224 ) detected from a caf 2 / al / si ( 111 ) sample with al grown at 300 ° c . when the x - ray diffraction is taken along the & lt ; 001 & gt ; direction of the si substrate ( azimuthal angle φ = 0 °), al ( 113 ), caf 2 ( 224 ), and si ( 224 ) peaks are observed . in contrast , no peak is observed at the same bragg angles when the sample is rotated 180 ° about the surface normal ( φ = 180 °). these rocking curves demonstrate that both the al and the caf 2 films grow with &# 34 ; a - type &# 34 ; epitaxial relations . fig7 ( c ) shows rocking curves taken from a caf 2 / al / si ( 111 ) sample with al grown at 400 ° c . while no al ( 113 ) and caf 2 ( 224 ) peaks are observed along the si & lt ; 001 & gt ; azimuthal direction ( φ = 0 °), both peaks are observed after the sample is rotated 180 ° about the surface normal . these results show that while the epitaxial relation between al and si is &# 34 ; b - type &# 34 ; the crystalline orientations of caf 2 are still identical to the al film ( a - type ). using the si ( 111 ) peak from the substrate as a reference , we can obtain the precise bragg angle of al ( 111 ) to derive the plane distance along the [ 111 ] direction . the lattice distortions of al ( 111 ) grown on si ( 111 ) at 300 ° c . and 400 ° c . are 0 . 08 % and 0 . 29 % ( tensile stress ), respectively . after caf 2 growth , the lattice distortions of the al films are 0 . 02 % and 0 . 17 % ( tensile ). the full - width - half - maximum ( fwhm ) of the symmetric ( 111 ) reflection curve was used to estimate the crystal quality of these films . for films of the same thickness , a smaller fwhm indicates better crystalline quality . the fwhms of the al ( 111 ) rocking curves are around 400 - 600 arcsec , the fwhms of the al ( 111 ) peaks obtained from the caf 2 / al / si ( 111 ) structures are between 1000 - 1800 arcsec . this indicates that the crystalline quality of al deteriorates after the growth of caf 2 . in contrast , the fwhms of the caf 2 ( 111 ) peaks obtained from the caf 2 / al / si ( 111 ) structures are around 2400 arcsec . this is close to the typical fwhm ( 2250 arcsec ) of a caf 2 film of the same thickness grown on si ( 111 ) at 300 ° c . in a third preferred embodiment process , shown in fig4 al films were deposited 38 in the metallization chamber at 300 ° c . and 400 ° c . 40 to obtain films of different epitaxial relations with respect to the si substrates . after the al growth , the wafers were transferred back to the mbe chamber and caf 2 was deposited 42 on the top of the al films by ramping the growth temperature from 100 ° c . to 300 ° c . in five minutes and then maintaining at 300 ° c . 44 until the end of the caf 2 growth . the wafers were then transferred back to the metallization chamber to deposit 46 epitaxial al on top of the caf 2 layer . the deposition rate of caf 2 was 4 nm / min and the effusion cell temperature was 1150 ° c . the thicknesses of the al and caf 2 films used in this study were 300 - 500 nm and 100 - 200 nm , respectively . fig8 is a cross - sectional view of the epitaxial metal 48 , caf 2 50 , metal 52 , semiconductor 54 structure formed by the third preferred embodiment process . a few preferred embodiments have been described in detail hereinabove . it is to be understood that the scope of the invention also comprehends embodiments different from those described , yet within the scope of the claims . words of inclusion are to be interpreted as nonexhaustive in considering the scope of the invention . while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . in particular , the use of silicon in the ( 111 ) orientation in the description of the preferred embodiments is not intended to suggest that other orientations are excluded from the benefits of the invention . also , the use of molecular beam epitaxy ( mbe ) in the description of the preferred embodiments is not intended to suggest that the inventive method cannot be performed with other forms of neutral beam epitaxy ( i . e . epitaxy that does not rely on kinetic ions ), such as chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments , as well as other embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description . it is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments .	7
in the following , the same reference numerals are used to designate the same elements in the different embodiments . state - of - the - art cmos technology may be used to make the sensors . fig1 shows a schematic diagram of an angle sensor according to the invention . a cartesian coordinate system with axes x and y oriented perpendicularly to each other is used to explain the invention . the sensor comprises a first magnetic field sensor 1 , a second magnetic field sensor 2 and electronic circuitry configured to operate the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 and provide an output signal . each of the magnetic field sensors 1 , 2 has a predetermined sensitivity direction s a or s b , respectively . the sensitivity direction s a of the first magnetic field sensor 1 may be parallel to the x - axis , the sensitivity direction s b of the second magnetic field sensor 2 may be parallel to the y - axis . preferably , the sensitivity directions s a and s b of the two magnetic field sensors 1 , 2 are oriented perpendicularly to each other . however , the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 may have any other orientation and their sensitivity directions s a and s b may include an arbitrary angle δ . the two magnetic field sensors 1 , 2 ideally have the same nominal sensitivity , denoted by s 0 . the first magnetic field sensor 1 and the second magnetic field sensor 2 may each be a vertical hall element or a cluster composed of parallel aligned vertical hall elements . alternatively , the first magnetic field sensor 1 and the second magnetic field sensor 2 may each be composed of one or more horizontal hall elements and one or more magnetic field concentrators in such a way that the first magnetic field sensor 1 is sensitive to a magnetic field pointing in the x - direction and the second magnetic field sensor 2 is sensitive to a magnetic field pointing in the y - direction , as disclosed for example in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 942 , 895 . each hall element comprises four electrical terminals , namely two current terminals serving to supply a biasing current and two voltage terminals serving to tap a hall voltage . the magnetic field sensors 1 , 2 may also be any other type of magnetic field sensor that is biased by a current and delivers a voltage , such as for example magnetoresistive ( mr ) sensors composed of four magnetoresistive resistors coupled to form a wheatstone bridge . therefore , each of the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 comprises four electrical terminals , namely two current terminals configured to supply a biasing current and two voltage terminals configured to tap a voltage . the sensor further comprises a first current source 3 providing a first biasing current i 1 and a second current source 4 providing a second biasing current i 2 . the first current source 3 is coupled to the current terminals of the first magnetic field sensor 1 , the second current source 4 is coupled to the current terminals of the second magnetic field sensor 2 . the sensor further comprises a first circuit 5 configured to control the first current source 3 and the second current source 4 such that the first biasing current i 1 and the second biasing current i 2 are related to each other by the following equations : wherein the parameter i denotes a constant nominal current intensity and the parameter θ denotes an angle . if the angle δ is 90 °, i . e . if the sensitivity directions s a and s b run orthogonally to each other , equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) reduce to in this case , the voltages u 1 and u 2 are given by the equations : wherein s 0 denotes the magnitude of the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 and b x and b y denote the components of the magnetic field along the x - axis or the y - axis . in the following embodiments , it is assumed , that the angle δ is 90 °. in an embodiment , the sensor further comprises a first amplifier 6 configured to amplify the voltage u 1 of the first magnetic field sensor 1 and a second amplifier 7 configured to amplify the voltage u 2 of the second magnetic field sensor 2 . the amplifiers 6 and 7 ideally have the same gain k . the output voltages of the first amplifier 6 and the second amplifier 7 are fed to the inputs of a summing junction 8 and summed there . the output of the summing junction 8 delivers a voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 )= k s 0 * i * ( b x * cos + b y * sin θ ) ( 7 ) in the ideal case , the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensor , the nominal current intensity supplied to the magnetic field sensor and the gain of the amplifier are all the same for both magnetic field sensors . therefore , ideally the magnetic field sensors have as described above a same sensitivity s 0 , are supplied with a same nominal current intensity i and the amplifiers have a same gain k . if there are deviations from the ideal case , then this might be corrected for in a calibration step , for example by adjusting different gains for the two amplifiers 6 and 7 or by adjusting different nominal current intensities , so that the equations given above apply . in another embodiment , the voltage terminals of the first magnetic field sensor 1 and the second magnetic field sensor 2 are connected in series or in parallel . the voltage u 1 + u 2 appearing over the series connected voltage terminals may be tapped and amplified to deliver the voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ) or the voltage appearing at the parallel connected voltage terminals is tapped and amplified to deliver the voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ), wherein the quantity k again denotes the gain . the sensor , composed of the first circuit 5 , the two current sources 3 , 4 , the two magnetic field sensors 1 , 2 , the amplifiers 6 , 7 and the summing junction 8 , as well as the sensor with the structure and elements described in the preceding paragraph , is a sensor having two current inputs each receiving one of the biasing currents i 1 or i 2 , and a voltage output delivering the voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ). the sensor can be used as magnetic field sensor having an adjustable direction of sensitivity s . the direction of sensitivity s in the xy - plane is given by the angle θ . preferably , the sensitivity directions s a and s b run orthogonally to each other and the biasing currents i 1 and i 2 are set according to equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ). the voltage u is proportional to the component of the magnetic field pointing in the direction of sensitivity s . the first circuit 5 has a first input configured to receive the angle θ . the angle sensor further comprises a second circuit 9 having an input configured to receive the voltage u and an output coupled to the first input of the first circuit 5 . in the following , the real angle of the magnetic field in the xy - plane is denoted as angle α b , the angle determined by the angle sensor is denoted as angle α . the first circuit 5 and the second circuit 9 form a closed control loop that is configured to change the biasing currents i 1 and i 2 until the voltage u equals zero . in this embodiment , this is done by supplying the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 with biasing currents i 1 or i 2 , respectively , according to equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) and to vary the angle θ automatically by the closed loop formed by the circuits 5 and 9 until u = 0 , which in practice means until \| u \|≦ u t where u t denotes a minimal detectable voltage . as u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ) this means that the sum of the voltages of the first magnetic field sensor 1 and the second magnetic field sensor 2 is regulated to zero , i . e . to the condition u = 0 is fulfilled when the scalar product of the sensitivity vector s and the magnetic field vector b is zero , i . e . when s * b = 0 . this equation has two solutions which means that the angles θ and α are related to each other by one of the equations fig2 illustrates the relation between the sensitivity vector s of the captioned magnetic field sensor and the magnetic field vector b and therefore the relation between the angles θ and α . s 1 is a vector denoting the magnitude and direction of the sensitivity of the first magnetic field sensor 1 and s 2 is a vector denoting the magnitude and direction of the sensitivity of the second magnetic field sensor 2 . the circuits 5 and 9 may be formed of digital and / or analog circuits . the concept of the angle sensor according to the invention consists in providing a magnetic field sensor with variable sensitivity direction and to rotate the sensitivity direction until the scalar product of the sensitivity vector s of the magnetic field sensor and the magnetic field b is zero , i . e . s * b = 0 , and of the finding that u 1 + u 2 = 0 if s * b = 0 . so : a ) the angle sensor comprises two magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 each having two current terminals and two voltage terminals . b ) the voltage terminals of the first magnetic field sensor 1 and the second magnetic field sensor 2 are coupled to deliver a voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ), where k is a predetermined amplification factor . c ) the sensitivity direction is rotated by changing the biasing currents i 1 and i 2 until the voltage u = k ( u 1 + u 2 ) is 0 . d ) the measured direction of the magnetic field in the plane spanned by the axes x and y is given by the angle α = θ − 90 ° or the angle α = θ + 90 ° because the sensitivity vector s runs perpendicularly to the magnetic field vector b if s * b = 0 . fig3 shows an embodiment of an angle sensor according to the invention . the angle sensor comprises a clock signal generator 10 which controls the operation of the angle sensor . the first circuit 5 comprises a lookup table 11 and two d / a ( digital to analog ) converters 12 and 13 . the two current sources 3 and 4 are voltage controlled current sources . at each clock pulse ck 1 of the clock signal generator 10 , the first circuit 5 gets the value θ at its first input , reads the digital values sin θ and cos θ in the lookup table 11 , and feeds the digital value sin θ to the d / a converter 12 and the digital value cos θ to the d / a converter 13 and updates the value of the angle α . the analog output of the d / a converter 12 is fed to the first current source 3 , the analog output of the d / a converter 13 is fed to the second current source 4 . therefore , the current supplied by the first current source 3 is proportional to i * sin θ and the current supplied by the second current source 4 is proportional to i * cos θ . the current sources 3 and 4 are adjusted to deliver the same nominal current i . the second circuit 9 comprises a polarity detector 14 , a signal detector 15 , an and gate 16 and an up / down counter 17 . the output of the summing junction 8 is fed to an input of the polarity detector 14 and to an input of the signal detector 15 . the polarity detector 14 delivers a binary output signal which is 1 if the voltage u at its input is positive or zero and which is 0 if the voltage u at its input is negative . the output of the signal detector 15 and the clock signal ck 1 of the clock generator 10 are fed to two inputs of the and gate 16 . the signal detector 15 delivers a binary output signal , based on the magnitude of the input voltage u . if the magnitude of the input voltage u is higher than a minimal detectable signal , i . e . greater than a predetermined threshold value u t , the output signal of the signal detector is 1 . otherwise , the output signal of the signal detector is 0 . the output signal of the and gate 16 is a binary signal , based on the and logic of its inputs . only if both input signals are 1 , the output will be 1 . therefore , the and gate will let pass the clock pulses ck1 if the output of the signal detector is 1 and will block the clock pulses if the output of the signal detector is 0 . at each clock ck 1 of the clock signal generator 10 , the up / down counter 17 increments its value by 1 unit if the output signal of the polarity detector 14 is 1 and decrements its value by one unit if the output signal of the polarity detector 14 is 0 . the value of the up / down counter 17 is fed to the first circuit 5 . the value of the up / down counter 17 remains constant , if the voltage u is zero , i . e . if u = 0 . if the voltage u is not zero , then the value of the up / down counter 17 is changing at each clock ck 1 until the voltage u has converged to zero . the value of the up / down counter 17 represents the angle θ of the sensitivity vector s . the up / down counter 17 provides at its output a limited number n of values , the lowest value corresponds to the angle θ = 0 °, the highest value corresponds to the angle θ = 360 °− 360 °/ n . the number n may for example be 360 if the angle sensor provides an angle resolution of 1 °, or n = 3600 if the angle sensor provides an angle resolution of 0 . 1 °. in this embodiment , the value of the up / down counter 17 is increased when the voltage u is positive and decreased when the voltage u is negative . as the voltage u is proportional to the scalar product s * b =\| s \|\| b \| cos ( θ − α ) this means that the sensitivity vector s is rotated in the counterclockwise direction if − 90 °& lt ; θ − α & lt ; 90 ° and in the clockwise direction if 90 °& lt ; θ − α & lt ; 270 ° and has the consequence that the relationship between the angles θ and α is given by equation ( 9 ). the circuit 5 is therefore configured to read at each clock ck 1 the angle θ at its first input and determine the angle α using equation ( 9 ). at the start of the operation of the angle sensor ( at switch on ), a predetermined angle θ 0 is used as starting value for θ . θ 0 may be 0 or assume any other value . after a certain number of clocks ck 1 , the value of the angle θ has converged to that value that makes u = 0 . whenever the condition u = 0 is fulfilled , the outputted angle α correctly represents the angle α b of the magnetic field b , whenever this condition is not fulfilled , the outputted angle α does not represent the angle α b . fig4 shows an exemplary course of several signals in the course of the time t . the reference numerals denote : signal line 18 : the angle α b representing the real direction of the magnetic field vector b , signal line 19 : the angle α outputted by the angle sensor , signal line 20 : the voltage u at the output of the summing junction 8 , signal line 21 : the binary output signal of the polarity detector 14 , signal line 22 : the binary output signal of the signal detector 15 signal line 23 : the basic clock signal ck 1 , signal line 24 : the binary output of the and gate 16 , and signal line 25 : the output of the up / down counter 17 . in fig4 , the direction of the magnetic field vector b is at first constant in time over a certain period and then changes to another constant value . after turning on the angle sensor , due to the regulation provided by the feedback circuit formed by the first circuit 5 and the second circuit 9 , the following occurs : the voltage u has a big value because the starting value θ 0 is far from fulfilling the condition θ 0 = α + 90 °. as time goes on , the voltage u converges step - by - step to zero . the output signal of the polarity detector 14 is 1 and changes to 0 when the voltage u has converged to 0 . the output signal of the signal detector is 1 and changes to 0 when the voltage u has converged to 0 . the clocks of the clock generator 10 pass the and gate 16 as long as the output signal of the signal detector is 1 . the clocks of the clock generator 10 do not pass the and gate 16 when the output signal of the signal detector is 0 . the up / down counter 17 increments its value by 1 unit with each pulse appearing at the output of the and gate 16 as long as the output of the polarity detector 14 is 1 , and decrements its value by 1 unit with each pulse appearing at the output of the and gate 16 as long as the output of the polarity detector 14 is 0 . at the moment t 1 , when the angle α b decreases , the output voltage u becomes negative . when it becomes negative the binary output signal of the signal detector 15 changes from 0 to 1 . since the and gate 16 lets then pass the clock pulses ck 1 , the up / down counter 17 decrements its value by 1 unit with each pulse , as long as the binary output signal of the signal detector 15 is 1 . in a further embodiment , shown in fig5 , the angle sensor does not comprise the polarity detector 14 but comprises a polarity detector 26 that is coupled to the output of the first amplifier 6 . the polarity detector 26 delivers a binary output signal which is 1 if the voltage u 1 at its input is positive or zero and which is 0 if the voltage u 1 at its input is negative . the output signal of the polarity detector 26 therefore represents the sign of the voltage u 1 and is fed to a second input of the first circuit 5 . the angle θ defines the sensitivity direction . therefore , the signs of the biasing currents i 1 and i 2 determine in which of the four quadrants the sensitivity vector s lies . the sign of the voltage u 1 determines whether the magnetic field vector b lies in one of the preceding quadrants ( quadrants 2 and 3 ) or in one of the succeeding quadrants ( quadrants 1 and 4 ). this information is then used to determine whether the relation between the angles θ and α is given by equation ( 9 ) or by equation ( 10 ), for example by use of the following lookup table containing the information , how the angle α is to be calculated : in this embodiment , the value of the up / down counter 17 is always increased when the voltage u is different from zero . this means , that the sensitivity vector s is always rotated in the counterclockwise direction when u ≠ 0 . fig6 shows an embodiment of an angle sensor according to the invention , wherein the magnetic field sensors 1 and 2 are hall sensors which comprise hall elements . in order to reduce or eliminate offset and 1 / f noise problems of the hall sensors , the well - known spinning current technique is used to operate the hall sensors . the spinning current technique commutates the current and voltage terminals of each hall sensor at a certain spinning clock ck 2 . preferably , the four - phase spinning current technique is used , but also the two - phase spinning current technique could be used . the angle sensor comprises a first spinning current circuit 27 coupling the current terminals of the first magnetic field sensor 1 to the first current source 3 and the voltage terminals to the first amplifier 6 and a second spinning current circuit 28 coupling the current terminals of the second magnetic field sensor 2 to the second current source 4 and the voltage terminals to the second amplifier 7 . the clock signal generator 10 generates also the spinning clock ck 2 which is four times faster than the basic clock signal ck 1 if the four - phase spinning current technique is used or two times faster than the basic clock signal ck 1 if the two - phase spinning current technique is used . an integrator 29 , for example formed as a switched capacitor filter , is connected to the output of the summing junction 8 to make an integration of the hall voltage u over the four or two spinning current phases . it would be apparent to those skilled in the art , that other analog and / or digital circuits , including microcontrollers and the like , may be used to realize the sensor of the invention . while embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described , it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the invention , therefore , is not to be restricted except by the appended claims and their equivalents .	6
the present invention will be described herein in connection with a typical flat glass melting furnace , for example as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 372 , 770 , which is incorporated by reference . however , the principles of the present invention may be applied to any type of glass melting furnace in which the same or similar conditions are encountered . fig1 and 2 illustrate a conventional flat glass melting furnace 10 having a melting chamber 12 . raw glass - making ingredients are fed from a hopper 14 into an inlet extension 16 of the furnace and are deposited into a pool of molten glass 18 contained within the melting chamber 12 . the furnace 10 is of the well - known crossfired regenerative type wherein the melting chamber 12 is flanked by a pair of primary regenerators 20 and 22 of like construction . each regenerator includes a refractory housing 24 containing a bed of regenerator packing 26 which comprises a checker structure of refractory brick permitting the passage of air and exhaust gas therethrough . each of the primary regenerators 20 and 22 communicate with the melting chamber 12 by means of a plurality of ports 28 spaced along the sides of the melting chamber 12 . each port 28 opens at one end to the interior of the melting chamber 12 and at the other end to a plenum space 30 above the packing 26 of the primary regenerator . below the packing 26 in each regenerator is a distributing space 32 which communicates at one end with a flue 34 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the flue 34 leads to a secondary regenerator 36 which may include a first pass checker packing 38 and a second pass checker packing 40 . from the secondary regenerator , the exhaust gas flows through a reversing valve mechanism 42 and then to a smokestack 44 . gas flows through the furnace 10 are reversed periodically ( for example about every 10 minutes ). in the mode of operation depicted in the drawings , the gas flows are from left to right ( as viewed in fig2 ) wherein incoming combustion air enters through the left - hand regenerator 20 and exhaust gas exits from the melting chamber 12 through the right - hand regenerator 22 . the incoming combustion air is preheated by the regenerator packings of regenerator 20 and fuel ( natural gas or oil ) is mixed with the preheated air by means of nozzle burners 46 in the left - hand ports 28 , whereby resulting flames extend from left to right over the molten glass 18 within the melting chamber 12 . during this phase of the firing cycle , the burner nozzles 46 in the right - hand port 28 remain inactive . the exhaust gas leaves the melting chamber 12 through the right - hand ports 28 and passes through the primary regenerator 22 where heat from the exhaust gas is transferred to the checker packing 26 . in the embodiment depicted in fig1 and 2 , the recovery of waste heat by the regenerator system is only partially accomplished by the primary regenerator 22 . additional heat recovery is accomplished further downstream in the secondary regenerator 36 . after a predetermined length of time , the firing of nozzles 46 is reversed . more specifically , the burner nozzles on the left side of the furnace 10 are turned off and the burner nozzles on the right side are turned on , and incoming combustion air is passed through the right - hand regenerator 22 and the exhaust gas leaves the melting chamber 12 by way of the left - hand regenerator 20 . with continued reference to fig1 and 2 , there is shown an arrangement for selective non - catalytic reduction of no x . more particularly , an ammonia injection system 48 is positioned in each flue 34 and 34 &# 39 ; between each primary regenerator and the corresponding secondary regenerator . although not limiting in the present invention , the ammonia injection system 48 as illustrated in fig2 includes a grid comprised of a plurality of tubes 52 of a heat resistant material extending into the flue 34 . each tube 52 is in communication with a header pipe 54 which in turn communicates with the supply pipe 56 . a plurality of openings or nozzles along each tube 52 are arranged to promote thorough mixing of ammonia with substantially the entire stream of exhaust gas passing through the flue 34 . an identical grid arrangement may be provided in the flue 34 &# 39 ; on the opposite side of the furnace 10 . in a glass melting furnace of this type , it has been found that the temperatures of the exhaust gases passing through the flue 34 lie within the preferred no x reduction range of 870 to 1090 ° c . ( 1598 to 1994 ° f .) during a portion of the exhaust phase of the firing cycle . this range may be expanded to 700 to 1090 ° c . ( 1292 to 1994 ° f .) when the ammonia is combined with hydrogen as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 372 , 770 . the amount of time the furnace exhaust gas is within this range depends on the firing rate , firing duration , packing density and packing volume . in the firing mode depicted in the figures , ammonia injection takes place in the right - hand ammonia injection system 48 while the left - hand system 48 &# 39 ; is turned off . typically , the exhaust gas exits the furnace 12 and enters the regenerator at a temperature of about 1537 to 1704 ° c . ( 2800 to 3100 ° f .). as the exhaust gas passes through the regenerator , it transfers heat to the packing and is cooled . immediately after a firing reversal , the temperature of the exhaust gas passing through the flue 34 on the exhaust side is generally found to be below the desired no x reduction range but will rise to be within the desired range within about 1 to 3 minutes , whereupon ammonia injection may be initiated . ammonia injection continues as the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas in the flue continues to rise until its temperature exceeds the desired no x reduction temperature range , whereupon ammonia injection may be discontinued . however , it should be appreciated that depending on the firing rate , firing duration , packing density and packing volume , the furnace exhaust gas may be within the required temperature range immediately after the firing reversal . in such a situation , it is expected that the furnace exhaust gas will become too hot earlier the firing cycle to effectively reduce no x by ammonia injection . the process of reducing no x by ammonia injection may include variations , e . g . as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 900 , 554 ; 4 , 115 , 515 ; 4 , 328 , 020 and 4 , 372 , 770 . to further reduce no x emissions , afterburning may be incorporated into the melting process as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 372 , 770 . afterburning is a process of injecting fuel into the furnace exhaust gas and burning it with the furnace exhaust gas as it passes through the primary regenerators 20 and 22 . afterburning serves to suppress no x formation by consuming oxygen in the furnace exhaust gas that would otherwise be available for no x formation . it is also believed that the absence of oxygen causes no x in the furnace exhaust gas to decompose and that the presence of a combustible fuel causes chemical reduction of no x . all of the above mechanisms require that afterburning be carried out at a temperature where no x formation is likely . it is believed that the best results are achieved when the combustible fuel is mixed with furnace exhaust gas that is at a temperature of at least 1420 ° c . ( 2600 ° f .). in the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig2 and 3 , fuel is combined with the furnace exhaust gas at the upper end of the primary regenerator . more specifically , a fuel nozzle 58 is positioned to extend into the neck portion of port 28 from above . the nozzle 58 is angled counter to the direction of exhaust gas flow and it is expected that the fuel may be injected into the exhaust gas at about 50 to 500 feet per second ( stp ) ( 15 to 150 meters per second ) to effectively mix with the furnace exhaust gas . fuel injection nozzles 60 and 62 shown in phantom lines in fig3 illustrate alternate but less effective locations for fuel injection in the region of the upper plenum space 30 in approximate alignment with the respective port 28 . fuel may be injected from a plurality of nozzles associated with each port to further enhance mixing . fuel injection may also take place slightly inside the melting chamber 12 in front of a port mouth . it should be appreciated that it is not always necessary to inject fuel at each port 28 and partial advantages may be obtained by equipping only a portion of the ports with afterburning capabilities . it is not uncommon in a multiport furnace for different ports to be fired at different rates and with different fuel / air ratios . therefore , in some cases it could be most productive to limit afterburning to those ports having greater firing rates and / or the greatest amounts of excess oxygen remaining in the exhaust gas . the fuel employed for afterburning may be any combustible hydrocarbon commonly employed as a furnace fuel , and most conveniently the same fuel employed in the melting chamber 12 , which is most commonly natural gas ( methane ). the amount of fuel injected is preferably near the amount stoichiometrically required for complete consumption of oxygen in the exhaust gas stream at the location of injection . maximum afterburning of the exhaust gas stream from the furnace 10 requires the use of additional fuel in an amount up to about 15 percent of the fuel consumed in melting chamber 12 , depending on the amount of excess air in the exhaust gas . lower amounts of fuel are required when the exhaust gas includes lower amounts of air . this additional fuel may be concentrated in only a few ports where the greatest amounts of excess oxygen are found since , as discussed earlier , it is common to operate a glass melting furnace with varying degrees of oxidation potential from one port to another . those ports fired with the highest air to fuel ratios may be responsible for a major portion of the no x formation and thus afterburning efforts may be concentrated on the exhaust side of those ports . it should be appreciated that afterburning will also raise the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas more quickly so that no x reduction via the ammonia injection system 48 may be initiated earlier in the firing cycle . however , it should be further appreciated that afterburning has been found to produce an increase in the temperatures of the checker packing in the regenerators , e . g . on the order of 40 to 45 ° c . ( 70 to 80 ° f .). as a result , in those cases where support elements for the checker packing 26 are near their upper temperature limit , it may be desirable to monitor their temperature and to limit the amount of afterburning accordingly . the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas will vary as it exits the primary regenerators 20 and 22 and enters the distributing space 32 . for example , as discussed earlier there may be a period of time immediately following the firing reversal when the exhaust gas exiting the primary regenerators 20 and 22 into distributing space 32 is below the preferred range for effective no x reduction by ammonia injection system 48 . in addition , depending on the length of each firing cycle , the exhaust gas may reach a temperature above the desired range such that the injection system 48 is not as effective in removing no x emissions . to control the temperature of furnace exhaust gas as it flows through distributing space 32 and flue 34 to the ammonia injection system 48 during the firing cycle , the present invention utilizes an excess air burner 64 . an excess air burner is a burner that combines fuel ( for example , natural gas , oil or other combustible hydrocarbon material ) with excess ambient or preheated air , i . e . more air than the stoichiometric amount of air required to burn the fuel . the amount of excess air supplied to the burner is used to control the amount of heat generated by the burner 64 . more specifically , when the exhaust from the burner 64 combines with the furnace exhaust gas , the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas will increase or decrease and thus change the furnace exhaust gas temperature within distributing space 32 and flue 34 . by controlling the fuel / air ratio and the amount of fuel burned by burner 64 , the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas may be controlled . the excess air burner 64 will also burn additional combustibles , if present , in the exhaust gas as it passes through the distributing space 32 . in the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig1 the burner 64 is positioned at the lower portion of wall 66 of the primary regenerator 22 to direct its exhaust directly into distributing space 32 . as an alternative multiple burners may be positioned along space 32 . a controller 68 is linked to the burner 64 to control the amount of fuel and air burned by the burner 64 and thereby control the furnace exhaust gas temperature within distributing space 32 . if desired , a temperature indicator 70 may be positioned within space 32 and / or flue 34 to monitor the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas from the primary regenerators 20 and 22 . this indicator 70 may be linked to controller 68 to control the fuel / air mixture of the burner 64 and assure that the combined flow of furnace exhaust gas and burner gas is within the desired temperature range for effective reduction of no x from the furnace exhaust gas as it passes through grid of ammonia injection system 48 . it should be appreciated that when the temperature monitor 70 is positioned within flue 34 , prior to introducing the excess air burner exhaust into distributing space 32 , monitor 70 monitors the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas only , while after introduction of exhaust gas from the excess air burner 64 , the temperature indicator 70 monitors the combined temperature of the furnace exhaust gas and the burner exhaust . if the indicator 70 is positioned within or at the bottom of the regenerator packing , it will monitor the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas only . as an alternative to using an excess air burner 64 , ambient air may be injected into the furnace exhaust gas as it passes through the distributing space 32 in order to control furnace exhaust gas temperature and optimize no x reduction at the ammonia injection system 48 . however , it is preferred that an excess air burner 64 be used as discussed above because the burner 64 can burn over a wide temperature range and provide better temperature control of the exhaust gas . the excess air burner 64 as disclosed herein reduces no x emissions in two ways . first , it prolongs the time during which the ammonia injection system 48 operates effectively by changing the furnace exhaust gas temperature so that it is within a desired operating range for a greater period of time . more specifically , the burner 64 may be fired to supply exhaust gas having a temperature greater than the furnace exhaust gas and provide additional heat and increase the temperature of the furnace exhaust gas early in the firing cycle . the burner 64 may also be fired to produce an exhaust gas temperature which is lower than the furnace exhaust gas temperature so as to reduce the furnace exhaust gas temperature , if required , later in the firing cycle . second , if desired the burner 64 may be used to further control the furnace exhaust gas temperature within a narrower temperature range so that the ammonia injection system 48 may operate at its peak efficiency . as discussed earlier , it is preferred that the exhaust gas be the temperature in the range of 870 to 1090 ° c . but it is believed that the efficiency of the injection system 48 would be improved if the furnace exhaust gas was delivered to system 48 within a temperature range of 927 to 1010 ° c . ( 1700 to 1850 ° f .). the forms of the invention shown and described in this disclosure represent preferred embodiment and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	2
fig3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system , in which data packets are fec encoded and decoded in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the system comprises a transmitting device 31 and a receiving device 35 , which are able to communicate with each other via the internet or an ip based wireless network 39 . the transmitting device 31 can be for example an mbms server and the receiving device 35 can be for example a pc or mobile terminal which enables a user to request an mbms streaming session from the mbms server . the transmitting device 31 comprises a processing module 32 to which media rtp packets are provided , whenever such media rtp packets are to be transmitted via the internet or the ip based wireless network 39 to various receiving devices 35 in the scope of an mbms streaming session . the processing module 32 runs an ldpc erasure code based fec encoding software for encoding the media rtp packets on an application level . the processing module 32 provides modified media rtp packets and fec rtp packets for transmission via the internet or the ip based wireless network 39 , as will be described in more detail further below with reference to fig4 to 6 . the receiving device 35 comprises a processing module 36 , which receives media rtp packets and fec rtp packets via the internet or the ip based wireless network 39 in the scope of a requested mbms streaming session . the processing module 36 runs an ldpc erasure code based fec decoding software for decoding the media rtp packets on an application level , if required . in an ideal case , the software provides all original media rtp packets , which had been provided to the processing module 32 of the transmitting device 31 , for a playback , as will be described in detail further below with reference to fig7 to 9 . fig4 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the processing module 32 of the transmitting device 31 , and fig5 is a diagram of a matrix structure , which is employed in the scope of this operation . the matrix structure consists of two matrices . a media data matrix 51 is provided for the media data and an fec data matrix 52 is provided for fec data . in a first , preparatory step ( step 400 ), the processing module 32 determines the size of the media data matrix 51 , which is to be used for fec encoding . the size of the media data matrix 51 is determined according to a maximum permissible buffer latency at the receiving device 35 , the bearer speed and the fec overhead . for example , a 64 kbps bearer might be used for mbms streaming . further , an fec overhead of 20 % might be used . the fec overhead is defined as the additional fec data expressed as a percentage of the original media data . thus 64 kbps /( 1 + 0 . 2 )= 53 . 3 kbps is used to carry the media data and the rest is used to carry fec data . further , the buffer latency may be 5 s , that is , the receiving device 35 has to accumulate media data and fec data for 5 s , before it can decode and play - out the media data . in this case , the media data matrix can hold media data of a total size 53300 bits / s * 5 s = 265000 bits = 33 kbytes . the number of rows and columns in the matrices are determined by the fec scheme used . each element in the matrix may be assumed to have a size of one byte . if a systematic ( n , k ) rs code was used , as in various prior art approaches , the number of columns in the media matrix would have to be equal to k and the number of columns in the fec matrix would have to be equal to n - k . the number of rows can be determined from the size of the media matrix and the number of columns k according to the relation : number of rows = size of matrix / number of columns . with n = 255 and an fec overhead of 20 %, the number of columns in the media data matrix k can be determined to be k = ceil ( 255 /( 1 + 0 . 2 ))= 212 . if the size of the media matrix is 33 kbytes as assumed above , the number of rows can be determined to be 33000 / 212 = 155 . the fec data matrix then consists of n - k = 255 − 212 = 33 columns and 155 rows . the elements of the fec data matrix are formed by generating ( n - k ) parity symbols from each row of k symbols taken from media data matrix . as an ldpc erasure code is to be used in the presented embodiment for an fec , in contrast , the number of rows and columns can be chosen arbitrarily , depending on the encoding symbol size and subject to the constraint on the determined size of the media data matrix . in either case , the media data matrix is able to hold exactly k data symbols 54 of equal size . the size of the data symbol 54 can be advantageously chosen to suit the ( n , k ) of the employed ldpc erasure code . for the above example of a media data matrix of 33 kbytes , a data symbol size of 128 bytes could be selected . the number of rows could then be equal to the data symbol size . in this case , the number of columns would be 33000 / 128 = 258 . alternatively , the number of rows could be four times the data symbol size , that is , 128 * 4 = 512 . in this case , the number of columns would be 33000 / 512 = 64 . further alternatively , the number of rows could be equal to 1 . in this case , the number of columns would be 33000 . in preparation of the mbms session , the determined dimensions of the data matrix and the selected size of the data symbols 54 are signaled by the transmitting device 31 to the receiving devices 35 . while step 400 may be performed once for the entire mbms streaming session , the further operation is repeated on a block - by - block basis . first , the processing module 32 receives variable size media rtp packets 53 , for example from a storage ( step 401 ). each media rtp packet 53 is supplemented with a “ packetlength ” field ( step 402 ). this field represents the total length of the media rtp packet including the header , header extensions , payload format and payload . the additional field “ packetlength ” may be included in the rtp header extension , in the fec payload id or in any payload format . the supplemented media rtp packets 53 are fed one after the other and column by column into the media data matrix 51 , until all columns are filled ( step 403 ). a media rtp packet 53 is not split up between two consecutive media data matrices 51 , though . thus , if the last column or columns of the media data matrix 51 cannot be filled up with an entire media rtp packet 53 anymore , some padding data 55 is used to fill the media data matrix 51 . all media rtp packets 53 fitting into a single media data matrix 51 are considered to belong to one block . next , the data is taken from the media data matrix 51 again on a data symbol 54 by data symbol 54 basis ( step 404 ). the extracted k data symbols 54 are numbered in fig5 from 1 to k . the k data symbols 54 are encoded to produce ( n - k ) parity symbols 56 ( step 405 ). the n - k parity symbols 56 are numbered in fig5 from k + 1 to n . the size of the parity symbols 56 is the same as the size of the data symbols 54 . it has to be noted that a single data symbol 54 can span across two consecutive media rtp packets 53 . this means that a data symbol 54 will not be available for decoding , if any one of the media rtp packets 53 that it spans across is lost . any systematic ldpc erasure code can be used to produce the n - k parity symbols 56 from the k data symbols 54 . by way of example , the use of a systematic raptor code will be described with reference to fig6 , which employs a set of non - systematic keys to produce the parity symbols 56 from data symbols 54 . in the top left - hand corner of fig6 , the k data symbols 54 extracted from the media matrix 51 are presented . in the top right - hand corner of fig6 , n - k keys in form of a respective key column 60 are presented . the k data symbols 54 are multiplied symbol - wise with the k entries of each of ( n - k ) key columns 60 , the multiplications with each of the key columns 60 resulting in a respective parity symbol 56 . randomly placed dark boxes in each key column 60 indicate that a data symbol 54 multiplied with this entry is to be xored within the respective key column 60 to form the associated parity symbol 56 . for example , with the first key column the first data symbol , the third data symbol , etc ., and the last data symbol are combined in an xor operation to obtain the first parity symbol . with the second key column , the second data symbol , the fifth data symbol , etc . are combined in an xor operation to obtain the second parity symbol . with the third key column , the first data symbol , the fourth data symbol , etc ., and the second but last data symbol are combined in an xor operation to obtain the third parity symbol , etc . the ( n - k ) key columns can be generated online . the resulting parity symbols 56 are presented down on the right in fig6 . alternatively to the raptor code , for example an ldgm erasure code could be employed . in this case , the k data symbols 54 are multiplied with an ldgm . the set of ( n - k ) key columns 60 in fig6 may then form part of the pre - computed generator matrix . the employed set of keys 60 , the employed ldgm , or some other employed ldpc matrix are signaled by the transmitting device 31 to the receiving device 35 . for systematic raptor codes , a set of systematic keys and a set of non - systematic keys 60 are signaled . details on these keys can be found for example in the documents u . s . 2004 / 0075593 a1 and wo 2004 / 034589 a2 . with reference to the raptor codes , the receiving device 35 needs a key 60 for each parity symbol 56 to identify the indices of data symbols 54 that were xored to form that parity symbol 56 . the keys 60 do not have to be communicated online to the receiving device 35 , that is , in rtp packets 53 . instead , a known set of keys 60 could also be signaled at the beginning of the streaming session , for example together with the dimensions of the media data matrix and the size of the data symbols . all blocks in the streaming session may use the same set of keys 60 . in case of ldgm and ldpc codes , the receiving device 35 has to know the parity check matrix . thus the set of keys is equivalent in this case to a parity check matrix . before transmission , each media rtp packet 53 is appended with an additional field that identifies the block to which it belongs and with an additional field that indicates its position or address relative to the first byte in the media data matrix 51 ( step 406 ). the above cited document s4 - 040526 already proposes to include two additional fields sbn and esi in the rtp payload format for media rtp packets . the sbn identifies the source block to which the respective media rtp packet 54 belongs . the esi indicates the address / position of the first byte of the media rtp packet 54 in a media data matrix 51 . the ( n - k ) parity symbols 56 are encapsulated into multiple fec rtp packets ( step 407 ). each fec rtp packet is formed by concatenating an appropriate rtp header , one or more parity symbols 56 and an additional field that indicates the addresses of the parity symbols in the fec data matrix 52 . the above cited document s4 - 040526 already proposes to include three additional fields sbn , esi and sbl in the rtp payload format for fec - rtp packets . the sbn identifies the source block to which the respective fec rtp packet belongs . the esi indicates the address / position of the first byte of the fec rtp packet in a fec data matrix . a single fec - rtp packet could contain one or more parity symbols 56 . now , the supplemented media rtp packets and the formed fec rtp packets are transmitted via the internet or the ip based wireless network 39 , that is , a lossy channel , to receiving devices 35 . the transmitted data for one block thus consists of a stream of media rtp packets and an associated stream of fec rtp packets . fig7 is a flow chart illustrating the operation at the processing module 36 of one of the receiving devices 35 . the receiving device 35 receives media rtp packets and fec - rtp packets via the internet or the ip based wireless network 39 ( step 701 ). each rtp packet comprises an identification of the block to which it belongs , for example in form of an sbn field . for each block , the processing module determines first whether all media rtp packets were received ( step 702 ). if this is the case , the processing module 36 ignores the associated fec rtp packets and provides the received media rtp packets immediately for a conventional decoding and for playing the included media ( step 703 ). if some media rtp packets have been lost in the transit , however , the processing module 36 tries first to recover them by an ldpc erasure code based fec decoding . the processing module 36 evaluates to this end position information in all successfully received rtp packets , for example the esi in an esi field , and inserts the media rtp packets at a corresponding position of a media data matrix and the fec rtp packets at a corresponding position of an fec data matrix , after having removed the block identification and the position information from the rtp packets . fig8 is a diagram of an employed matrix structure . the matrix structure corresponds to the matrix structure presented with reference to fig5 , and includes thus a media data matrix 81 for media data and an fec data matrix 82 for fec data . due to the lost rtp packets , the resulting matrices 81 , 82 have holes . in the example of fig8 , the first and the fourth media rtp packets 87 are lost . corresponding to these lost media rtp packets 87 , the data symbols 1 , 2 , 3 , 8 , 9 and 10 are lost . further , two fec rtp packets 88 are lost . corresponding to these lost fec rtp packets 88 , the parity symbols k + 1 , k + 2 , n - 3 and n - 2 are lost . the processing module 36 tries to fill the holes in the media data matrix 81 by an fec decoding , which is illustrated in addition in fig9 . for the fec decoding , the processing module 36 extracts the data symbol - wise from the matrices 81 , 82 ( step 705 ). the resulting block 90 of data symbols 84 and parity symbols 86 is shown in fig9 . some data symbols and some fec symbols do not contain any data as explained above . the symbols 84 , 86 are decoded by an fec decoder portion 91 of the software run by the processing module 36 ( step 706 ). the fec decoder portion 91 inverts the encoding process described above with reference to fig6 . the decoder portion 91 thus outputs a block 92 of data symbols , which includes in the ideal case all original data symbols 94 . by recovering the missing data symbols 94 by an fec decoding , the holes 87 , 88 in the media - data matrix of fig8 are filled up . if the total number of data and parity symbols 84 , 86 containing data is greater than a threshold k ( 1 + ε ), where ε is the reception overhead , the fec decoding is very likely to be successful . if the fec decoding is not completely successful , the receiving device 35 just consumes the available media rtp packets and may employ other error resilience tools , like error concealment . regardless of whether the decoding was successful or unsuccessful , the media rtp packets must be read out from the media data matrix 81 and passed on to the next stage for consumption ( step 707 ). the media rtp packets 83 must be read out starting from the first rtp packet in the media data matrix 81 . for example , if the first media rtp packet is lost as indicated in fig8 , the symbols 1 , 2 and 3 that span these two packets are lost . after a successful fec decoding , the symbols 1 , 2 and 3 are recovered and filled in the media data matrix 81 . now the processing module 36 can read the header of the first reconstructed media rtp packet , but it has to know in addition the end of the first media rtp packet . this information is provided by the added “ packetlength ” field indicating the length of the media rtp packet . the media rtp packets are then decoded and the media is played in a conventional manner ( step 703 ). summarized , the presented embodiment of the invention enables the application of efficient ldpc erasure codes in a matrix - based approach for an fec for mbms streaming . it is to be noted that the described embodiment can be varied in many other ways than those indicated and that it moreover constitutes only one of a variety of possible embodiments of the invention .	7
the various elements of the cutting assembly and turret winder that are illustrated are mounted on a main support structure , comprising two thick , rigid , transversely - spaced , parallel metal side members 10 ( only one shown ) connected rigidly together by suitable cross - members ( not shown ) and with the said various elements mounted between them . the details of such a support structure are not essential to an understanding of this invention and will be apparent to those skilled in the art of such mechanical constructions . an apparatus frame which supports the cutting assembly and also a lay - on roller 12 consists of two parallel side members 14 ( only one shown ) connected together by cross - members ( not shown ) and mounted for pivoting movement in the direction of arrows 16 about a transverse pivot member 18 . this movement is produced when required by a pneumatic motor 20 connected at 22 to the side member 10 and having its piston 24 connected at 26 to the side member 14 . the turret winder is illustrated only diagrammatically and consists of two parallel , transversely - spaced , centre - pivoted arms 28 ( only one shown ) mounted on coaxial stub pivot axles 30 that are rotatably mounted respectively by the two plates 10 . winding mandrels 32 and 34 of any suitable construction are mounted on the arms at opposite ends thereof and , as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the mandrel 32 has received a full roll 36 of a strip , or web , or flattened tube 38 ( hereinafter for convenience in description referred to as the strip 38 ), while the mandrel 34 is empty and is waiting for the next roll to be wound on it . the mechanism required to drive the mandrels 32 and 34 so as to gather the strip thereon , and to rotate the turret arms 28 when required are not illustrated in that again they are not essential to a full description of the invention and its mode of operation , and will be apparent to those skilled in this particular mechanical art . the strip 38 is received from the collapsing frame of the blown film tower and passes over an auxiliary roll 40 rotatably mounted between the adjacent ends of a pair of arms 42 ( only one shown ), the other ends of which arms are mounted on a pivot rod 44 that is mounted between the side plates 14 and also carries the strip - engaging lay - on roller 12 . the strip then passes during the cutting operation between the roller 12 and the empty mandrel 34 to the storage roll 36 . the cutter assembly comprises two transversely - spaced , parallel arms 46 mounted at adjacent ends on a pivot rod 48 to turn with the rod , the rod being rotatably mounted between the side plates 14 , the arms being held rigidly for movement in unison by two connecting cross - members 50 . knife mounting means is constituted by a pivot rod 52 carrying knife blade 54 , the rod being mounted between the opposite ends of the arms 46 , and being rotated between inoperative and operative attitudes by a pneumatic motor 56 ( fig3 ) mounted on one of the arms 46 and having its piston 58 connected to the pivot rod 52 by a link 60 . the knife blade is shown in enlarged detail in fig4 and it will be seen that it has a deeply serrated relieved cutting edge providing a line of sharp , well - defined , piercing points 62 distributed uniformly across the width of the blade , each of which leads progressively to a pair of associated sharp inclined cutting edges 64 that together extend over the full width of the strip . a wrapping roller 66 is mounted for free rotation on a respective axle between the arms 46 in a position thereon such that when the assembly is in the operative cutting position illustrated by fig2 its periphery is pressed firmly against the periphery of the empty mandrel 34 . the various axles , pivot rods and mandrels are of course all mounted with their axes of rotation parallel to one another . the pivot rods 44 and 48 have respective chain sprockets 68 and 70 fastened thereto and are connected for simultaneous rotation by a drive chain 72 that passes around a motor - rotated control sprocket 74 , and four idler sprockets 76 . the control sprocket 74 is rotated as required on its axle 75 by a pneumatic motor 78 having its piston 80 connected to a link 82 that is fastened to the axle 76 . in operation , the storage roll 36 is filled while its mandrel 32 is in the position in which the mandrel 34 is shown in fig1 and 2 , and during this period the lay - on roller 12 is held clear of the roll by the motor 20 , and the cutter assembly is in the inoperative position relative to the frame members 14 shown in fig1 in which it is completely clear of the strip 38 . when the roll is sufficiently full , usually as measured by an automatic counter that counts the number of metres ( feet ) of strip that have been wound thereon , the turret is operated to move the arms 28 in the direction of the arrow 84 ( fig1 ) until the roll has reached the position shown in fig1 and the empty mandrel 34 has replaced the full mandrel 32 . the motor 20 is then operated to rotate the side members 14 anti - clockwise as seen in fig1 and 2 until the lay - on roller 12 has contacted the mandrel 34 , whereupon a limit switch 86 is closed ; the operation of this and other electric switches will be described below in conjunction with fig6 . at this time the portion of the strip between the roll 36 and the mandrel 34 is straight while under the gentle , steady tension required for tight rolling of the strip . the auxiliary roll 40 is in a position in which the strip 38 has a small excess of travel from a straight path into the nip between the lay - on roll 12 and the mandrel 34 . the pneumatic motor 78 is then operated in the direction of arrow 88 to rotate the control sprocket 74 clockwise ( arrow 90 ), thus rotating the cutter arms 46 clockwise ( arrow 92 ) and the auxiliary roll arms 42 anti - clockwise ( arrow 94 ) to the respective positions shown in fig2 . in this operative position of the cutter assembly one of the transverse bars 50 and the support rod 52 for the blade engages the strip 38 sufficiently to deflect it out of the straight path between the roll 36 and the mandrel 34 , with only a short length thereof , in this embodiment about 5 - 8 cm ( 2 - 3 inches ), between the nip of mandrel 34 and roll 12 and the support rod 52 , but with the knife blade 54 in the inoperative attitude shown in broken lines in fig2 in which it is clear of the moving strip with its points 62 and cutting edges 64 facing opposite to the direction of strip movement ; at the same time the lay - on roller 12 is pressed firmly against the mandrel 34 and the auxiliary roll 40 has moved to a position in which there is now a greater length of strip in the part of the path including the auxiliary roll . when the arm 82 moves to its full extent in the direction of the arrow 88 it engages a limit switch 96 which operates and , after a time delay set by a time delay relay , as will be described below , causes operation of the pneumatic motor 56 . the delay is usually of the order of 2 - 3 seconds to be sure that the blade assembly is securely in position with the strip deflected , as described above . the knife motor piston 58 is now operated in the direction of arrow 98 ( fig3 ), rotating the knife support bar 52 anti - clockwise ( arrow 100 ), in this embodiment through an angle of about 30 degrees , so that the knife blade points 62 engage the very short length of the moving strip between the mandrel and the bar 54 , this length being so short relative to the travel of the knife that it is impossible for the strip to avoid the points . the movement of the strip against the knife points immediately forces the strip into engagement with them and also positively assists the rotation of the blade in the direction of arrow 100 to force the strip and the blade into engagement with one another . the blade continues its rotation to the position shown in solid lines in fig2 in which the strip has been fully penetrated and cut . thus , as soon as even one point has engaged the strip , the strip and the blade are positively forced further together by the strip movement with no possibility of the strip being able to retreat from the knife , despite the considerable elasticity of the strip material . after a period of time set by a timing relay , as described in more detail below , the knife is returned to its inoperative attitude and the cutting assembly is returned to its inoperative position . since the portion of the strip engaged by the knife is under tension , as soon as this is relieved by the cutting of the strip the resulting cut leading edge will tend to move down toward the periphery of the upper mandrel 34 . moreover , at the same time a blast of air is directed against the free edge of the strip by a plurality of transversely - spaced air nozzles 102 . the strip edge is therefore blown against the mandrel and trapped between the mandrel , the wrapper roller 66 , and thereafter the lay - on roller 12 and winding of the new roll begins on the mandrel 34 . at this time the pneumatic motor 66 is reversed , so that the slack strip that was produced by the auxiliary roller 40 is now available for wrapping rapidly around the mandrel to start the new storage roll . this wrapping action is assisted , if required , by use of a mandrel of the type which is hollow in its centre with bores extending from the hollow centre to the periphery , a vacuum being drawn in the centre to suck the strip against the mouths of the bores and thus against the mandrel periphery . the full roll 36 is now removed and a new empty mandrel put in place for the entire operation to be repeated as soon as the new roll is sufficiently full . referring to fig6 air for the motors 20 , 56 and 78 is supplied under pressure from a source ( not shown ) via a valve 104 , a regulator / filter / lubricator unit 106 and individual regulators 108 to the respective solenoid - operated air valves 110 , 112 and 114 . the exhausted air exits through a muffler 116 . the operation of the various other check valves , throttles , etc . that are required for such a system will be apparent to those skilled in the art and do not require specific description . air for the nozzles 102 is supplied from a separate source to its respective solenoid - operated air valve 118 , the line to this valve including a reservoir 120 to accommodate a volume of air for the necessary quick blast . as fig5 shows only the essential pneumatic elements required to fully describe the operation of the invention , so fig6 shows only the essential electric elements for that purpose . switch 122 ( line 02 ) sets the cutter assembly either for automatic control from counter 124 ( 01 ) when it measures the required length of strip , or from hand switch 126 ( 03 ) if the operator wishes to initiate an operation . thus , the counter closes its normally open ( no ) contacts 124a ( 02 ), or the switch 126 is closed manually , whereupon the two control relays 128 ( 02 ) and 130 ( 03 ) are energized . control relay 128 initiates the sequence that moves the full roll 36 to the lower position , which will not be further described , while control relay 130 closes its contacts 130a ( 10 ) and , provided hand control switch 132 ( 10 ) is closed , solenoid 110 ( 10 ) of the respective air valve is energized and lay - on roller motor 20 is operated . the switch 132 enables this operation to be initiated by the operator . at the same time time delay relay 134 ( 11 ) is energized closing its no contacts 134a ( 04 ) after a predetermined period . when the lay - on roll 12 is in position , limit switch 86 ( 05 ) is closed , energizing time delay relay 136 which closes its contacts 136a ( 07 ), so that after a predetermined period to ensure that the lay - on roll is in position the solenoid 114 of that relay is energized to operate the motor 78 and swing the cutter assembly into position . with the cutter assembly in position , the limit switch 96 ( 04 ) is closed energizing time delay relay 138 ( 04 ), provided that the time delay contacts 134a are closed . with contacts 138a closed , the solenoids 112 and 118 of the respective air valves are energized to operate the knife and initiate the air blast from the nozzles 102 . the closing of limit switch 96 also energized a time delay relay 140 ( 05 ) having normally closed contacts 140a ( 04 ) and 140b ( 07 ) and normally open latching contacts 140c ( 05 ). the difference in time delays of the relays 138 ( 1 - 2 seconds ) and 140 ( 3 - 4 seconds ) sets the period for which the knife blade is in its operative attitude ( usually 1 - 2 seconds ), the opening of contacts 140a disabling the relay 138 whereupon contacts 138a ( 08 ) open to disable the knife motor relay 112 and its motor 56 , and to stop the air blast via relay 118 , while the opening of the contacts 140b disables the arm moving valve 114 and its motor 78 to return the cutting assembly to the inoperative position of fig1 . the sequence can then repeat . the delay provided by time delay relay 134 is longer than that provided by the relays 138 and 140 , so that these relays have finished operating before the hand operation by switch 132 to lay - on the roller 12 takes effect , whereby the cutting assembly is not operated when the switch 132 is closed by the operator . although the invention has been described in connection with a cutting assembly applied to a turret - type winder , it will be apparent that it is also applicable to any type of strip - handling apparatus in which the strip path is such as to permit the knife assembly the necessary access to the strip where it can be immediately adjacent to the strip and apply the knife blade to the strip with its strip - engaging points facing in the direction opposite to that of the strip movement . the assembly will be operative if sufficiently close to the strip , but it is preferred to operate it as described in which the strip is deflected out of its path , since even more positive operation is thereby obtained . another application of the invention is shown in fig7 in which the same reference numbers are used where possible , the apparatus being a surface winder employing a relatively large diameter winding drum 142 mounted for rotation on an axle 144 , the strip 38 passing over the top circumference of the drum from a spreader roll 146 . the cutter assembly arms 46 are also mounted for pivoting movement on the axle 144 from the stored inoperative lower position shown in broken lines to the operative position shown in solid lines . it will be seen that as the assembly moves in the direction of the arrow 92 the knife support bar 52 and the cross - member 50 engage the strip , so that at the uppermost position the short section of the strip between the members 50 and 52 is under tension and ready for engagement by the knife blade 54 . it will be noted that with the cutting assembly of the invention the knife is virtually stationary , and it is essentially the movement of the strip that produces the cutting . moreover , the knife is beneath the strip as far as the operator is concerned , and it is inherently much safer than a knife which moves transversely of the strip to cut it .	8
a preferred process for making the tfr particles involves mixing conventional plastic , preferably polyester although acrylics and other polymers can also be used , together with conventional fillers , commonly used in the manufacture of fountainhead ® and corian ™ type products , together with a particular commercially available pigment which comprises small mica flakes of about 5 – 50 μm having angstrom thickness metal oxide coatings on their surfaces , often tio 2 , which coated mica flakes are commonly used to make pearlescent products including buttons and bowling balls . after the coated mica flakes , optional fillers , optional conventional pigments for color , and uncured plastic are mixed together to form the tfr composition , curing ( preferably complete curing ) of the plastic is carried out in such a way as to cause the mica flakes to become oriented in particular orientation patterns . one preferred way of accomplishing this orientation is to cast the mixture of flakes and plastic , with or without fillers and other pigments , onto a flat plate or belt and heat the mixture differentially , e . g . from the bottom through a metal conveyor belt on which the composition is cast , so as to cause the flakes to become oriented in generally oval patterns . regardless of how orientation of the flakes is carried out , the cured product , e . g . in solid ribbon form , is then ground to different particle sizes , to produce a granular tfr product , which translucent fire retardant particles are themselves used as an additive in the manufacture of the final fountainhead ® type products . a key factor in obtaining the desired final product is the nature of the tfrs which contain the coated mica flakes become locally oriented in the same direction , as use of the original coated mica flakes alone in the manufacture of the final product , without the intermediate manufacture of the tfrs will not give the desired results ; the reason why flakes per se and alone do not produce a good final product is that in commercial production of the final product , the flakes do not orient in such a way as to give the desired appearance . a wide variety of product appearances can be provided according to the present invention : for example , using appropriate brown pigments , products having the appearance of burl wood are made which cannot be made according to the prior art . in the manufacture of the tfrs , it is desirable to grind the pearlescent flake - containing solidified ribbon to provide tfr particles of reasonably large size , desirably on the order of at least 50 μm of minimum dimension . there is no limit on the maximum size of such tfrs , except it is preferred that they be no larger than 5 cm in their greatest dimension ; their size is also limited by the thickness of the final product which is conventionally made in thicknesses of one - half and three - quarter inches . tfrs in any one final product can be provided in a variety of sizes simply by variable crushing of the cured ribbon . in the manufacture of the final product , the tfrs in plural sizes , preferably at least two or three different sizes , are added to the conventional mix in amounts of up to 30 – 35 % in mixes where ath is an ingredient as is preferred , or in an amounts up to about 60 % where the product is ath - free . it is preferred that small quantities of the coated mica flake pigment also be added to the final mix , preferably in a quantity which is less than the quantity of the tfrs , e . g . up to 50 % of the quantity of the tfrs , to provide a final product having a somewhat enhanced appearance . in the manufacture of the final product , the tfrs become randomly reoriented to provide the final product , which has a somewhat pearlescent appearance . however , it is preferred that the composition of the final decorative product be passed through a die to orient parallel to the plane of the resultant product whatever raw coated flakes may be present in the composition . the final product preferably contains about 50 – 60 % ath , including the ath present in the tfrs , and about 15 – 20 % tfrs , and also preferably about 1 – 5 % additional conventional pigment , most preferably pigment of the coated mica type . the additional pigment , preferably of the coated mica type , gives a good background for the tfr particles . in more detail , in the manufacture of the tfrs using the aforementioned coated mica flakes , the presently preferred method is to form a first mixture of pigments , hereinafter sometimes called a holomar pigment formulation , then mix the holomar pigment formulation with resin and optional filler , e . g . ath , and then to continuously cast the composition on a heated belt so that there is a thermal gradient . when heat is applied upwardly from the heated belt , the coated mica flakes tend to orient in generally oval shaped patterns . when the cured ribbon is thereafter ground to different particle sizes to produce the different particle sized tfrs , and these tfrs are then used in the manufacture of the final product , the pigment alignment is such that the holomar pigments of the tfrs reflect light in many different planes which shift as the frame of reference of the viewer changes . the composition for making the tfrs can vary widely , and typically contains 30 – 95 % ( preferably 30 – 50 %) curable resin , preferably thermosetting polyester or thermosetting acrylic syrup ; 0 – 65 % ( preferably 45 – 65 %) ath ; 0 . 7 – 50 % ( preferably 6 – 10 %) holomar pigment formulation as explained below ; 0 – 40 % ( preferably 3 – 8 %) methyl methacrylate monomer ; and appropriate initiator and / or catalyst , e . g . 0 . 2 – 3 . 5 % methyl ethyl ketone peroxide and 0 . 01 – 0 . 1 % of a 12 % cobalt octoate composition . the aforementioned holomar pigment formulation is formed of 15 – 100 % of the commercially available coated mica flakes , 0 – 20 % black pigment , 0 – 20 % of other standard colored pigments , 0 – 80 % of a diluent which is a preferably a thermoplastic ( non - reactive ) polyester , 0 – 80 % of reactive resin which is preferably a thermosettable polyester , and 0 – 5 % of a wetting agent . in the most preferred method , the aforementioned tfr composition , preferably initially without the holomar pigment formulation and catalyst which are later metered in , is well mixed such as in a kneading continuous mixer , and the final mixture is cast onto the heated belt on which the mixture is cured to a solid . the resultant solid ribbon passes to a hammer mill where it is crushed and then conveyor fed to a granulator and then to a three - roll mill with adjustable rollers so that the maximum size of the tfr particles can be controlled . the tfr particles can either be separated to sizes such as by using screens and then remixed according to what is desired , or it can be used as is without classification , preferably after removal of fines . a preferred composition for the manufacture of the tfr particles consists of approximately 48 % ath , approximately 44 % thermosettable polyester resin , approximately 7 % of the holomar pigment formulation , and approximately 1 % in total of methyl methacrylate monomer , catalyst and initiator . one holomar pigment formulation for producing a sapphire color consists of about 30 % of coated mica flake pigment , about 70 % of thermoplastic polyester as diluent , and less than 1 % of black pigment . a similar holomar formulation , but without the black pigment , produces a bronze / copper color . an olive - colored holomar formulation is formed of approximately 33 % of the coated mica flakes , 18 % black pigment and 48 . 5 % non - reactive polyester as a diluent . fountainhead ® sheet product is made according to standard practice and standard formulation , but to which is added , in three separate runs , respectively 15 % of said tfr particles , 20 % of said tfr particles and 25 % of said tfr particles , based on the total composition . the resultant fountainhead ® sheet products contain respectively about 60 %, 55 % and 50 % ath , with the remainder in each case being predominantly the thermoset polyester with relatively minor amounts of other materials as indicated above . the tfrs can also be used in the manufacture of shaped goods . suitable exemplary and non - limitative pigment formulation examples , in addition to those set forth above , are set forth below : 30 % bronze colored coated flakes containing black pigment ( mearlin super bronze 9250z ) 30 % bronze color coated flakes containing black pigment ( mearlin super bronze 9250z ). 30 . 00 % light sandy colored coated flakes with green hue ( mearlin hi lite super green 9830z ) 30 . 00 % light sandy colored coated flakes with green hue ( mearlin hi lite super green 9830z ) the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without undue experimentation and without departing from the generic concept , and , therefore , such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments . for example , the surfacing materials of the present invention can be made using acrylic or acrylate polymers instead of polyester polymers . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . the means , materials , and steps for carrying out various disclosed functions may take a variety of alternative forms without departing from the invention . thus the expressions “ means to . . . ” and “ means for . . . ”, or any method step language , as may be found in the specification above and / or in the claims below , followed by a functional statement , are intended to define and cover whatever structural , physical , chemical or electrical element or structure , or whatever method step , which may now or in the future exist which carries out the recited function , whether or not precisely equivalent to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed in the specification above , i . e ., other means or steps for carrying out the same function can be used ; and it is intended that such expressions be given their broadest interpretation .	1
referring to fig1 a solid fuel heating appliance comprising a wood burning stove 10 is shown including a primary wood combustion chamber or fire box 12 in the lower portion of the stove 10 and an exhaust or secondary combustion chamber 14 in the upper portion of the stove 10 . a combustor in the form of a catalytic converter 16 is located between the primary combustion chamber 12 and the exhaust or secondary combustion chamber 14 to promote more complete burning or oxidation of the carbon monoxide , hydrocarbons and other combustibles ( including solid particles entrained in combustion gases ) exiting from the combustion chamber 12 . the stove 10 includes a grate 18 within the primary combustion chamber 12 for supporting the wood to be burned therein . air to the primary combustion chamber 12 is supplied through a primary combustion air inlet not shown preferably located near the grate 18 as well as a secondary air combustion air inlet 22 which is coupled to a manifold 24 which provides air or oxygen to the inlet face of the catalytic converter 16 so as to optimize the oxidation or burning within the catalytic converter . the manifold 24 is positioned and designed in the appliance so as to provide adequate premixing of the secondary air from the manifold 24 with combustion gases and fumes before they enter the converter 16 . additional combustion or oxidation and / or heat exchange to living space occurs within the chamber 14 before the exhaust gases leave through a flue 26 . it will therefore be appreciated that exhaust flows from the chamber 12 , through the converter 16 , into the chamber 14 and out through the flue 26 . an adjustable closeable bypass to the flue 26 is preferably provided by a damper 28 which is attached to a pivot or hinged position 30 at a wall 31 of the stove 10 ( similar to copending application ser . no . 136 , 687 filed apr . 2 , 1980 and assigned to the assignee of this application ). in accordance with this invention , the converter 16 is located very close to the chamber or fire box 12 . in order to prevent flame from the chamber or fire box 12 from impinging directly on the converter 16 , a fire breaking means in the form of a honeycomb structure 32 is provided as may be better appreciated with reference to fig2 and 3 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the flame breaking means 32 comprises a honeycomb structure having solid walls forming and interrupted by a multiplicity of openings 34 which are substantially equal in size to the cells 36 formed by the walls of the honeycomb structure of the converter 16 . it will be appreciated that exhaust from the chamber 12 shown in fig1 passes through the openings 34 of the flame breaking means 32 and on through the cells 36 of the converter 16 . the honeycomb structure of means 32 does not contain any catalytic coating thereon nor catalytic substance in the material of such structure . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the honeycomb structure of the flame breaking means 32 as well the honeycomb structure of the converter 16 are mounted in a tubular member 38 and spaced from one another by a spacing ring 40 which contacts the periphery of flame breaking means 32 and the converter 16 at the interior of the tubular means 38 . a flange 42 extends from the tubular means 38 and extends inwardly beneath the honeycomb structure of the flame breaking means 32 so as to support the flame breaking means 32 as well as the converter 16 . the flange 42 is secured to a wall 44 separating the primary combustion chamber 12 from the secondary combustion chamber 14 by threaded fasteners 46 adjacent an exhaust path opening 48 . in accordance with one important aspect of the invention , the area of the flame breaking means transverse to the flow of exhaust is substantially equal to or larger than the area of the combustor transverse to the flow of exhaust and juxtaposed to the inlet face of the combustor 16 so as to prevent impingement of flames on the combustor 16 . in this connection , it will be appreciated that flames will impinge upon the flame breaking means 32 although no flames are permitted to impinge upon the combustor 16 . in accordance with another important aspect of the invention , the flame breaking means 32 has a thickness in the direction of exhaust through the openings 34 substantially less than the thickness of the combustor 16 in the direction of exhaust through the cells 36 but preferably equal to at least 0 . 5 mm . in other words , the average length of the openings 34 for the direction of exhaust flow therethrough is less than the average length of the cells 36 in the direction of exhaust flow therethrough . moreover , the density and the size of the openings 34 compared with the density and size of the cells 36 is important in conjunction with the length to assure that the pressure drop across a flame breaking means 32 is less than the pressure drop across the combustor 16 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the size and density of the openings 34 and the cells 36 are substantially identical . it will be appreciated that other size and density relationships may be provided to assure that the pressure drop across the flame breaking means 32 is substantially less than the pressure drop across the combustor 16 . preferably , the surface area surrounding the openings 34 is at least 15 % of the overall area of the flame breaking means 32 . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 - 3 , the flame breaking means 32 is most effective when the ratio of the minimum distance of each of the openings 34 from the combustor divided by the minimum cross - sectional dimension of the openings is greater than 2 and less than 30 . as shown in fig7 this requires the ratio of the distance 1 for each of the openings 34 in the flame breaking means 22 divided by the minimum cross - sectional dimension d of the cells to be more than 2 and less than 30 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 through 3 , the flame breaking means 32 comprises a honeycomb structure which , like the combustor 16 , may comprise a ceramic material which may be extruded to form this structure shown in detail in fig2 and 3 . other honeycomb structures made from ceramic material in this and other ways or other materials suitable for use in a honeycomb structure may be utilized . moreover , a flame breaking means may take on a completely different form as will now be described with reference to the embodiments of fig4 - 6 . as shown in fig4 a stove 110 comprises a number of elements similar and identically referenced to those of the stove 10 shown in fig1 . where elements of the stove 110 differ from those of the stove 10 , a different reference character will be utilized . in the embodiment of fig4 - 6 , a flame breaking means 132 is coupled to a secondary air source inlet 122 through a pipe 124 which extends generally parallel with the grate 18 across the stove 110 and then upwardly toward the flame breaking means 132 . in accordance with an important aspect of this invention , flame breaking means 132 actually serves as a manifold for distributing the air flowing through the pipe 124 to the plurality of openings 134 shown in fig5 and 6 . in this connection , each of the openings 134 includes holes 150 in the walls of the tubular structures forming the openings 134 so as to permit air to circulate inwardly through the manifold channels 152 as depicted by the arrows so as to supply supplemental or secondary oxygen to the combustor 16 . as shown in fig5 and 6 , the area of the flame breaking means 132 transverse to the flow of exhaust is slightly larger than the area of the combustor 16 transverse to the exhaust so as to assure that flames within the chamber 12 cannot impinge upon the combustor 16 . it will also be noted that the flame breaking means 132 comprises a thickness in the direction of exhaust flow through the openings 134 which is substantially less than the thickness of the combustor in the direction of exhaust flow through the cells 136 and substantially greater than 0 . 5 mm . the length of the openings 134 in a direction of exhaust flow therethrough is less than the average length of the cells 136 in the direction of exhaust flow therethrough . as also shown in the embodiments of fig5 and 6 , the size of the openings 134 are substantially larger than the size of the cells 136 in the combustor 16 , and the density of the cells 134 in the flame breaking means 132 is substantially less than the density of the cells 136 in the combustor 16 so as to minimize the pressure drop across the flame breaking means 132 as compared with that for the combustor 16 . it will also be understood with reference to fig1 that the flame breaking function is optimized when the ratio of the distance 1 of the inlet to each opening 34 from the combustor 16 divided by the minimum cross - sectional dimension d of the opening is at least 2 and preferably less than 30 . furthermore , the closed area of the flame breaking means surrounding the openings represents at least 15 % of the overall area of the flame breaking means at its inlet face . referring to fig5 it will be appreciated that tubular means are again utilized to hold the flame breaking means 132 and the combustor 16 in place . as shown in fig5 the tubular means 138 is necked down at the combustor 16 . in the necked down region , a flange 142 extends outwardly toward the wall 44 at the opening 48 with threaded fasteners 46 holding the tubular means 138 in place . in the embodiment of fig4 through 6 , the tubular means 138 as well as the flame breaking means 132 may comprise steel . preferably , the combustor 16 comprises a honeycomb structure made from a ceramic material appropriately catalyzed . reference will now be made to fig8 through 10 which represent embodiments similar to the embodiment of fig1 through 3 , but differing somewhat with respect to the flame breaking means . as shown in fig8 a flame breaking means 232 is provided which is spaced from the combustor 16 with an opening 234 around the periphery of flame breaking means 232 as well as openings 234 in the flame breaking means 232 as depicted in fig1 through 3 and also shown in fig7 . in this embodiment , it will be appreciated that there are a variety of openings 234 in the flame breaking means 232 . in this connection , it will be understood that the ratio of the minimum distance of the inlet to each of the openings 234 from the combustor 16 divided by the minimum respective cross - sectional dimension of each of the openings is greater than 2 and less than 30 . in other words , the ratio of l 1 divided by d 1 as well as the ratio of l 2 divided by d 2 is greater than 2 and less than 30 . the flame breaking means 232 may comprise a screen . in a slightly modified embodiment , the screen may be cup shaped to eliminate the opening 234 around the periphery . in the embodiment of fig9 a flame breaking means 332 comprises a solid member such that the only openings or opening to the combustor 16 is the opening 334 at the periphery at the flame breaking means 332 . here again , the important ratio or flame breaking effectiveness is the ratio of l to d . in the embodiment of fig1 , the flame breaking means 432 is actually formed by the wall of the combustion chamber . by substantial spacing of the combustor 16 from the wall 432 , the desired flame breaking ratio of l to d may be achieved . reference will now be made to fig1 wherein another embodiment is shown which incorporates the flame breaking means with a secondary air source . as shown in there , the flame breaking means 532 comprises a hollow interior with openings 550 coupled to a source of secondary air . flame breaking means 532 is solid so that the opening 534 is at the periphery of the flame breaking means 532 . here again , the ratio l to d is important to maximize the effectiveness of the flame breaking means . in the catalytic converter 16 , it is , of course , extremely important to assure proper combustion for oxidation of the carbon monoxide , hydrocarbons and other combustibles ( including solid particles entrained in the combustion gases ) exiting the primary combustion chamber 12 . details concerning the catalytic converter are set forth in the aforesaid co - pending application ser . no . 173 , 155 , incorporated herein by reference . although a wood burning stove has been shown and described in detail , it will be appreciated that the invention may be embodied in other solid fuel heating appliances which can utilize various solid fuels including densified or compacted wood products , coal , charcoal , peat and compacted trash and / or garbage and the like which may give off flames which would impinge upon the combustor 16 . such applicanes may take the form of stoves as well as boilers , incinerators and the like , especially those well - suited for residential use . although particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims .	5
the inventive system presented herein consists of a wireless , real - time scheduling system for homebuilding that permits the collection and distribution of information from any location by any employee . the system consists of at least three components as shown in fig1 : an erp ( enterprise resource planning ) system to store the data necessary for operation of the system , a web server to run a web service ( such as onlocation ) for system communications and data transfer , and one or more mobile devices , such as a blackberry ™, with an on - board application to interact with the web service and the erp system . the system enables mobile devices to share scheduling , and purchase order information with the erp system and makes the operation of multiple projects , lots and tasks more efficient . the system also includes one or more software applications as necessary to enable communication and data - sharing between the components , particularly synchronization between the mobile device and the erp system . as noted above , the primary application is resident on the mobile device , permitting the device to operate independent of the erp system and web server . this also means the mobile device can be used when no internet access is available , a common occurrence on projects . the erp system includes a database , which contains all the information related to the projects , lots tasks and suppliers . this data includes contact information for suppliers , purchase order information , and all other information that is required to create and maintain the construction schedules monitored by the erp system . the mobile devices are then able to access this information from the database as required , eliminating the need for storage on the mobile device . as applicable , the system and / or a method of executing the instructions for the system can be provided as computer - executable instructions on a computer - readable storage medium . in this context , computer - readable storage medium includes , but is not limited to , physical media , such a as cds , dvds and flash ( solid - state ) drives , as well as permanent or temporary media , such as computer rom , computer ram , and digital delivery services , either as a single file , or as a multi - file , multi part file sharing service ( e . g . bittorrent ). there are two types of synchronization used by the system , an initial “ deep ” synchronization , and the subsequent ongoing sequential synchronization . the deep synchronization initially transfers all the information related to projects , lots , tasks , suppliers , customers , employees and other categories that are tracked by the system to the mobile device . the ongoing sequential synchronization is then limited to transferring information related to those categories and elements that have changed since the previous synchronization . thus , the use of sequential synchronization keeps the amount of information transferred to a minimum , reducing the network and bandwidth requirements for the system . ongoing synchronization can be manually activated by the individual , be automatically initiated by the mobile device ( e . g . every 30 to 480 minutes ), or a combination thereof . preferably , synchronization occurs at regular intervals , such as 30 minutes or multiples thereof , up to maximum synchronization period of only once per eight - hour shift ( e . g . 480 minutes ). the synchronization period is set to keep bandwidth traffic to a minimum , however , the ability to trigger an immediate synchronization should be provided to the user to allow last - minute and important changes to be propagated throughout the system as rapidly as possible . the system is task - based , defining each project and directly lot item as a task and operating on records of task initiation and completion . a typical project will contain several lots and hundreds of tasks . each task contains detailed information pertaining to that task , including the start date ( real and projected ), end date ( real and projected ), completion status , assigned lot ( s ) and assigned supplier . purchase order information is also included as part of the task , as necessary , although it is downloaded to the device on - demand , and only stored on the erp system . the initial task information is set out at the start of the project , specifically a lot , and is modified to reflect actual lot progress and completion either by the mobile employee supervising the tasks , or at the main server . changes to the tasks are then recorded and sent out as part of the synchronization process . the addition of new projects and lots can require deep synchronization , due to the amount of data transfer involved . on a homebuilding project , different stages specific to lots can be defined as tasks ( e . g . foundation , framing , wiring , plumbing , etc .) and can then broken down in greater detail , by room , by supplier , or whatever other category is best suited to reflect progress on the tasks and enable proper tracking . preferably , each task is assigned to a supplier , who is the party responsible for the completion of the task . on a homebuilding project the supplier is typically a contractor , sub - contractor or tradesperson . lots can also be assigned tasks , which are then tracking materials allocated to the lot ( e . g . floor tiles ). the lots also have suppliers , the party responsible for providing the materials . the task entry is further linked to the contact information for the suppliers , so that the user can initiate communication ( phone , email , text message , etc .) on the mobile device directly from the task display . the system interface is based off a summary screen on the mobile device as shown in fig2 , providing an at - a - glance summary of all current information , as well as enabling direct access to the different categories via a drop - down menu . the fields used in the summary screen are : projects — the projects assigned to the individual ; lots — the lots assigned to the individual ; tasks — the number of tasks associated with the projects and lots . further information can include the number of lots closing this week or this month , suppliers and their contacts associated with the tasks , buyers associated with the lots , lot options associated with the lots , purchase orders associated with the tasks , and the date and time of the last synchronization , as well as the number of changed items since the last synchronization . from the summary screen , also via the drop - down menu , the user can then navigate through and access a list of projects , lots , completed lots , lot details , buyer details , lot options , tasks , completed tasks , suppliers , purchase order details , perform synchronization and generally engage in any project tracking / recording activity which they have been assigned to monitor and application functionally available in the erp system . the most commonly used display is the task listing , which displays the tasks in the lot , belonging to a specific project . the list can be filtered to exclude completed tasks , restricted to list only those tasks in progress on a specific date ( typically that day ), and sorted to show flagged tasks of high priority . from this list , tasks can be marked as completed , have notes added , have a priority flag added or removed , or have further details shown about the task , the associated supplier , or the purchase order allocated to the task . preferably , the most commonly used options ( in progress , flagged ) are provided as separate display options for ease of use . the series of screen shot in fig3 a - 3d show the process of selecting a task and viewing task details . the preferable configuration is to break the tasks into to - do lists , one for the current day , one for the next day , and one for tasks in progress . this setup enables at - a - glance assessment of tasks status and allows the user to prioritize their monitoring and updating of the task schedule . the initial task list for the project is preferably generated at the erp system side and then sent to the mobile devices during synchronization . however , as the homebuilding project progresses , in addition to modifying start / end times for tasks , it can be necessary to add new tasks , either due to omission from the original list , or as becoming necessary due to changes in the production schedule . the task display interface on the erp system side provides the user with the ability to enter new tasks , and link them to existing lots and suppliers , as required . task creation access is generally not advised , while production schedules are in progress , but can be created solely from the erp system side . the series of screen shots in fig4 a - 4g show the different aspects of task viewing and updating . the user , typically a site superintendent or project manager , is preferably the person responsible for physically monitoring task completion on the project . thus , as the user conducts a review of ongoing tasks at the job site , they record the progress information on the task list . information can be recorded as notes , and flags set and actual start / end dates modified in real - time to reflect the actual work progress . this information is then shared via the synchronization process with the erp system , allowing multiple individuals on a single job site and / or multiple job sites to be coordinated from a single central hub . by providing a mobile device for data input , the user is able to more rapidly act in response to problems on - site , and is further present on site much more often than if they are required to return to an office or other fixed location to provide updates . additionally , by having real - time updates to the production schedule at hand , the on - site user is granted greater flexibility in the task management process , enabling them to negate or minimize potential delays arising from other areas of the project . as discussed above , updates to tasks and other project information ( e . g . supplier contact information ) are exchanged between the mobile device and the erp system during the normal sequential synchronization process . more substantive updates , such as the addition of a new project and lot , can require a new deep synchronization . software updates can also be included as part of the synchronization process , but can additionally require a reboot or reset of the mobile device , based on the software update requirements . screen shots in fig5 a - 5d illustrate the synchronization process . for security purposes , purchase orders ( pos ) are handled in two parts . first , the general po information ( number , order date and supplier name ) is transferred as part of the synchronization to coordinate with the task list . when the po is to be completed , the second , more detailed set of information ( product codes , quantities and measures , and other lien items ) is downloaded on - demand by the user . thus , the detailed information is only provided as needed , reducing system overhead , and can be made subject to an additional security check , preventing errors or abuse . screenshots in fig6 a - 6c illustrate purchase order handling . initially , the task list for the lot is created at the erp system side . each task is given a projected start date and end date , along with any further information about the task that is necessary for monitoring , including the user assigned to monitor the task , the materials ( and supplier ) allocated to the task , and the purchase order or other payment information associated with the task . in home construction , the tasks will be ordered according to standard building practices ( e . g . foundation first , then framing , wiring , plumbing , insulation , drywall , finishing ) with each task broken down into as much detail as is required to ensure proper task completion and timeline monitoring . for example , a task for “ wiring ” may have completion based on the entire home , but is further broken down into room - by - room completion targets . once the information is in the erp system , the users are responsible for the initial synchronization (“ deep ” synchronization ) with their mobile devices assigned to specific projects , lots and tasks . alternatively , the devices can be synchronized by the erp system administrator and then distributed to those users responsible for monitoring and recording progress on the projects , lots and tasks . on a homebuilding project , assigned users typically can include the project manager , construction manager , site superintendent , assistant superintendent and , if desired , salesperson . different access levels can be provided to different users based on their authority and role within the project organization . for example , all users may have read access to tasks , but only a few are provided with write access , to minimize errors and control access . access levels can also be set by task , in addition to global user settings . the user is required to log in from the mobile device , using their assigned id and password . the id and password are preferably linked to the hardware pin to provide additional security . once logged in , the mobile device is synchronized to the erp system ( on first use and / or dependent on settings , as discussed above ) and the user is presented with the summary screen or home screen , based on the user &# 39 ; s settings . the user is then responsible for monitoring the status of ongoing tasks and recording when tasks are started and completed . changes in the start times for tasks can either be automatically reflected by a changed end time , or subject to manual changes only . when tasks are noted as completed , the individual with sufficient authority settings within the erp system will exercise an automated payment process for the completed task , which automatically initiates the transfer of funds to the supplier based on payment settings within the erp system . tasks which are delayed or incomplete can have notes appended detailing the reasons for non - completion and delay . this information can then be used to modify the projected end date , possibly modifying other tasks as necessary to maintain the overall lot schedule target . additionally , this information can later be used in support of delayed or reduced payments that result from missing the original end date . as each task is linked to a lot and supplier , the contact information for the supplier is also available from the task entry . thus , the individual is provided with the means to contact the supplier to determine shipment status , or modify schedule delivery times , in accordance with the full task schedule . tasks can also be prioritized and flagged , such that a second task cannot be started until the first task is completed using a predecessor process on the erp system side . other tasks can be marked optional , if their completion status is not essential to the completion of the overall lot schedule . tasks can also be frozen , which will preserve the scheduled start and completion date when recalculating the production schedule due to other affected tasks . while the above system and method has been presented in the context of monitoring the construction of a single lot the method is equally applicable to simultaneous construction of multiple lots on multiple projects and to other building construction . this concludes the description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention . the foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . it is intended the scope of the invention be limited not by this description but by the claims that follow .	6
the compression system of the present invention utilizes variations of known techniques as well as new features not previously utilized in color image compression . the compression of the color image begins with separating the color image into the cmyk color channels for compression . of particular import is the transformation matrix utilized in the conversion step from the space domain to the frequency domain . the filters utilized in the transformation step are dynamically altered to maximize efficiency based upon the actual data read . further , the filters inspect both the horizontal and vertical directional channels differently dependent upon the particular behavior of that channel . the quantization step is directional and band dependent so as to additionally increase the efficiency of the compression step based upon the data in the matrix . a brief outline of the compression steps is outlined below : the size of the transformation matrix is dynamic and depends on the zone of influence of the autocorrelation function . of particular import is the ability to utilize the compression system in both the forward and backward direction . in other words , how much clarity or data of the image is lost in the transform of the data into compressed form . as indicated , transformation of data can be defined as either lossy or lossless depending on data loss . if the conversion into compressed form and decompression contributes to some amount of data loss or image degradation , the compression is considered lossy . however , if the amount of loss is negligible or non - existent , a lossless compression has taken place . typically , trade - offs between compression ratios and either lossy or lossless compression must be considered . however , with the system of the present invention , exceptionally high compression ratios may be achieved with essentially no data loss . the compression ratios that the present invention achieves ranges between 31 to 1 to 57 to 1 or higher without noticeable change in image quality . as is known in the art , wavelet transformation degrades nicely , as opposed to discrete cosine transform . as will be further described herein , the wavelet transformation step utilized by the present invention is a stochastic wavelet transform matrix which dynamically changes in size depending on the data being compressed . further , the stochastic wavelet transform is reversible and works directly on the four color subtractive color space . the transformation matrix used in the horizontal direction is not necessarily the same as the one used in the vertical direction . the two matrices could be different due to the presence of anisotrophy in the image and the fact that the aspect ratio is not 1 : 1 . the zone of influence of a pixel is defined as the minimum distance needed so that pixels with distance greater to this minimum distance are not correlated with the pixel . the dimension of the transformation matrix is selected to be such that the autocorrelation function between two pixels with distance equal to the dimension is greater than or equal to 0 . 5 . if n is the dimension of the horizontal transformation matrix h and h = [ a 11  a 12   …   a 1  n a 21  a 22   …   a 2  n … a n1  a n2   …   a nn ] ( 1 ) then coefficients of the matrix h are computed so that the matrix is orthonormal . thus : ∑ j = 1 n   a ij 2 = 1   i = 1 , …  , n ( 2 ) ∑ j = 1 n   a ij  a kj = 0   i ≠ k = 1 , …  , n ( 3 ) under this assumption of wide sense stationarity the expected value of all bands except for the low band is equal to zero thus : ∑ j = 1 n   a ij = 0   i = 2 , …  , n ( 4 ) the object here is to find the parameters a ij = 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . n ; j = 1 , 2 , 3 . . . n , which maximizes the variance of the low band , minimize the variance of all other bands , and satisfies the above constraints . a similar approach is used for the vertical transformation . this approach is used for each one of the color channels . in conjunction with the outline disclosed above and with fig1 the still image compression system of the present invention begins with the entry of the image size at step 101 . the image is then analyzed by the system of the present invention such that each image pixel is broken into each color channel for review transformation at step 102 . preliminarily , at step 103 , preprocessing of the image occurs such that each row is reviewed to determine aspect ratio and the anisotropy are estimated . once the image is divided among proper channels , each channel is reviewed at step 104 in order to select the appropriate filter to be utilized for the horizontal direction so that it is proportional to the autocorrelation function in the horizontal directional . next , at step 105 , a new filter is determined for each channel such that the size of the filter in the vertical direction is proportional to the autocorrelation function in the vertical direction and a function of the aspect ratio . the two filters utilized herein are therefore dynamically changed in size depending specifically upon correlation between two pixels as depicted in the above matrix in equation ( 1 ). next , at step 106 of the flow chart depicted in fig1 for each channel , the system of the present invention creates as many bands as the product of the horizontal filter size and the vertical filter size determined above . thus the data transformation separates the data into frequency bands dependent upon the stochastic wavelets determined by the above constraints . the filter bank is comprised of a filter matrix that is stochastically orthonormal . based upon the equations noted above , at step 108 , the coefficients are selected such that the expected values of all coefficients in the matrices for all bands created except for the low band is zero . a constraint is placed thereafter at step 109 on the coefficient matrix in order to minimize the variance of all bands and maximize the variance of the low band . thus , the data represented by the coefficient matrix has been prepared for proper quantization by limiting the variance between coefficient values . based on the error desired for the restored image , at step 110 , a cutoff point is computed for the variances of the bands to be quantized . if the variance of the band is above the cutoff point , quantization of the coefficient matrix occurs such that the quantization coefficient is inversely proportional to the variance at step 112 . this variance is thus a function of the desired error for the restored image . the band is then quantized at step 113 and subsequently dpcm is conducted to further compress the data at step 114 . run length encoding and huffman or arithmetic may then operate on the data at step 115 . if the constraint mentioned at step 110 is not met , the quantization does not occur on the band and the system of the present invention directly performs the actions at step 115 to perform minimal compression . finally , at step 116 , the compressed data is output to a compressed data file representative of the image data . for decompression of the compressed data file created as indicated above and as detailed in fig4 the decompressed file is first decoded at step 118 . a reverse run length expansion occurs at step 119 to prepare the matrices for reverse transformation of the stochastic wavelet . thus , each color channel is restored iteratively and the reverse transform and other defined reverse compression steps are conducted until all color channels are restored . each pixel is then reconstructed at step 122 for utilization of the image . the quantization matrix is designed to give one of two options . the first option is that the mean square error between the original and the restored image which was quantized during the compression is less than an upper value . the second option is that the maximum error between the corresponding pixels of the restored and the original image is less than an upper value . in either case bands with variance larger than a function of the cutoff point are not subject to quantization , while the quantization of the bands with low energy is a function of the cutoff point and is inversely proportional to the variance of the band . bands which are not quantized are subject to estimation using dpcm ( differential pulse code modulation ) with parameters proportional to their autocorrelation function . the run - length used in the system of the present invention is another novel feature . the current process divides each band into squares of variable length . in every square the strength of numbers is reduced by subtracting the minimum from all the numbers in the square . thus several numbers are zero and the ones that are not zero are relatively small . in each square there is used a run length that records the run - length of zero &# 39 ; s one &# 39 ; s and two &# 39 ; s , using rows , columns , zigzag , or cross designs . squares which are all zeros are signified with a special symbol . finally , huffman coding or arithmetic coding is used to encode the data . the process of decompression is a reverse process , whereby the system decodes the image data , uses the inverse run - length process , uses the reverse dpcm estimation method for the bands that dpcm was applied , unquantizes the bands that were quantized and uses all the bands to restore the channel data for each channel using inverse matrix transformations . finally , the channels are reorganized so that the pixels of the original image are restored . a computer board , consisting of the electronic connections ( router ), a digital signal processing ( dsp ) chip with several adders and multipliers in the chip for a parallel processing of the image , with a super - pipeline is part of the hardware software solution of the present invention . on the board there are several megabytes of fast access memory holding the image while it is being processed . a special pld chip facilitates the communication of the board with the rest of the computer and its peripherals . the purpose of the board is to provide real time compression and or decompression of relatively large images . all the compression and decompression software resides in the dsp . furthermore , the dsp is designed so that it will run the software in a desired speed and time frame . the design of the dsp therefore is optimal only for the compression and decompression of the present methods . a tiff image comprising a cmyk composition was compressed using the system of the present invention . a before and after review of the images comparing the details prior to compression and after reconstruction from the compressed file was conducted . the original tiff image had a size of 27 , 985 kb . once compressed by the system of the present invention , a compression ratio was achieved of 44 : 1 wherein the compressed output file was only 635 kb . decompression of the compressed file restored the image to 27 , 885 kb . the resulting converting image was printed and compared with the original achieving visually no data loss . a color image stored in eps format was used for compression and decompression particularly to test edge detection capabilities . clarity of a variety of different size fonts down to the very small were tested . the original color image consisted of a 10 , 645 kb file . the compression system of the present invention achieved a compression ratio of 32 : 1 producing a compressed data image of 337 kb . restoring the image through decompression created a file of 10 , 645 kb . the quality of the original image included particular blemishes and line streaks . the compression system of the present invention in all cases faithfully reproduced the anomalies without exaggerating them . in all tested cases , the compression ratios produced a decompressed product which was visually lossless . the system approaches close to zero data loss of less than 0 . 2 %. upon review of the examples under reflective light there was no indication of tiling anywhere in the restored image . no artifacts were observed or light or dark spots under normal magnification . in the eps image , the entire graphic object containing both clear text and overprinted areas appeared with sharp edges and no bleeding .	6
the present invention describes an improved method and structure for the enhancement of noise immunity within the cis devices . the present invention utilizes a light blocking layer to further minimize and help eliminate the stray and undesired light that causes the electrical noise generated within the pixel arrays . fig1 illustrates major regions of a conventional cmos image sensor ( cis ) device 100 as viewed from above . a two - dimensioned light sensitive pixel array 102 is located in approximately the middle of the cis device 100 . a black / blue colored , semi - opaque light shield region 104 is located immediately surrounding the entire pixel array 102 . this black / blue light shielding region 104 may be sized and constructed such that the shielding region covers only a portion of or all of the cis device &# 39 ; s support periphery structures . in this illustration of fig1 , a region of the cis device &# 39 ; s support periphery structures 106 located on the opposite side of the black / blue light shielding region 104 from the pixel array 102 , has been left opened and exposed . fig2 illustrates a cross - sectional view of a portion of a conventional cis device 200 illustrating the structures near the boundary between the light sensitive pixel array and support periphery areas . a vertical dotted line is marked on the cis device 200 to show the region of the active light sensitive pixel area on the left side , and the periphery area on the right side of the dotted line that includes a peripheral portion of light sensing region 204 and the cis device &# 39 ; s support periphery area that surrounds light sensing region 204 . within the pixel area of the cis device 200 , a section of the semiconductor substrate 202 contains various light sensing elements and local charge and data transfer transistors having been constructed onto and within the substrate . this light sensing and transistor region is shown within fig2 as the shaded region 204 . metallized conductor lines 206 shown are located just above the light sensing region 204 that are insulated from the light sensing region 204 with an optically transparent dielectric passivation layer 208 . another optically transparent dielectric planarization layer 210 is shown located on top of the dielectric passivation layer 208 . various color filters , 212 a through 212 e , are located directly above the various photodiodes of the light sensing region 204 , through which the image light beams are captured . a spacer dielectric layer 214 is located on top of the color filters 212 a - 212 e to help maintain the focal length of the light beams from the microlens 216 to the photodiodes within the light sensing region 204 . it is noted that there is a unique microlens 216 positioned and located directly above each photodiode of the light sensing region 204 . within the support periphery area of the cis device 200 , a section of the semiconductor substrate 202 may also contain various local charge and data transfer transistors having been constructed onto and within the substrate within light sensing region 204 that also extends into the support periphery area . metallized conductor data and bus lines 206 are located just above the light sensing region 204 that are insulated from light sensing region 204 with an optically transparent dielectric passivation layer 208 . another optically transparent dielectric planarization layer 210 is shown located on top of the dielectric passivation layer 208 . a blue colored light shielding layer 218 is located on top of the planarization layer 210 , directly above the metallized structures 206 and transistor components within the light sensing region 204 of the periphery area . another light shielding layer 220 , of a black color , is located directly on top of the first light ( blue ) shielding layer 218 . both light shielding layers , blue 218 and black 220 , serve as the noise reduction mechanism by reducing the diffraction of oblique light at the pixel array boundary areas of conventional cis devices . fig3 a through 3d are four different cross - sectional views of four exemplary embodiments of a cmos image sensor according to the invention . the illustrated exemplary embodiments utilize light blocking materials to further minimize and eliminate the stray and undesired light that causes the electrical noise generated within the cis devices &# 39 ; pixel arrays . it is noted that the construction and structure of the pixel area components for fig3 a through 3d are substantially similar to those previously described for the conventional cis devices shown in fig2 . fig3 a shows light sensing structure 304 that may include photodiodes or other photosensors as well as various local charge and data transfer transistors and is formed in or on substrate 302 in the active pixel area ( to the left - hand side of the dotted line ) and light sensing structure 304 may optionally include a peripheral portion that extends into the periphery area ( on the right - hand side of the dotted line ). the periphery area also includes further support devices and structures constructed onto and within the substrate 302 . conductor lines such as metallized conductor data and bus lines 306 are located just above the light sensing structure 304 that are insulated from light sensing structure 304 with an optically transparent dielectric passivation layer 308 . another optically transparent dielectric planarization layer 310 is shown located on top of the dielectric passivation layer 308 . the disclosed light blocking layer 315 is shown located on top of the planarization layer 310 , directly above the metallized structures 306 and transistor components within light sensing structure 304 of the support periphery area . this light blocking layer is comprised of a thin opaque material such as a titanium nitride ( tin ) film , of sufficient thickness and composition to totally block the light beam from passing through the material to reach the underlying metallized structures 306 and transistors within light sensing structure 304 . it is noted that a tin light blocking layer of 200 angstrom thickness is typically sufficient to accomplish the required light blockage . it is also noted that the light blocking layer may be composed of any other thin metals or non - metal material as long as the material layer remains sufficiently thin to accommodate the dimensional requirements of the completed cis device and provides the capability to totally block the passage of light through the blocking material layer . the light blocking layer may be constructed upon the cis device utilizing standard production fabrication processes such as physical sputtering , reactive sputtering , chemical vapor deposition and radiation enhanced depositions . the fabrication of the light blocking layer may also require and include the use of film patterning and etching processes to selectively place the layer upon the desired locations of the support periphery area of the cis device . the illustration of fig3 a also shows an additional black colored light shield layer 320 having been placed on top of the disclosed tin light blocking layer 315 . the function of this light shielding layer 320 aids to help reduce the intensity of some of the light before it reaches the light blocking layer 315 . there is a section of a spacer layer 314 located on top of the light shield layer 320 . fig3 b illustrates a second embodiment of the implementation of the disclosed structure of a light blocking layer . in this embodiment , the tin light blocking layer 315 has been constructed and placed on top of the dielectric passivation layer 308 , before the placement of the dielectric planarization layer 310 upon the cis device 300 . this embodiment shown as fig3 b places the light blocking layer 315 closer to the underlying metallized structures 306 and transistors within light sensing structure 304 . the placement of the light blocking layer 315 again achieves the same purpose of the first embodiment described for fig3 a , by providing a method and structure to totally block the incoming light beams from passing through the layer . fig3 c illustrates an embodiment of the disclosed structure . for this embodiment , there are two light blocking layers , the first light blocking layer 315 a located in the cis device &# 39 ; s support periphery area between the dielectric passivation layer 308 and the dielectric planarization layer 310 . the second light blocking layer 315 b , is located in the cis device &# 39 ; s support periphery area between the dielectric planarization layer 310 and the light shielding layer 320 . the utilization of the two light blocking layers , 315 a and 315 b , are effective in blocking the passage of light beams through the material layers from reaching the underlying metallized structures 306 and transistors within light sensing structure 304 . fig3 d illustrates another embodiment of the disclosed structure whereas the light blocking layer also serves to block the passage of light beams through the material layers from reaching the underlying metallized structures 306 and transistors within light sensing structure 304 . for this embodiment , a tin light blocking layer 315 is placed near the top of the cis device 300 . the basic construction and locations of the cis device components in the peripheral area are very similar to the conventional cis device as described for fig2 , except for the top two layers . fig3 d shows a material layer 322 on top of the conventional dielectric planarization layer 310 . this material layer 322 may optionally be composed of a dielectric material as the device &# 39 ; s spacer layer 314 , or may be another material composition such as the black light shielding material as previously described as material layer 320 of the previous embodiments of both the conventional cis device 200 and the disclosed os device 300 . this embodiment of fig3 d features the disclosed light blocking layer 315 as the layer placed on top of the optional material layer 322 . it is noted that the usage and placement of the light blocking layer 315 as the top material layer must be carefully chosen with the appropriate composition and thickness such that any exposed light will not pass through the combination of this light blocking layer 315 and the next underlying material layer 322 within the support periphery area to reach the underlying metallized structures 306 and transistors within the region 304 . the disclosed method of using thin material films such as tin for a light blocking layer will minimize and help to eliminate the passage of light through the cis device in the support periphery areas to become diffracted off of the underlying structures . this minimization and elimination of diffracted light will prevent stray and undesired oblique angled light from reaching the microlenses and light sensing pixels of the active light sensing pixel arrays . the implementation of the disclosed method and structure will enhance cis production yields as well as improvement to the image accuracy and quality generated by the image sensor devices . such improvements will translate into significant cost improvements for a given production facility to maintain highly competitive cost and output advantages over other manufacturers of similar product devices . as result , advanced device generations and performance levels may be more easily achieved and attained . the disclosed structure may be easily designed into existing and future solid state image sensors , not restricted only to cis image sensors , as well as into the production fabrication processes of said devices . for example , the mask set used for making the light shielding layer for the black color can be used for processing the non - transmitting light blocking layer . the present disclosure provides several examples to illustrate the flexibility of how the disclosed structure may be used and implemented . the above disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the disclosure . specific examples of components and processes are described to help clarify the disclosure . these are , of course , merely examples and are not intended to limit the disclosure from that described in the claims . although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a design and method for , it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure , as set forth in the following claims .	7
referring to fig1 , the power supply system 10 has two output terminals a and b connected to a load 11 . the power supply system 10 has a current controlled current source 12 , a filtering device 14 , a current transformer 16 and control circuitry 18 . a current transformer 16 , having a primary 20 and a secondary 22 , is connected in series with one of the power supply output conductors and directly in series with the load circuit 11 . in particular , the primary 20 of the current transformer 16 is connected in series with the load 11 ( i . e . between the output terminal b and the filtering device 14 ). dc output current supplied from the current controlled current source 12 flows to ( in this example ) the load via the current transformer primary 20 . thus , output current of the current controlled current source 12 provided to the external load 11 also flows through the primary 20 of the current transformer 16 . the secondary 22 of the current transformer 16 is connected in series with the control circuitry 18 , such that any transient current requested from the source 12 by current in the control circuitry 18 , also flows in the secondary 22 of the current transformer 16 as well as in the control circuitry 18 . the operation of power supply system 10 may be better understood with reference to a specific implementation of the system , such as is presented in fig3 and will now be discussed . referring to fig3 , in one example the current controlled current source 12 may include a permanent magnet generator / alternator 12 of the general type described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 262 , 539 , the full contents and teachings of which patent are incorporated herein by reference . further in this example , the generator / alternator 12 may be filtered by a filtering device 14 and may be modulated or regulated to provide a regulated dc output voltage , as is described in united states published patent application us20080067982a1 , the full contents and teachings of which published application are incorporated herein by reference . it will be understood , in light of the teachings herein and in the incorporated references , that controlling the control current delivered to the generator / alternator 12 allows the generator / alternator to behave as a current controlled current source . the generator / alternator 12 in this example has multiple alternator phase coils 52 which are inductively coupled to a control coil ( or coils ) 44 as described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 262 , 539 , so that current in the control coil ( s ) 44 proportionally affects the output power of by the generator / alternator 12 . a transfer ratio may be provided between the control coil ( s ) 44 and the phase coils 52 , such as a transfer ratio of 5 : 1 in this example . the control current flowing in the control coil 44 may optionally be externally controlled by a variable dc current source 46 , as described in us20080067982a1 , to vary the current flowing in the secondary coil inversely to a variation in current occurring in the primary coil . a voltage feedback 54 of the type described in us20080067982a1 be provided relative to a reference signal 5 . filtering device 14 may be provided by a rectifier circuit 48 , which may include a capacitor 50 . any suitable filtering device 14 may be used . the skilled reader will appreciate that , although useful the purpose of the present description , fig3 is highly schematic and does not necessarily show all system components or show all components in their correct number or exact physical placement . in use , as is described in more detail us20080067982a1 , the current delivered by such a generator / alternator 12 is proportional to the control current provided to the control coil ( s ) 44 of the alternator by the source 46 . the generator / alternator 12 , its associated control circuit 18 , and the filtering device 14 thus form together an apparatus useful for generating regulated output voltage . the system 10 may thus be used to provide regulated power . referring still to fig3 , transient control may be provided by connection of system 10 to a current transformer 16 , as will now be described . a primary coil 40 of the transformer 16 is connected in series with the dc output terminal b of the power supply system 10 , while a secondary coil 42 of the transformer is connected in series with the control coil 44 and allows for a current to flow in a direction reverse to a direction of a current flowing in the primary coil 40 , thereby having the effect of cancelling dc fluxes occurring in the core of the current transformer 16 . a diode 56 is provided across the transformer secondary in the control circuit of this example to prevent the voltage across the secondary from reversing polarity . the transformer primary - to - secondary ratio may be matched to the current controlled current source transfer ratio . for example , the generator / alternator 12 of fig3 may have a transfer ratio of 5 : 1 , meaning that the output current of the generator / alternator 12 is 5 times the control current input . while the current controlled current source may have any suitable current transfer ratio , matching the current transformer 16 primary - to - secondary ratio to the current transfer ratio of the current controlled current source may assist with ensuring that the current transformer 16 core remains unsaturated , since ampere turns in the primary are equal and opposite to the ampere turns in the secondary , thus resulting in cancellation of the flux in the core of the transformer . consequently , the current transformer 16 may also be provided with a primary - to - secondary ratio of 5 : 1 . referring still to fig3 , in use , it will be understood that changes in currents flowing respectively in the primary 40 and the secondary 42 of the current transformer 16 are related , such that if there should be an unrequested change in the current in the load circuit 11 , for example caused by a sudden open circuiting of the load ( a breaker circuit opening , for example ), the current flowing in the secondary 42 will be influenced by the primary current such that the current flowing in the secondary 42 will be reduced at virtually the same instant . this will cause , in this example , the control current provided by the circuit 18 to the current controlled source 12 to be suddenly reduced , as well . as noted above , since output current is proportional to control current in current controlled current source 12 , reducing the control current will also reduce the output current from the source 12 , virtually in synchronism with the sudden loss of load . without this current transformer 16 arrangement , the output voltage of the current source 12 would otherwise suddenly increase in response to an open circuit on the load , since the output load resistance has suddenly greatly increased . the skilled reader will appreciate that , if a voltage feedback 54 ( as is further described in us20080067982a1 ) is provided , the output voltage of the source 12 would eventually ( i . e . after some transient time ) return to the desired / set output voltage through the control action of the voltage feedback , however the current transformer of the present arrangement provides a faster response time . in the case where the control circuit 18 has an intrinsic inductance , such as where the circuit includes one or more control coils , the time to reduce the current in the control circuit may be dependant on the voltage which is available within the control circuit . as current in the control circuit changed , the inductively - generated back emf ( i . e . v = l * di / dt , where v is voltage , l is inductance , i is current and t is time ) relative to the available voltage across the control circuit tends to limit how quickly the control current can be changed . however , in the case where , say , a 5 : 1 transfer ratio is present between control and output in the current controlled source , the output voltage available on the secondary of the current transformer is 5 times greater than the voltage change at the current transformer primary and , as such , provides a control action which is 5 times faster than may otherwise be obtained from the voltage control portion of the control circuit 18 . referring again to fig1 , therefore when a change ( also referred to as an output fluctuation or a transient ) in the output current at the output terminals a and b occurs , a control current flowing in the control circuit 18 instantaneously changes direction in a suitable direction to change the output power to correct the output power generated by the generator / alternator 12 . the direction of the control current reduces the output power supplied through inductive coupling effects of the control circuit within the generator / alternator 12 . the current on the control circuit , is influenced in a direction that adjusts the output current according to the load demand for transient conditions . in this example , the net control current will reduce / increase in response to a load transient ( depending on the transient to be controlled ). therefore , a sudden drop in load current ( e . g . due to an open circuit on the load ) will also cause a drop in control current , which will effect a drop in generated current from the source . this reduction in generated current , in turn , reduces the output voltage and dc output current through the primary conductive device 20 , thus mitigating positive output voltage transients due to sudden load reductions . the described approach may thus provide a direct feedback mechanism useful , in one example , in case of sudden , unrequested transients in a condition of the load 11 . the feedback mechanism allows the reduction of voltage transients caused by sudden changes in a load condition or an unstable load condition . fig2 illustrates one example method of controlling a transient response of a power supply system , as will now be described . in step 32 , the output voltage is optionally monitored and controlled by comparing the output voltage of the source to a reference voltage , and the control current is adjusted to maintain the output voltage at a predetermined rate / level . in step 34 , a current transformer is provided with the primary in series with the output current terminals of the current controlled current source and the secondary in series with a control current circuit controlling the current controlled current source . in step 36 , the current transformer polarity is configured such that load - induced changes in system output current automatically provide proportional changes to the control current in the control current circuit , to thereby effect corrections to output current requested from the current controlled current source in response to load transients . it will be understood that constant power loads often exhibit negative impedance instability characteristics . in the present arrangement , as current absorbed by the constant power load decreases , the transformer 16 reacts to the change in the supplied output current at the terminals a and b such that the output current is reduced in a controlled manner . the controlled reduction in the output current to the load , in turn , reduces the output voltage at the load . this tends to reduce the amount of phase shift between the current and the voltage at the load which is usually seen when the load exhibits negative impedance characteristics . the instabilities may therefore be alleviated through operation of the transformer 16 . it will also be understood that other variants of the power supply system 10 are possible in accordance with given practical applications . for example , the current controlled current source 12 may be any suitable current controlled current source . the embodiments described above therefore are intended to be exemplary only , and are susceptible to modification without departing from the present application . the application is intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims .	6
fig1 illustrates a general architecture 100 of mobile network operating under the dchp protocol to implement the present invention . a mobile network ( 102 ) comprises a mobile router ( 104 ) and a plurality of individual lfn devices ( 102 - 1 , 102 - 2 , 102 - n ). the lfn terminals are in communication with the mobile router ( 104 ), preferably according to a wireless connection mode . the terminals can be any portable device such as laptop computers , notebooks , smartphones or personal digital assistant ( pda ). the mobile router ( 104 ) is also a requesting router “ rr ” which dispatches ip address solicitation requests to a dchp server “ dse ” ( 108 ). the requests are conveyed through a dhcp relay ( 106 ) “ dre ”. in an ipv6 environment , the mobile router ( 104 ) requests from the dhcp server ( 108 ) via the dhcp relay ( 106 ) a set of ipv6 addresses or prefix according to the prefix delegation extension of the dhcpv6 - pd protocol . this prefix is used by the lfns of the mobile network ( 102 ) to communicate with remote computers or corresponding nodes “ cns ” ( 110 ). a corresponding node can be an applications server , such as a web server situated at an arbitrary location on internet ( 112 ). fig2 shows a topological representation of the entities intervening in the implementation of the present invention in the pmipv6 environment according to the dhcp protocol . the pmipv6 specification defines the use of two types of entities located in the network for mobility management : the point of attachment “ local mobility anchor or lma ” ( 210 ) and the mobile router gateway “ mobile access gateway or mag ” ( 206 - 1 , 206 - 2 ). the lma ( 210 ) can be located on a central server which makes it possible to access for example an internet network . the central server can be a dse server “ dhcp server ” ( 208 ) operating under the dhcp protocol . the mag ( 206 - 1 , 206 - 2 ) is located on an access ip router of the pmip network which can be a dhcp relay ( dre1 , dre2 ). the mag ( 206 - 1 ) and the lma ( 210 ) establish tunnels for bidirectional ip inter - communication so as to convey the communications of the nodes . fig3 shows in a diagram of data flow type , a procedure for attaching a mobile router to a pmip network according to the principles of the present invention . in an initial step , not shown in fig3 , the mobile router obtains an initial network prefix “ home network prefix or hnp ” according to a pmip conventional procedure . after having formed a global ip address for its own use , the mobile router ( mr ) executes a typical dhcp discovery procedure with dispatch and reception of well known messages “ dhcp solicit and dhcp advertise ”. in step ( 302 ) the mobile router ( 204 ) dispatches a dhcp request to obtain a mobile network prefix mnp ” of size ‘ x ’ ( mnp / x ). the dhcp request contains a parameter “ dhcp unique identifier or duid ” to uniquely identify the requesting router . the request is received by the dhcp relay ( 206 - 1 ) which assigns to the identifier duid a value of mobile network identifier “ mnid ”. the allotted value mnid is that created during the execution of the pmip initial procedure ( not shown in fig3 ). in step ( 304 ), the dhcp request containing the identifier mnid is pushed by the relay to the dchp server ( 208 ) in the form of a request “ dhcp relay - forward ”. on receipt of the request , the server dse allocates a prefix mnp of size ‘ y ’ ( mnp / y ) for the mobile router ( mr ). the size ‘ y ’ of the allocated prefix may be equal or different from the size requested ‘ x ’ by the router depending on the resources available . in step ( 310 ), the dhcp server dispatches a return dhcp “ dhcp relay - reply ” message to the mag ( 206 - 1 ). in a first implementation of the invention , before the server dse dispatches the “ dhcp relay - reply ” return message , it informs in a step ( 306 ) the lma of the new prefix allocation ( mnp / y ). a dhcp signaling message to pmip “ dhcp to pmip update or d2pu ” is created which comprises the allocated mobile network identifier ( mnid ). optionally , the message d2pu can contain the global ip address of the mobile router and the mobile router prefix ( mnp ) allocated . in step ( 308 ), the server receives from the lma ( 210 ) the acknowledgment of this message , in the form of a signaling message “ dhcp to pmip acknowledgement or d2pa ”. in an alternative implementation of the invention , after step 310 where the dhcp server ( 208 ) dispatches a return dhcp message ( without having performed steps 306 and 308 of the previous alternative ), the mag takes charge of notifying the mnp to the lma . on receipt of the “ dhcp relay - reply ” message originating from dse and containing the mnp allocated for the mobile router , the mag created in step ( 312 ) a signaling message pbu containing the allocated mobile network identifier ( mnid ) and the new prefix allocation ( mnp / y ). the message pbu is dispatched to the lma ( 210 ). in step ( 314 ), the lma returns a signaling message pba to the mag . after step ( 314 ), the mag ( 206 - 1 ) dispatches to the mobile router ( 204 ) a dhcp response “ dhcp reply ” containing the allocated mobile network prefix ( mnp / y ). in a subsequent step ( 318 ), the mobile router ( 204 ) announces in a message “ router advertisement ( ra )” a prefix derived from the mnp so that the lfn ( 202 ) can form an address , so as to allow bidirectional communication with a corresponding node ( 212 ). alternatively , the mobile router ( 204 ) can use dhcpv6 messages ( and not router advertisement ra ) to offer an address to the lfn , which address is formed by the mobile router on the basis of the mnp or of a prefix derived from this mnp . a prefix p derived from a prefix mnp / y is any prefix whose length lies between y and the total address length . by way of example , a prefix 2001 : db8 : 1 : 1 : 1x is derived from the prefix 2001 : db8 : 1 : 148 if and only if x is greater than 48 , for example is equal to 56 . during a movement of the mobile network , a procedure for toggling the attachment of the mobile router to first mag1 over to a neighbor mag2 is executed according to the above - described principles of the invention . the toggling is performed initially according to the pmip protocol for the ‘ mother network ’ ( hnp ) and ‘ mobile network ’ ( mnp ) prefixes . in a following step , the mobile router dispatches to the new mag2 a dhcp confirmation request “ dhcp confirm ” which contains the identifier ( duid ) and the previously allocated mobile network prefix ( mnp / y ). on receipt of the “ dhcp confirm ” message the mag2 inserts an entry into a routing table ( r ) containing the mnp and the source address of this message . moreover , the mag2 inserts entries into a tunnels table ( t ) and an inverse routing table ( sr ) which relate to the mnp . thereafter it transmits the dhcp confirm to the dse in “ dhcp relay - forward ”. the procedure thereafter executes steps 304 to 316 of fig3 in a similar manner on the basis of the new mag2 according to the alternative implementation . in a first alternative implementation of the invention on the dhcp server dse , on receipt of the “ dhcp relay - forward ” message , the dse constructs and dispatches a message ( d2pu ) to the lma informing it of the address of the new mag2 , of the mnp of the mobile router . the message ( d2pu ) also contains the hnp . on receipt , the lma updates its association table ( b ), tunnels parameters table ( t ) and routing table ( r ) with respect to the mnp , to the hnp and to the new mag2 . the lma thereafter dispatches the message d2pa to the dse . the dse creates the “ relay - reply ” message for the mr , when the d2pa is received . when the dre receives this message , it updates its tables ( b ) and ( r ) with respect to the hnp . in this manner the complete ip paths between cn and lfn are updated after a toggling of the mr , and lfn continues to use the mnp initially assigned by the “ dhcp prefix delegation ” procedure . in a second alternative implementation of the invention on the mag , on receipt of the “ dhcp confirm ” message by the mag2 , the latter inserts entries relating to the mnp into the tables ( t ) and ( sr ) and transmits the “ dhcp relay - forward ” message to the dse . the mag2 waits for the receipt of the “ dhcp relay - reply ” message from the dse informing it of the success of the operation for maintaining the mnp to the dhcp server . it should be pointed out that the messages d2pu and d2pa are not used in this second alternative implementation . thereafter , the mag2 dispatches to the lma a message ( pbu ) containing the values of the ( mnid ) and of the ( mnp / y ). on receipt of the message ( pbu ), the lma updates its tables ( b ), ( t ) and ( r ) relating to the hnp and mnp . next the lma dispatches a message ( pba ) to the mag2 . on receipt of the message ( pba ), the mag2 updates its entries in its tables ( t ) and ( sr ) relating to the hnp . next , the mag2 transmits a “ dhcp relay - reply ” message to the mobile router ( mr ) thus making it possible to establish the bidirectional ip communication between the lfns and the corresponding nodes cns . during a detachment of a mobile router from the pmipv6 domain , a detachment procedure is executed according to the principles of the invention . the mobile router ( 204 ) dispatches to the dhcp server via the mag a dhcp detachment request “ dhcp release ”. the request contains the identifier ( duid ) and the previously allocated mobile network prefix ( mnp / y ). the procedure thereafter executes steps 304 to 316 of fig3 in a similar manner . in a first alternative implementation of the invention on the dhcp server , on receipt of the “ dhcp relay - forward ” message , the dse transmits to the lma a message ( d2pu ). on receipt of the message ( d2pu ), the ( lma ) erases its entries in the tables ( b ), ( r ) and ( t ) relating to the hnp and mnp , and then dispatches a message ( d2pa ) to the dse . on receipt of the message ( d2pa ), the dse erases the data relating to the allocation of the mnp , and dispatches a “ dhcp relay - reply ” message to the dre . the dre erases its entries relating to the hnp and mnp and dispatches the “ dhcp reply ” message to the mobile router . in a second alternative implementation of the invention on the mag , the order of erasure of the data is regulated by the messages ( pbu ) and ( pba ) in a manner similar to steps 312 and 314 . fig4 a and 4 b show in a diagram of pseudocode type , the procedures executed respectively on the entities dse and lma in a first alternative implementation of the invention . the procedure 400 of fig4 a executes on the dchp server . the dse waits at 402 to receive a “ dhcp relay - forward ” message corresponding to a request emitted by a mobile router ( mr ). in step 404 , the dse extracts the identifier ( duid ) of this message . as described above , the identifier ( duid ) has previously been initialized by the mag to the value of the mobile network identifier ( mnid ). in step 406 , the dse allocates an mnp and dispatches it to the lma inside a message ( d2pu ) which also contains the ( mnid ). in step 408 , the dse waits to receive a message ( d2pa ) originating from the lma . on receipt of this message ( d2pa ), in step 410 the dse dispatches a “ dhcp relay - reply ” message to the mag and the procedure stops ( 412 ). the procedure 420 of fig4 b executes on the lma . the lma waits in step 422 to receive a message ( d2pu ). on receipt of the message ( d2pu ), in step 424 , the lma extracts the ( mnid ) and the ( mnp / y ) contained in the message . next as explained previously , the lma uses the ( mnid ) to find in its association table ( b ) the ( hnp ) and the address of the mag ( mage @). the lma uses the ( hnp ) to search through its routing table ( r ) and to find the corresponding entry in the list of the parameters of tunnels ( t ). the lma inserts an entry into ( b ) containing the ( mnid ), the ( mnp ) and the address ( mage @). the address mage @ is contained in the source address field of the packet ( d2pu ). lma inserts an entry into ( r ) containing the ( mnp ) which points to an entry in the tunnels table ( t ). this entry in ( t ) is created previously when allotting ( hnp ) to the ( mr ). to identify this entry , the mag searches through all its entries of ( b ) for the one which corresponds to the ( mnid ), extracts the ( mage @) therefrom and uses it to search for an entry in ( t ). the entry in ( t ) is used in ( r ) for the active mnp . in step 426 , the lma dispatches the message ( d2pa ) to the dse containing the identifier ( mnid ) and the ( mnp / y ) and the procedure stops ( 428 ). fig5 a and 5 b show in a diagram of pseudocode type , the procedures executed respectively on the entities mag / dre and lma in a second alternative implementation of the invention . the procedure 500 of fig5 a executes on the mag where the dhcp relay dre is associated . the mag waits at 502 to receive a “ dhcp request ” message corresponding to a request emitted by a mobile router ( mr ). in step 504 , it extracts the identifier ( duid ) and allots it the value of the ( mnid ) associated with the mr . next it dispatches the “ dhcp relay - forward ” message . in step 506 , it waits for a “ dhcp relay - reply ” return message . on receipt of this message , in step 508 it extracts the ( mnp ) and the mr &# 39 ; s link - local address present in this message ( llmr @). next it created a message ( pbu ) and dispatches it to the lma . in step 510 , the mag waits to receive a message ( pba ) emitted by the lma . the message ( pba ) emitted by the lma contains , inter alia , the options ( mnid ) and ( mnp ) formatted as in the message ( pbu ). the message ( pba ) contains in its header an additional field to communicate the “ status ” of the execution of the message ( pbu ). for this field , the same “ status ” values defined by pmipv6 for an hnp are used . in step 512 , on receipt of the message ( pba ), the mag will extract the identifier ( mnid ) and use it to find either the ( llmr @) or else the address of the egress interface of the mr ( based on hnp ). this search can be carried out in the tables of the “ dhcp relay ” or of pmipv6 . the mag also uses the ( mnid ) to find the ( hnp ) and the entry corresponding to the ( hnp ) in ( t ). an entry is inserted into ( r ) containing ( mnp ) and ( llmr @) or else the address of the egress interface of the mr . an entry is also inserted into ( sr ) containing ( mnp ) and the entry corresponding to the ( hnp ) in ( t ). the mag dispatches the “ dhcp reply ” message and the procedure stops ( 514 ). the procedure 520 of fig5 b executes on the lma . the lma waits in step 522 to receive a message ( pbu ). on receipt of the message ( pbu ), in step 524 , the lma extracts the ( mnid ) and the ( mnp / y ) contained in the message . next as explained previously , the lma uses the ( mnid ) to find in its association table ( b ) the ( hnp ) and the address of the mag ( mage @). the lma uses the ( hnp ) to search through its routing table ( r ) and to find the corresponding entry in the list of the parameters of tunnels ( t ). the lma inserts an entry into ( b ) containing the ( mnid ), the ( mnp ) and the address ( mage @). the address mage @ is contained in the source address field of the packet ( d2pu ). lma inserts an entry into ( r ) containing the ( mnp ) which points to an entry in the tunnels table ( t ). this entry in ( t ) is created previously when allotting ( hnp ) to the ( mr ). to identify this entry , the mag searches through all its entries of ( b ) for the one which corresponds to the ( mnid ), extracts the ( mage @) therefrom and uses it to search for an entry in ( t ). the entry in ( t ) is used in ( r ) for the active mnp . in step 526 , the lma dispatches the message ( pba ) to the dre containing the identifier ( mnid ) and the ( mnp / y ) and the procedure stops ( 528 ). it should be noted that after the execution of one or the other of the routines ( 400 , 420 ) or ( 500 , 520 ) according to the alternative implementation , all the entries in the routing and association tables are registered so as to allow the end - to - end transmission of data packets between each lfn and its cn or cns with which it maintains ip sessions . an important advantage of the method described is that it allows the use of completely different hnp and mnp prefixes , having no left - anchored sequence of bits in common , of any length . by way of example , an mnp could be “ ffff :/ 16 ” and an hnp could be “ 0001 ::/ 15 ”, having no left - anchored sequence of bits in common , the first bit being 1 for mnp and 0 for hnp . the person skilled in the art will appreciate that variations may be made to the method as described in a preferential manner , while maintaining the principles of the invention . thus , it is possible not to use a dhcp relay and to execute the routine 500 on the mag alone . an alternative can consist in co - locating a dhcp server with the lma or keeping them distinct . another alternative in a very extended network can consist in modifying the behaviors of each of the mag , lma , dre , and dse , or else in modifying only certain entities . in a variant implementation where a dhcp server is not deployed in a pmip network , the mag will act as a dhcp proxy . it listens for dhcp messages emitted by a mobile router ( mr ) and , on receipt of these messages , it generates modified pmip messages ( pbu ) so as to obtain ( mnps ) for the ( mr ) instead of ( hnp ). in this case , the ( mnp ) is allocated by the lma , and not by a dhcp server . this alternative is implementable in internet access networks where address allocation is done by means other than dhcp , such as radius or aaa . the present invention can be implemented on the basis of hardware and / or software elements . it can be available as a computer program product on a computer readable medium . the medium can be electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic or be a broadcasting medium of infrared type . such media are for example , semiconductor memories ( random access memory ram , read - only memory rom ), tapes , magnetic or optical diskettes or disks ( compact disk - read only memory ( cd - rom ), compact disk - read / write ( cd - r / w ) and dvd ). thus the present description illustrates a preferential implementation of the invention , but is not limiting . an example has been chosen to allow a good understanding of the principles of the invention , and a concrete application , but it is in no way exhaustive and should allow the person skilled in the art to make modifications and effect alternative implementations while retaining the same principles .	7
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . in addition , although the terms used in the present invention are selected from generally known and used terms , some of the terms mentioned in the description of the present invention have been selected by the applicant at his or her discretion , the detailed meanings of which are described in relevant parts of the description herein . furthermore , it is required that the present invention is understood , not simply by the actual terms used but by the meaning of each term lying within . fig1 illustrates pac zones on a high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig1 , the high density optical disc is sectioned and designated as , from an inner circumference to an outer circumference , a lead - in zone , a data zone , and a lead - out zone . at a fore end and rear end of the data zone , there may be an inner spare area ( hereinafter referred to as “ isa ”) and an outer spare area ( hereinafter referred to as “ osa ”), respectively . the spare areas isa and osa are areas for re - allocation of data to be written on a defective area thereto , when the defective area occurs in the data zone . the lead - in zone is sectioned , and designated as an info2 zone and an info1 zone for recording various kinds of information thereon . the info2 zone and an info1 zone have physical access control ( pac ) zones , respectively . for simplicity , the pac zone assigned to the info2 zone is referred to as a pac2 zone , and the pac zone assigned to the info1 zone is referred to as a pac1 zone . one of the pac2 zone and the pac1 zone has an original pac recorded thereon , and the other one is a back - up zone for recording a copy of the original pac . in view of a direction of writing from the inner circumference to the outer circumference of the disc , it is preferable that the original pac is recorded on the pac2 zone , and the back - up pac is recorded on the pac1 zone . the pac zone , provided for solving the problems liable to happen when an old version drive fails to detect functions on the disc added from a new version of drive , has an “ unknown rule ”. the “ unknown rule ” has rules defined thereon for controlling predictable operations of the disc , i . e ., controls starting from basic control of read , write , and the like to linear replacement of a defective zone , logical overwrite , and the like . accordingly , an area is provided on the disc where the “ unknown rule ” is applicable thereto , having segments for defining an entire disc , or a certain portion of the disc , which will be described in more detail in a later process . thus , by defining an area to which the old version drive has access by using the “ unknown rule ”, the new version of optical disc reduces unnecessary access operation of the old version drive . moreover , by defining an accessible area on a physical area of the disc for the old version drive to access by using the pac , a data area having a user data recorded thereon can be protected more robustly , and improper access from an outside of the disc , such as hacking , can be protected . in the meantime , the info2 zone and the info1 zone having the pac2 and pac1 zones therein in the lead - in zone will be reviewed in view of writable characteristics of the high density optical disc . fig2 illustrates configurations of the info2 zone and the info1 zone on the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig2 , in case of bd - re of the high density optical disc , the info2 zone has 256 clusters including 32 clusters of pac2 zone , 32 clusters of defect management area ( dma ) 2 zone for management of defects , 32 clusters of control data ( cd ) 2 zone having control information recorded thereon , and 32 clusters of buffer zone ( bz ) 3 zone of a buffer zone . the info1 zone includes 32 clusters of bz2 zone of a buffer area , 32 clusters of drive area which is a drive area for storing specific information specific to a drive , 32 clusters of dma1 zone for managing defects , 32 clusters of cd1 zone for recording control information , and bz1 - paci zone for utilizing as the pac zone . in case of the high density optical disc of writable once ( bd - r ), the info2 zone has 256 clusters including a pac2 zone , a dma 2 zone , a cd 2 zone , and a bz 3 zone , each with 32 clusters , and the info1 zone includes a bz2 zone , a dma1 zone , a cd1 zone , and bz1 - paci zone , each with 32 clusters , and 128 clusters of drive area . thus , the pac zones of the present invention are assigned to the info2 zone and the info1 zone in the lead - in zone by 32 clusters respectively according to rewritable characteristics of the high density optical disc . in the pac zone of 32 clusters , one pac has one cluster . a structure in which one pac is recorded at a size of one cluster will be described with reference to fig3 . fig3 illustrates a structure of a pac recorded on the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig3 , one pac of one cluster size ( 32 sectors ) includes a header zone , and a specific information zone specific to an optical disc drive . the pac header zone has 384 bytes allocated to a first sector of the pac , for recording various kinds of pac information , such as information on an “ unknown pac rule ” and segments , and the other area of the pac zone has specific information specific to the optical disc drive which is called “ known rule ” recorded thereon . a detailed structure of the pac recorded in above structure will be described with reference to fig4 . for simplicity , in the description of the present invention , particular fields of the pac that require more detailed description will refer to drawings that illustrate the fields . fig4 illustrates a structure of a pac on the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig4 , as described above , the pac includes a header portion applicable to all pacs , and an area having specific information specific to the drive recorded thereon . in turn , the header portion includes 4 bytes of “ pac_id ”, 4 bytes of “ unknown pac rules ”, 1 byte of “ entire disc flag ”, 1 byte of “ number of segments ”, and 32 segments “ segment_ 0 ˜ segment_ 31 ” each with 8 bytes . the “ pac_id ” is a field for providing the present pac status and identification codes , wherein if the “ pac_id ” has ‘ 00 00 00 00 ’ bits , the “ pac_id ” indicates that the present pac is not used , if the “ pac_id ” has ‘ ff ff ff fe ’ bits , the “ pac_id ” indicates that the present pac zone is not available for use due to reasons of defects or the like , and if the “ pac_id ” has ‘ ff ff ff ff ’ bits , the “ pac_id ” indicates that the present pac zone is available for use again even if the pac zone is used in the past . moreover , by recording the “ pac_id ” in bits agreed beforehand , such as ‘ 54 53 54 00 ’ bits , the “ pac_id ” is used as a code for determining if the disc is one that the present drive can make free access . more specifically , if the present drive does not know the “ pac_id ” applied thus , determining that this is a case when the present drive cannot understand the present pac under a reason of version mismatch , or the like , the ‘ 54 53 54 00 ’ bits are used as a code requiring reference to information recorded on the “ unknown pac rules ” field . as described above , the “ unknown pac rules ” field is used as a field that designates an operation range of the drive that cannot understand the present pac , which will be described with reference to fig5 . fig5 illustrates a configuration of an “ unknown pac rules ” field according to the present invention . referring to fig5 , definition of controllability of various areas on the disc is enabled by the “ unknown pac rules ”. the “ area ” on the table represents the controllable areas on the disc , the “ control ” represents control types , such as read / write and so on , and “ number of bits ” represents a number of bits required for the control . the additional bits in the “ number of bits ” represent cases of dual layer disc with two recording / reproduction sides . for example , read / write controllability of the pac zone can be represented with “ pac zones 1 , 2 ” fields , and write controllability of defect management zone can be represented with “ dma zone 1 , 2 ” fields . write controllability of a replacement area for a defective area can be represented with a “ replacement clusters ” field , read / write controllability of a data zone can be represent with a “ data zone ” field , and logical overwrite controllability can be represented with a “ logical overwrite ” field . evidently , the write controllability is physically applicable only to re - writable discs bd - re , and bd - r , and , also the write controllability of a replacement area for a defective area is also applicable to the re - writable discs bd - re , and bd - r . thus , it is required to understand that the subject matter of the present invention is dependent on the re - writable characteristics of the high density optical disc . by using the above described method , the “ unknown pac rules ” field enables designation of a controllable area on the disc for the drive of version mismatch . moreover , above method is applicable , not only to the drive of version mismatch , but also to control of access to a particular physical area on a disc at a user &# 39 ; s option . in the meantime , the “ entire disc flag ” field in fig4 is used as a field for informing that the pac is applicable to an entire area of the disc , and the “ number of segments ” field is a field representing a number of segment area the pac is applicable thereto . maximum 32 segments can be allocated to one pac , and information on the allocated segments is written on fields of “ segment_ 0 ” to “ segment_ 31 ” each with 8 bytes . each of the “ segment_ 0 ˜ segment_ 31 ” fields has the first psn and the last psn of the allocated segment area recorded thereon . the segment will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig6 illustrates segment zones on the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig6 , if required , there can be maximum 32 segment areas on the high density optical disc of the present invention , for applying the pac thereto starting from “ segment_ 0 ” in succession . in this case , by writing the first psn which indicates a starting position of the allocated segment area , and the last psn which indicates the last position of the allocated segment area on “ segment ” fields of pac2 and pac1 zones , the optical disc drive is made to know positions of the segment areas . none of the plurality of allocated segments overlap , and the starting and last positions are designated at boundaries of clusters . when a defective area occurs in the segment area allocated , in other words , in case of a writable high density optical disc bd - re , or wo , a data to be recorded on the defective area is recorded on a replacement area , such as a spare area . in the present invention , the replacement area is also defined as an area belonging to the segment area , which will be described with reference to the attached drawings . fig7 illustrates a diagram showing a pac method of the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig7 , with regard to the segment area having the pac of the present invention applied thereto , if the defective area “ a ” occurs at the segment area , a data to be written on the defective area “ a ” is written on the spare area isa or osa in replacement , and information on the replacement is written on a defect management area ( dma ) in the lead - in zone as a defect list ( dfl ) entry . the dfl entry includes “ status 1 ” and “ status 2 ” fields , for recording information on types of the dfl entries , a “ defective cluster first psn ” field for recording a first physical sector number of a defective cluster , and “ replacement cluster first psn ” for recording a first physical sector number of replacement cluster . the “ status 1 ” field has a ‘ 0000 ’ bit recorded thereon for indicating that the defective area is of a rad ( re - allocatable defect ) type in which the defective area is replaced normally , the “ defective cluster first psn ” field has ‘ a ’, the first psn of the defective area , recorded thereon , the “ status 2 ” field has a ‘ 0000 ’ bit recorded thereon for indicating that the “ status 2 ” field is not used in the case of the writable high density optical disc ( in case of the high density optical disc of writable once , the bit is used for indicating that one cluster has a defect ), and the “ replacement cluster first psn ” field has ‘ b ’ recorded thereon , which is the first physical sector number of the replacement area . in this case , since only one time of writing is physically possible in the high density optical disc of writable once ( wo ), it is preferable that the data to be written on the defective area is recorded on a temporary disc management area ( tdma ) on the disc separate from the dma area as a temporary defect list ( tdfl ) having a structure the same with the dfl entry at first , and is written on dma area as the dfl when the user requires , or after a disc closing at the time of writing completion . in the present invention , the replacement area ‘ b ’ where the data to be written on the defective area ‘ a ’ is written thereon in replacement is defined as the replacement area ‘ b ’ belongs to the segment the defective area ‘ a ’ belongs by using the dfl entry . since this method enables to dispense with the requirement for handling the replacement area ‘ b ’ as a separate segment , waste of the segment areas a number of which is limited to 32 is prevented , and effective segment management by using the pac is made possible . thus , though the preferred embodiment of the present invention is described by taking a rad type as an example , in which replacement of the defective area is made within one cluster , it is apparent in a case of a consecutive re - allocatable defect ( crd ) type in which defective areas occurred at a plurality of consecutive clusters are replaced that the defective area is managed in a fashion identical to the segment area the defective area belongs thereto . in the meantime , referring to fig7 , the pac in the lead - out zone , a duplicate of the pac of an original pac , is recorded for more robust protection of the pac , and is recorded in an info zone of the lead - out zone . as described above , the position information on the segment area recorded on the “ segment ” field by using a segment entry has the first psn and the last psn each with 32 bits . in this instance , the position information on the segment area recorded on the “ segment ” field may not be represented with the first psn and the last psn , but with physical sector numbers of clusters taking an actual recording unit on the optical disc is clusters into account , which will be described with reference to fig8 . fig8 illustrates a method for recording segment position information on the high density optical disc according to the present invention . referring to fig8 , with regard to the plurality of segment areas managed by the pac , a segment entry having position information of each of the segment areas includes the “ first psn of the first cluster in the segment ” field and the “ first psn of the last cluster in the segment ” field . more specifically , as described above , since the optical disc is written in cluster units , a position of the segment area is represented in cluster units , with the first physical sector number of the first cluster of the segment and the first physical sector number of the last cluster of the segment . this method is convenient in view of firmware for operation of the drive . fig9 illustrates a block diagram of an optical recording and / or reproducing apparatus according to the present invention . referring to fig9 , the optical recording and / or reproducing apparatus includes a recording / reproducing device 10 for performing recording / reproduction on the optical disc , and a host , or controller 20 for controlling the recording / reproducing device 10 . ( herein , the recording / reproducing device 10 is often referred to as an “ optical disc drive ”, and both terms will be used in the description of the present invention ). more specifically , the host 20 gives a writing or reproduction order to write or reproduce to / from a particular area of the optical disc to the recording / reproducing device 10 , and the recording / reproducing device 10 performs the recording / reproduction to / from the particular area in response to the order from the host 20 . the recording / reproducing device 10 includes an interface unit 12 for performing communication , such as exchange of data and order , with the host 20 , a pickup unit 11 for writing / reading a data to / from the optical disc directly , a data processor 13 for receiving signal from the pickup unit 11 , and recovering a desired signal value , or modulating a signal to be written into a signal able to be written on the optical disc , and forwarding , a servo unit 14 for controlling the pickup unit 11 to read a signal from the optical disc accurately , or write a signal on the optical disc accurately , a memory 15 for temporary storage of various kinds of information including management information , and data , and a microcomputer 16 for controlling various parts of the recording / reproducing device 10 . a method for recording a pac on a high density writable optical disc by using the optical recording and / or reproducing apparatus will now be described . upon inserting the optical disc into the optical recording and / or reproducing apparatus , all management information is read from the optical disc and stored in the memory of the recording / reproducing device 10 , for use at the time of recording / reproduction of the optical disc . herein , if the user desires to write on a particular area of the optical disc , the host 20 , which consider such desire of the user as a writing order , provides information on a desired writing position to the recording / reproducing device 10 , along with a set of data that is to be written . then , the microcomputer 16 in the recording / reproducing device 10 receives the writing order , determines if the area of the optical disc in which the host 20 desires to write is a defective area or not from the management information stored in the memory 15 , and performs data writing according to the writing order from the host 20 on an area which is not the defective area . in this case , if it is determined that the writing on an entire disc or on the particular area includes new features which a related art recording / reproducing device is not provided with , leading the related art recording / reproducing device to fail to sense , or if it is intended to restrict functions , such as writing or reproducing to / from the particular area of the disc according to requirements requested by the user , the microcomputer 16 of the recording / reproducing device 10 writes control information of the area on the pac zone on the disc as “ unknown pac rule ”. the microcomputer 16 of the recording / reproducing device 10 also writes pac information , such as the pac_id for a written state , and segment information which is control information on the particular area of the disc . if a defective area occurs at the segment area , by writing the data to be written on the defective area on a replacement area , such as the spare area , and the like , and information on this on the dma area as a dfl entry , it is defined that the replacement area belongs to the segment area to which the defective area belongs . moreover , the position of the segment area may be indicated with the first psn and the last psn of the cluster , or the first psn of the first cluster and the last psn of the last cluster of the segment in cluster units . accordingly , the microcomputer 16 provides position information of the area the data is written thereon , or the pac zone , and the data to the servo unit 14 and the data processor 13 , so that the writing is finished at a desired position on the optical disc through the pickup unit 11 . in the meantime , a method for recording and / or reproducing the high density optical disc having the pac information written by above method will be described . upon inserting an optical disc into the optical recording and / or reproducing apparatus , all management information is read from the optical disc , and stored in the memory of the recording and reproducing device 15 , for use at the time of recording and reproduction of the optical disc . the information in the memory 10 includes position information of various zones inclusive of the pac zone on the disc . then , a pac_id field of the pac is examined , for verifying if the pac_id of the pac of the pac zone is a sensible pac_id . as a result of the verification , if the written pac_id is sensible , determining that it is a case when the recording and reproducing device having written the data on the disc has a version identical to a version of the present recording and reproducing device , or a case when there is no separate writing / reproduction restrictions , the recording / reproduction is performed according to the order from the host 20 . when the sensing of a code written on the pac_id fails , determining that it is a case when there are restrictions due to reasons , such as the recording and reproducing device having written the data on the disc has a version different from a version of the present recording and reproducing device , the recording / reproduction is preformed according to the order from the host with reference to recording / reproduction restriction areas on the disc written on the “ unknown pac rule ” and “ segment ”. in this case , if there is a defective area in the segment area recorded on the “ segment ”, and a data to be written is written on a replacement area by the dfl information written on the dma area , the data on the replacement area is determined to be the segment area , the recording / reproducing is performed according to restriction of setting of recording / reproducing of the segment area . for this , the microcomputer 16 provides the position information and data according to the order of the host to the servo unit 14 and the data - processor 13 , so that the recording / reproduction is finished at a desired position on the optical disc through the pickup unit 11 . the method and apparatus for recording and / or reproducing data to / from the recording medium have the following advantages . the definition of an accessible area of a disc of a related art version drive by using pacs permits robust protection of a data area having a user data recorded thereon , to cut off improper external access from a hacker or the like . also , the pac which manages entire data zone or the segment areas on the disc permits effective data recording and reproducing to / from the high density optical disc . in addition , a method for handling a case when a defect occurs at a segment area on the disc managed by the pac is suggested , to permit an effective data recording and reproducing to / from the high density optical disc . and , finally , by recording position information of the segment area on the disc managed by the pac in clusters , it is convenient in view of firmware for operation of the drive . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	6
these , and other , aspects and objects of the present invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings . it should be understood , however , that the following description , while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention and numerous specific details thereof , is given by way of illustration and not of limitation . many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof and the invention includes all such modifications , such as , but not limited to , the use of this lubrication system technology on masonry chainsaws and systems , or for the lubrication of circular saw blades . chainsaws are commonly used in the forestry industry to gather timber for production into finished goods such as lumber , firewood , or woodchips . chainsaws are also commonly sold for private use for smaller - scale tree felling . they may be hand - held for direct use by an individual operator , or may be incorporated into harvesting systems where the chainsaw is used to cut timber for a larger - scale tree felling or log - splitting operation . specialized chainsaws are also used in the masonry industry to cut through stone . the present invention is an improvement to lubrication systems currently employed in , but not limited to , chainsaws as well as larger raw material harvesting systems such as tree harvesters and firewood processors . unlike existing lubrication systems , the present invention uses a gerotor pump to pull oil from an oil reservoir and drive oil through the system . the gerotor pump is a simple and elegant positive displacement pump design that requires little to no maintenance — in contrast to conventional chainsaw and bar saw oil pumps . in the present invention , a lubricating fluid , e . g . oil , is held in a reservoir and is pulled from the reservoir through fluid feed line tubing into a gerotor pump through suction created by operation of the pump . further , once inside the gerotor pump the fluid is compressed and pushed through fluid feed line tubing to the gate valve ( gv ), which downregulates the fluid flow and may cause an increase in pressure in the fluid lines between the gerotor pump and the gv . a pressure relief valve ( prv ) is also connected to the fluid lines downstream of the gerotor pump , wherein the prv allows surplus fluid to flow back into the reservoir to decrease the amount of fluid in the feed lines and keep the pressure in the fluid lines between the gerotor pump and gv below some set threshold . beyond the gv , the fluid flows through additional system fluid lines , components and delivery mechanisms to the point of application . in one embodiment for application to a chainsaw , the fluid , e . g . oil , flows from the gv to a guide bar mount inlet port , through the guide bar mount oil conduit , out of the guide bar mount oil delivery port and into the guide bar mount oil feed channel . the guide bar is secured to the guide bar mount and the guide bar oil inlet port is aligned with the guide bar mount oil feed channel , to feed oil from the oil feed channel into the guide bar oil conduit , out of the guide bar channel oil delivery port and into to the guide bar channel , applying lubrication to the channel , rails and also to the underside of the chainsaw chain blade . fig1 depicts the general structure and major components of an oil lubrication system for a chainsaw , known in the art , which comprises an oil reservoir 122 , a pump 101 , and fluid delivery lines 146 and 130 . oil travels from the reservoir 122 through the delivery line 146 , into the pump 101 , through delivery line 130 and into guide bar mount oil delivery port 142 of the guide bar mount 140 ( see fig5 ). from the guide bar mount delivery port 142 , the oil travels through the oil feed channel 136 and into the guide bar oil inlet port 120 in order to lubricate the interface between the chainsaw chain blade and the guide bar ( respectively 104 & amp ; 106 in fig2 ). in practice , when the guide bar 106 is secured to the guide bar mount 140 inside the motor housing 102 via the guide bar mounting bolts 138 and the guide bar mounting holes ( 112 in fig3 & amp ; 4 ), the oil feed channel 136 is sealed against the surface of the guide bar 102 surrounding the guide bar oil inlet port 120 . the motor housing 102 may also include a handle 105 for easy carrying and use of the machine . fig2 depicts the general structure of a chainsaw , known in the art , which comprises the motor housing 102 , the chainsaw chain blade 104 and guide bar 106 . the motor housing contains a chainsaw motor drive 108 ( also seen in fig1 ), which is employed to drive the chain blade around the guide bar , and a guide bar mount plate ( 140 in fig1 & amp ; 5 ) to which the guide bar 106 is affixed . the motor drive 108 may be powered by an electric , gasoline or hydraulic motor , without limitation . the motor housing 102 also usually contains a lubrication system designed to provide oil to the interface between the chainsaw chain blade 104 and guide bar 106 . fig3 illustrates the portion of a chainsaw guide bar 106 , including the guide bar mounting slot 110 and guide bar mounting holes 112 , that is typically employed in securement to and alignment with the guide bar mount plate ( fig1 & amp ; 5 ). fig3 also depicts the guide bar rails 114 and guide bar channel 116 , which serve to guide the chainsaw chain blade 104 as it is driven around the guide bar 106 by the chainsaw motor drive 108 ( fig1 & amp ; 2 ). in addition , fig3 shows the guide bar oil inlet port 120 , comprising a small opening located on the side of the guide bar . fig4 depicts a side view of the portion of the chainsaw guide bar 106 that is typically secured to the guide bar mount plate 140 ( fig1 & amp ; 5 ). the guide bar oil inlet port 120 is aligned with the guide bar mount plate oil feed channel 136 ( fig1 & amp ; 5 ) using the guide bar mounting slot 110 and guide bar mounting holes 112 . the guide bar oil inlet port 120 receives oil from the guide bar mount plate oil feed channel 136 ( fig1 & amp ; 5 ) and the oil passes through the guide bar oil inlet port and into the guide bar oil conduit 118 and flows into the guide bar channel 116 where the oil provides lubrication to the interface between the chain blade 104 and the guide bar channel 116 and guide bar rails 114 . fig5 depicts an embodiment of the present invention , as designed for a chainsaw or bar saw application , which comprises at least an oil reservoir 122 , a gerotor pump 144 , a pressure relief valve 126 , a gate valve 128 and oil feed lines 124 , 130 and 146 . as shown in fig5 , the prv 126 and gv 128 are connected downsteam from the gerotor pump . the gv is also connected to the guide bar mount plate oil feed port 132 , located on the guide bar mount plate 140 , via oil feed line 130 . the guide bar mount plate 140 may either be contained within the chainsaw motor housing 102 ( as shown in fig1 ) or mounted independently on larger machinery . in operation , the gerotor pump 144 pulls oil from the oil reservoir 122 through the oil feed line 146 and sends oil to the gv 128 and prv 126 . the gv 128 functions to downregulate the amount of oil that can flow from the gerotor pump 144 and into the guide bar mount plate oil feed port 132 , and may enable the user to entirely shut off the flow of oil through the oil feed line 130 . downregulating the flow of oil from the gv 128 to the guide bar mount plate oil feed port 132 increases the pressure in the oil feed lines upstream of the gv . if the pressure in the fluid feed line upstream of the gv exceeds a set threshold , the prv 126 allows surplus oil to flow back into the oil reservoir 122 through oil feed line 124 . the prv thereby controls system pressure between the gerotor pump 144 and the gv 128 and ensures that the system will not experience a potential catastrophic build - up of pressure that could cause it to rupture or explode . the system may operate with a pressure threshold that is set between 0 and 21 psi , but ideally the system is operated with a pressure threshold that is set between 1 and 5 psi . from the gv 128 , oil flows through the oil feed line 130 into the guide bar mount plate oil inlet port 132 , located on the guide bar mount plate 140 , through the guide bar mount plate oil conduit 134 , out of the guide bar mount plate oil delivery port 142 and into the oil feed channel 136 . as described above with respect to chainsaw and bar saw oil lubrication systems known in the art , oil flows from the oil feed channel 136 into the guide bar oil inlet port 120 , through the guide bar oil conduit 118 and into the guide bar channel 116 to provide lubrication at the guide bar channel 116 and rails 114 and the underside of the chain blade 104 . the guide bar mount plate 140 attaches to the chainsaw guide bar via the guide bar mounting bolts 138 on the guide bar mount plate . as shown in fig6 - 12 , the gerotor pump 144 comprises inner and outer gerotor gears , with an offset number of interlocking teeth and notches , which function to open and close void spaces , or fluid cavities , as the gears turn and thereby create suction and pressure to drive fluid , e . g . oil , through the system . fig6 depicts the outer gerotor gear 148 , inner gerotor gear 152 and inner gerotor gear pin 158 . the inner gerotor gear 152 has inner gerotor gear teeth 156 and inner gerotor gear pin notches 154 , and the outer gerotor gear 148 has ( n + 1 ) number of outer gerotor gear notches 150 , where “ n ” is the number of inner gerotor gear teeth . in one embodiment , the inner gerotor gear has four ( 4 ) gear teeth and the outer gerotor gear has five ( 5 ) gear notches . fig7 depicts the inner gerotor gear 152 , outer gerotor gear 148 and inner gerotor gear pin 158 secured within the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 . the inner gerotor gear pin 158 passes through the motor rod pin hole ( 192 in fig1 ) and rests in the inner gerotor gear pin notches 154 to secure the inner gerotor gear 152 in position around the motor rod 160 . the inner gerotor gear 152 is positioned within the outer gerotor gear 148 , such that at any one time an inner gerotor gear tooth 156 fits precisely into an outer gerotor gear notch 150 leaving the other inner gerotor gear teeth misaligned with the other outer gerotor gear notches . in operation , the spinning gerotor pump gears induce oil to enter a fluid cavity via suction created by opening and expanding a fluid cavity 170 . the fluid is then discharged from the cavity as the cavity contracts and closes . as the motor rod 160 spins , the inner gerotor gear 152 , being secured to the motor rod by the inner gerotor gear pin 158 , rotates within the outer gerotor gear 148 and transfers the spinning motion to the outer gerotor gear 148 . as the gerotor gears spin , a fluid enclosure or cavity 170 is created , opening and expanding to pull oil from the fluid inlet port ( 180 in fig1 & amp ; 11 ). as the gears spin , a fluid cavity 170 opens , pulling in oil ; as it expands to fully open , it reaches a maximum enclosure volume and oil containment capacity . subsequently , the cavity begins to contract , and the shrinking volume forces the enclosed oil to flow out through the fluid outlet port ( 176 in fig1 & amp ; 11 ). the cavity closes entirely as an inner gerotor gear tooth 156 slides into place to occupy the outer gerotor gear notch 150 in entirety . as seen in fig7 , the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 , in conjunction with the gerotor pump housing top portion 182 ( fig1 ) holds the internal gerotor pump components in place . the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 attaches to the gerotor pump housing top portion 182 via large bolt holes 166 and small bolt holes 162 . the gerotor o - ring 168 creates a sealed fluid chamber around the outer gerotor gear 148 , inner gerotor gear 152 , inner gerotor gear pin 158 and motor rod 160 required to maintain suction during the creation of a fluid enclosure 170 and ensure that oil does not leak out of the gerotor pump . fig8 shows the gerotor o - ring groove 172 , which holds the gerotor o - ring 168 that creates a fluid - tight seal around the gerotor gears . fig9 depicts the gerotor pump 144 with the gerotor pump housing top portion ( 182 in fig1 ), inner gerotor gear 152 and outer gerotor gear 148 removed . oil pocket recesses 174 present in the gerotor pump bottom housing portion 164 are visible , which recesses serve to increase the amount of oil that can be taken into and held within a fluid enclosure 170 . the oil pocket recesses 174 also function to bring oil to the underside of the gerotor gears for lubrication . fig1 shows gerotor pump housing top portion 182 . two oil pocket recesses 174 serve to bring oil to the topside of the gerotor gears for lubrication , and also expand total fluid enclosure 170 size . oil enters the gerotor pump through the oil inlet port 180 , fills the fluid cavity 170 created by the gap between an inner gerotor gear tooth 156 and outer gerotor gear notch 150 , and is discharged from the gerotor pump through the oil outlet port 176 , as the fluid cavity 170 closes . the motor rod hole 178 provides space for the top end of the motor rod 160 to be enclosed entirely within the gerotor pump housing . to secure the two halves of the gerotor pump housing together bolts may be threaded into one or more large bolt holes 166 and small bolt holes 162 , which align between the top and bottom gerotor pump housing portions ( 164 and 182 , respectively ). fig1 is a schematic of the gerotor pump housing top portion 172 where view 1 is of the inner face of the top portion , view 2 is a side view of the housing top portion and view 3 is of the outer face of the top portion . in view 1 , the oil pocket recesses 174 used to increase fluid enclosure 170 size are visible . fig1 is a schematic of the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 where view 4 is of the inner face of the bottom portion , view 5 is a side view of the housing bottom portion and view 6 is the outer face of the bottom portion — which connects to the motor mounting plate ( 188 in fig1 & amp ; 14 ). view 4 reflects two oil pocket recesses 174 that expand fluid cavity size and provide lubrication to the underside of the inner and outer gerotor gears , 152 and 148 respectively . as visible in view 5 , the motor rod pass - through 184 allows the motor rod 160 to pass from the motor ( 186 in fig1 ) through the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 , through the gerotor gears and into the motor rod hole 178 . fig1 and 14 depict a motor 186 that may be used to drive the inner gerotor gear 152 which in turn spins the outer gerotor gear 148 and creates the fluid enclosures 170 necessary to move oil between the fluid inlet port 180 and fluid outlet port 176 . the inner gerotor gear pin 158 rests in the motor rod pin hole 192 and occupies the inner gerotor gear pin notches 154 to rotationally secure the inner gerotor gear 152 to the motor rod 160 . the gerotor housing may be mounted onto the motor mounting plate 188 by securing bolts threaded into the large bolt holes 166 to the motor mounting plate pump fixture points 190 . the pump motor may be powered by , but is not limited to , combustion , electric or hydraulic mechanisms . in a preferred embodiment the powered motor is hydraulic . the powered motor may also be in communication with the combustion , electric or hydraulic drive system of the machine , e . g . chainsaw or firewood processor , such that the pump motor is activated simultaneously when the device is in use . the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented on devices including , but not limited to , chainsaws , felling grapple hooks , firewood processors , and / or tree harvesters . it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not limited to use only within the forestry industry , but may also be used in other industries such as , but not limited to , the mining industry . while the embodiment just described includes the placement of a gv and prv after a gerotor pump , it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited in scope to any particular arrangement or combination of valves , and valves may be placed before or after the gerotor pump in any particular order as desired by the user . further , it should be understood that claimed subject matter need not include any valves , or only two valves , but may include any number of valves in combination with a gerotor pump and oil reservoir to provide lubrication to a chainsaw chain blade , such as seen in fig1 . fig1 depicts a sample configuration of the present invention without a prv or gv in place , wherein the gerotor pump 144 is in fluid communication with the oil reservoir 122 via an oil feed line 146 and with the guide bar mount plate oil inlet port 132 via an oil feed line 130 . while the embodiment just described includes the use of large and small bolts to secure the gerotor pump 144 housing portions ( 164 and 182 ) together and to the motor mounting plate 188 of the motor 186 , it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited in scope to the use of bolts to secure the housing portions to each other or to a motor mounting plate , and bolts not need be used as the specific mechanisms of securement , attachment or affixation . further , it should be understood that claimed subject matter can involve any configuration of bolts of any size , and need not be specifically oriented as depicted in fig1 and 12 . additionally , it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited to a pump housing composed of two independent halves secured together . but instead , the invention may rather include , but not is limited to , a single housing portion created as a single independent unit or a single housing portion comprising a gerotor pump housing top portion and bottom portion having been welded together . it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited in scope wherein the inner gerotor gear 152 and outer gerotor gear 148 rotate clockwise , but that inner gerotor gear and outer gerotor gear may instead rotate counterclockwise , as desired by the user . while the embodiment just described includes the use of two large oil recess pockets 174 in the gerotor pump housing bottom portion 164 parallel to two smaller oil recess pockets 174 in the gerotor pump housing top portion 182 , it should be understood that claimed subject matter need not include oil recess pockets sized and oriented in this manner , but may have any number of oil recess pockets , i . e . one large pocket or three or more small pockets , oriented at any angle with respect to any other oil recess pockets inside of the gerotor pump housing . while the figures just described depict an inner gerotor gear 152 with four inner gerotor gear teeth 156 and an outer gerotor gear 148 with five outer gerotor gear notches 154 , it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not limited to this specific number of teeth and notches , but may include an inner gerotor gear with any number of inner gerotor gear teeth and outer gerotor gear with any number of outer gerotor gear notches , such that the number of outer gerotor gear notches exceeds the number of inner gerotor gear teeth by at least one notch . while the embodiments just described entail the use of oil as a lubricant for chainsaw chain blades , it should be understood that claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited in scope to only the use of oil as a lubricant , but that the lubrication system may be used to deliver any type of lubricating fluid , including but not limited to vegetable oil , motor oil , gasoline , or water . it should be understood that , although a specific embodiment has just been described , claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited in scope to any particular embodiment or implementation . in the preceding description , various aspects of claimed subject matter may have been described . for purposes of explanation , specific numbers , systems , or configurations may have been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter . however , it should be apparent to one skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that claimed subject matter may be practiced without those specific details . in other instances , features that would be understood by one of ordinary skill were omitted or simplified so as not to obscure claimed subject matter . while certain features have been illustrated or described herein , many modifications , substitutions , changes , or equivalents may not occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications or changes as fall within the true spirit of the claimed subject matter .	5
referring now to the drawing , a subject under investigation is shown generally at 10 . the subject , in the case of a medical study , might for example be a thyroid gland . with a gamma camera , the administered isotope is preferably a so - called low energy isotope , such as iodine 125 . gamma radiation emitted by the source 10 passes through a parallel hole collimator indicated diagrammatically at 11 . preferably , the collimator is of the type described in the second above - referenced copending application . after the gamma radiation passes through the collimator 11 , it enters an image tube shown generally at 12 . the image tube will be described in greater detail below . the output of the image tube 12 is focused by a suitable optical lens 13 onto input end 14 of a light amplifier 15 . the diagrammatically disclosed light amplifier 15 is a two - stage amplifier . because of the very high efficiency of the image tube of this invention , in many studies the light amplifier may be single stage or eliminated entirely . the output of the amplifier passes through a further optical lens 17 which focuses the light amplifier output onto input end 18 of a television pickup tube 19 . the disclosed pickup tube 19 is an orthicon connected to an orthicon chain 20 . the orthicon chain includes the usual video amplifier and sync and blanking generators . the output of the orthicon chain 20 may be transmitted to a storage device 22 and then to a television monitor 23 . the components of this structure which converts the light output of the image tube to an image tube on the television monitor and other suitable allied structure is disclosed in a more detailed manner in the first referenced copending application . the image tube 12 includes a typical glass envelope 25 composed of two sections clamped together at 26 , 27 . the glass envelope is equipped with vacuum nipples , not shown which , in manufacture , are used to evacuate the tube and then sealed . the glass envelope 25 has an enlarged input end window 29 . an input phosphor layer 30 is provided near the input window 29 . as noted above , this phosphor layer 30 is a single crystalline sheet , preferably a single crystal of cesium iodide molded to the desired substantially parabolic configuration . because of its relative thickness and because the input phosphor is a unitary sheet rather than a series of particles bonded together by a plastic material or the like , and because of its relatively stable characteristics in vacuum , the input phopshor of this invention does not require the dishlike aluminum element used in the prior art . thus , of the four purposes of the aluminum dish described above , all but barring the entrance of light have been omitted . obviously , the window 29 of the envelope 25 may be darkened if desired or the device may be used in a darkened room to prevent adverse effect on the image tube by ambient light . since the reasons for the aluminum dish are eliminated , it can be eliminated . with the present device , the input phosphor is supported by a mounting and support member in the form of a ring 32 at the perimeter of the input phosphor . the ring 32 may be supported by suitable studs 33 , 34 suitably secured to the input window . an electron - emissive layer 36 is provided . the electron - emissive layer 36 may be , as noted above , a trialkali . as disclosed , the unitary phosphor layer 30 and the electron - emissive layer 36 are shown separated by a suitable transparent barrier layer 37 . as noted above , one may be able to omit the barrier layer with this particular combination of a single crystal cesium iodide input phosphor and a compatible electron - emissive layer , however , longest tube life appears to be assured by providing a very thin , clear , light transparent barrier layer of the plastic . obviously , the manufacturing requirements for the barrier layer are considerably reduced as compared with the prior art because a flaw in the barrier layer will not result in the usually relatively abrupt tube failure which may be experienced with prior art barrier layers . electrons emitted by the emissive layer 36 are accelerated by an electrostatic field established by a conductive wall coating 38 on the interior of the envelope 25 . this coating 38 accelerates and focuses the electrons through an anode thimble 39 onto an output phosphor 40 . light emitted by the output phosphor 40 is focused by the lens 13 onto the light amplifier 15 and results in an image in the monitor 23 in the manner described above . although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed .	7
in the following detailed discussion , specific component examples are used to describe an overall system concept . for example , a linear magnetic tape is used to represent a recording media , a series of equally spaced marks used to represent an optical track , two detector elements used to receive the reflectance from each optical spot , and the backside of the magnetic tape is used for the servo tracks . however , the invention described herein applies to any recording media , such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk , for an optical track defined by a solid line , whether one uses one detector per optical spot or multiple detectors per optical spot , and whether the servo tracks are on the magnetic recording side or on the back side of the magnetic tape . referring to fig1 , an exemplary linear tape system 10 includes a delivery system 12 , a read / write head assembly 14 and a pickup system 16 . the delivery system 12 houses a magnetic tape 18 . the magnetic tape 18 travels past a recording head 20 and an optical pickup system 22 contained in the read / write head assembly 14 and is delivered to the reel pickup system 16 . the recording head 20 reads and writes information , generally referred to as data , to the magnetic tape 18 as it travels from the delivery system 12 to the pickup system 16 . as the magnetic tape 18 passes over the recording head 20 the magnetic tape 18 may become misaligned with respect to the intended track position due to , for example , lateral tape motion ( ltm ). if left un - corrected , one is forced to use a recording track pitch much larger than the ltm . however , changes in lateral position can be detected by the optical pickup system 22 when servo tracks are engraved on the tape and be compensated via a closed servo control loop . referring to fig2 , a block diagram of the magnetic tape 18 using one optical servo track to control the read / write of multiple magnetic heads is shown . referring to fig2 a , four magnetic recording elements 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 are enclosed in the recording head 20 that read and write to five different magnetic tracks labeled 34 a - e , 36 a - e , 38 a - e and 40 a - e on the front side 42 of the magnetic tape 18 . each of the four elements 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 write or read in parallel to an individual track 34 - 40 during one pass of the tape , to tracks 26 d , 28 d , 30 d and 32 d for example . referring to fig2 b , a backside 44 ( also referred to a non - magnetic side ) of the magnetic tape 18 includes five optical tracks labeled 46 a , 46 b , 46 c , 46 d and 46 e . each of the optical tracks 46 a - 46 e is permanently burned into the backside 44 of the magnetic tape 18 . the optical pickup assembly 22 is aligned with magnetic recording element 34 in the recording head 20 . when a servo loop is closed , each of the five optical tracks 46 a - 46 e is responsible for the read / write action of four magnetic tracks . in this way the five optical tracks multiplied by four read / write heads generates twenty magnetic tracks that span the tape . the read / write head assembly 14 uses the optical pickup system 22 and the optical tracks 46 to detect position errors and compensate for effects of lateral tape movement ( ltm ), fully described below . referring to fig3 , the read / write head assembly 14 includes the recording head 20 and the optical pickup system 22 . an actuator 50 is shown connected to the read / write head assembly 14 . in operation , the magnetic tape 18 moves across the magnetic recording head 20 and a set of four data tracks ( not shown ) are recorded or read from the tape . in one example of a write , the front side 42 of the magnetic tape 18 receives data on its recording tracks 34 d , 36 d , 38 d and 40 d ( of fig2 a ) from a series of recording channels 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 residing on the recording head 20 . the optical pickup system 22 utilizes a servo track 46 d on the backside 44 of the magnetic tape 18 to detect ltm of the magnetic tape 18 along an axis 52 . compensation is then done by positioning of the read / write head assembly 14 via movement of the actuator 50 . any of the individual optical tracks 46 a - 46 e is used one at a time for “ track following ” during a recording event . referring to fig4 , an optical pickup system 22 that focuses three spots on the recording medium 18 is shown . the present invention uses three optical spots to provide three servo push pull signals . the optical pickup system 22 includes a laser diode 60 , two segmented detectors 62 a and 62 b , a hologram unit 64 , and a lens unit 66 . a divergent beam out of the laser diode 60 is focused on the tape 18 via the action of the lens unit 66 . the hologram unit 64 divides the single laser beam into multiple beams such that one can derive three beams 68 a - c to focus on the tape 18 . the hologram unit 64 also allows the three beams 68 a - c reflected off the tape to focus on the two segmented detectors 62 a and 62 b . referring to fig5 , a block diagram of the laser and detectors are shown integrated on a silicon die 70 . the detectors 62 a and 62 b each contain three detector segments , identified as 62 a - 1 , 62 a - 2 , 62 a - 3 , and 62 b - 1 , 62 b - 2 , 62 b - 3 . the reflectance due to optical spot 80 ( of fig4 ) would fall on detectors 62 a - 1 , and 62 b - 1 , the reflectance due to spot 82 ( of fig4 ) would fall on 62 a - 2 , and 62 b - 2 , and the reflectance due to spot 84 ( of fig4 ) would fall on 62 a - 3 and 62 b - 3 . the photocurrents from the corresponding - detector pair such as 62 a - 1 and 62 b - 1 may be combined to represent the reflectance from spot 80 . likewise , 62 a - 2 and 62 b - 2 can be combined to represent the reflectance from spot 82 , and 62 a - 3 and 62 b - 3 can be combined to represent the reflectance from spot 84 . in an embodiment , these three reflectance signals are combined to produce signals used in this invention . referring to fig6 , a single servo track represented by a low of marks 90 on the backside 44 of magnetic tape 18 is shown . as the magnetic tape 18 streams by the optical pickup system 22 , each of the marks on row 90 passes under the laser spots 80 , 82 and 84 . and detector pairs , 62 a - 1 and 62 b - 1 , 62 a - 2 and 62 b - 2 , and 62 a - 3 and 62 b - 3 capture the reflectance from the three spots respectively . the row of marks 90 passes under the laser beam 60 at such a speed during magnetic tape movement so as to be seen , in effect , as a solid line by the detectors 62 a and 62 b . when the laser 60 is perfectly aligned with the servo track 90 , the spot 82 will be totally immersed in the solid line caused by the movement of the row of marks 90 , while the spots 80 and 84 will be partially immersed in the solid line since they are spaced equal distance from the center spot 82 . in a preferred embodiment , the spacing is one third of a track pitch . when the reflectance from spots 80 and 84 are subtracted , a new signal is generated which is referred to as a push - pull signal . in this instance , when the laser is perfectly aligned with the servo track , the push pull value is zero . however , if the three spots are allowed to traverse through the servo track , then the push pull signal defined by spot 80 and 84 will generate a curve traditionally called an s - curve . referring to fig7 , a graph of individual reflectance curves 102 , 104 , and 106 from the three spots as they traverse through the single optical track in fig . 6 is shown , along with an s - curve 108 formed by spots 80 and 84 . the s - curve 108 does possess a limited linear dynamic range , extending less than one third of a track pitch . such an s - curve 108 is used to allow the central spot 82 to stay on the center of the optical track . however , as shown below , the dynamic linear range is extended to cover the entire track pitch by using three pairs of push - pulls . referring to fig8 a graph is shown to illustrate a time progression as the three optical spots 80 , 82 , and 84 traverse across a multitude of tracks 112 - 116 . specifically , track 112 is represented by a row of marks in a solid track 118 , track 114 is represented by a row of marks in a solid track 120 , and track 116 is represented by a row of marks in a solid track 122 . as discussed above , each row of marks appears as a solid line , i . e ., zone , as the magnetic tape streams past the recording head 20 and the optical pickup system 22 ; this solid line of marks is seen as the shaded solid tracks 118 , 120 and 122 . each vertical group of three spots indicates a potential laser position relative to a track position , and thus a recording channel position , over time . the optical pickup system 22 samples and obtains a set of three spots as time passes . for example , at time 7 , the middle spot 82 is fully immersed in the row of marks representing track 114 , i . e ., zone 120 , with the top spot 80 and bottom spot 84 only partially immersed in solid zone 120 . the detector pairs from the corresponding segments in 62 a and 62 b pick up the reflectance from the spots 80 , 82 , and 84 . the reflectance changes depending on the position of the spots , i . e ., at time instant 7 , small amplitude is seen from the top spot 80 and bottom spot 84 and larger amplitude is seen from the middle spot 82 . at sample time 6 , the bottom spot 84 is not immersed in zone 120 , while the central spot 82 is totally immersed in zone 120 and the top spot 80 is partially immersed in zone 120 . at sample time 8 , the bottom spot 84 is partially immersed in zone 120 , the center spot 82 is totally immersed in zone 120 , and the top spot 80 is not immersed in zone 120 . as mentioned previously , a single s - curve from the push pull signal of one pair of optical spots provides limited useful position information of the laser relative to any given optical servo track . however , fig8 shows that three s - curves from three pairs of push pulls allow one to derive position information within any position of any given track . the reflectance from an optical spot that is saturated at its maximum or minimum amplitude is discarded , leaving two optical spots having reflectance with the largest amplitude gradient . the difference of these reflectance constitute linear portion of the s - curve in an individual zone . as will be seen below , six such zones provide useful position information within the entire track . referring to fig9 , a graph 130 of s - curves derived from the repeating optical zones tri of fig8 includes spot reflectances 132 , 134 and 136 as dashed lines . a set of three pairs of optical reflectance generates the three s - curves 138 - 142 shown in bold in fig9 . the linear sections 144 , 146 , 148 , 150 and 152 correspond to useful position information within any individual zone . at any given time period , a triple push - pull engine calculates a difference from the two signals in a three - signal group having the greatest amplitude gradient . transitions from one difference curve to another are accomplished via a merging , i . e ., blending , process where the s - curves intersect . the three s - curves and the transition between them form a basis of a triple push pull method . the blending of one s - curve to another uses a weighted average algorithm . referring to fig1 , a graph 150 rendering a piecewise linear position 152 is shown . the graph 150 is obtained from the linear portion of the s - curve ( 144 for example ) within any zone . the s - curves 138 - 142 of fig9 are inverted and shifted to generate the linear position 152 estimates for the entire offset range at a given point in time . once the offset is obtained from the linear position 152 , the offset is fed to a servo loop for appropriate actuator actions . referring to fig1 , a block diagram of the servo control loop system 160 is shown as a closed loop control system that includes a compensation engine 162 , an actuator control 164 , the optical pickup system 22 , a demodulator circuit 166 and a triple push - pull engine 168 . the calculated error between the actual measured position and the desired tracking position is fed to the compensation engine 162 . the compensation engine 162 compromises the response between the mechanical actuator 164 and an electronic system , and delivers an actuator command based on the compensated position error . the actuator control 164 actuates the actuator 50 in response to the error command and moves the read / write head assembly 14 . the optical pickup system 22 picks up updated values of reflectance from the magnetic tape 18 , and sends them to the demodulator 166 . the function of the demodulator 166 is to convert the sampled reflectance signals due to the series of marks into a continuous analog signal . the three analog signals are then sent to the triple push - pull engine 168 to generate a new position estimate , and so the loop goes on until the actuator converges to the desired position . referring to fig1 , a triple push - pull process 200 residing in the triple push pull engine 76 includes receiving 202 a set of three digitized reflectance values from the optical servo track , and generating 204 amplitudes for two spots having the greatest amplitude gradient . the amplitudes are used to generate 206 s - curves . a linear position estimate is generated 208 by inverting and shifting the s - curves as required . the linear position estimate is used 210 to align the magnetic recording head to the linear magnetic tape . a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	6
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts . hereinafter , an apparatus for restoring network information for a home network system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accordingly drawings . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of an apparatus for restoring network information for a home network system according to the present invention . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of restoring network information for a home network system according to the present invention . as shown in fig3 , the apparatus for restoring network information for a home network system according to the present invention includes slaves 31 , 32 and 33 having rs - 232c ports , a master for storing and updating network information of the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 in a non - volatile memory , checking whether the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are reset , and restoring the network information of the corresponding slave stored in the non - volatile memory if any one of the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 is reset , and power - line communication modems 35 , 36 , 37 and 38 for a network communication between the master 34 and the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 . in this case , the master 34 includes a non - volatile memory , that is an eeprom ( erasable and programmable read only memory ) 342 for maintaining the stored data irrespective of the power failure , a cpu 341 that performs a basic control operation of the home networking including giving ids to the slaves , monitoring and controlling of the operation state , storing network information such as the control , monitoring , etc ., of home appliance in the eeprom 342 , and restoring the network information of the slave when the power is supplied again after the reset of the slave , and a uart ( universal asynchronous transmitter / receiver ) 343 and an rs - 232c port 344 for the cpu 341 to perform a network communication through a power - line communication modem . a method of restoring the network information performed by the apparatus of fig3 according to the present invention will now be explained with reference to fig4 . first , the master 34 , that is the tv , is connected to the power line through the rs - 232c port 344 and the power - line communication modem 38 , and the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are also connected to the power lines through the rs - 232cs port and the power - line communication modems 35 , 36 and 37 . the master 34 communicates with the slaves , registers the slaves by giving ids to the slaves , and checks the operation states of the slaves . then , the master 34 controls the slaves according to a user &# 39 ; s control command ( step s 41 ). specifically , the master 34 stores and updates by slaves the network information related to the control and the operation states of the slaves in the eeprom 342 ( step s 42 ). in this case , the network information related to the control and the operation states of the slaves includes control information inputted by the user , monitoring information and information related to the operation state of the slaves . the update of the network information is performed whenever the control information , the monitoring information or the operation - state - related alarming information is inputted . then , the master 34 checks whether the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are reset due to the power failure or an abnormal state of the slaves s 43 . at this time , the master 34 grasps whether the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are reset in a manner that the master 34 periodically checks the states of the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 , and the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 periodically inform their states to the master 34 , too . if all or some of the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are reset due to the power failure or their abnormal states as a result of checking , the master 34 retrieves the network information stored in the eeprom 342 . then , the master 34 transmits the network information related to the operation states before the power failure to the reset slaves . therefore , the reset slaves , which received the network information from the master 34 , are restored to their original states and perform their operations . for example , it is assumed that all of the slaves 31 , 32 , and 33 are reset due to the power failure while a washing machine 31 performs a rinsing operation . if the power is supplied again , the washing machine 31 receives the network information from the master , which corresponds to a command for the washing machine 31 to perform the rinsing operation . consequently , after the power is supplied again , the washing machine 31 performs the rinsing operation according to the network information related to the latest state of the washing machine receives from the master 34 . if the network information related to the latest state is not transmitted from the master 34 , the washing machine 31 does not resume the operation unless the user inputs a new command . after the slaves 31 , 32 and 33 are restored to their latest operation states , the master 34 prepares for a further possible reset by repeating the steps of storing and updating of the network information . as described above , the apparatus for restoring network information for a home network system and the method thereof according to the present invention has the effects in that it restores the slaves to their latest states and enables the slaves to perform their operations by storing the states of the slaves even if the slaves are reset . therefore , it is not continue required for the user to set the operations of the slaves if the slaves are reset , and this provides convenience in use . the forgoing embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . the present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses . the description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , and not to limit the scope of the claims . many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art .	7
the following description is given primarily with reference to a procedure for determining the relevant geometric parameters and for implanting a hip socket , but reference is additionally made also to the determination ( relatively independent thereof ) of the relevant geometric parameters and the implantation of a stem component as the second component of an artificial hip joint . the operating surgeon , when planning a hip joint implantation , needs to determine the following values for the socket : the two angles of alignment of the socket axis relative to the body planes are here selected on an x - ray image by the operating surgeon in accordance with medical standpoints . these angles can likewise be modified by the operating surgeon intra - operatively . 3 . angle in the sagittal body plane between vertical axis and the direction from the iliac crest to the symphisis . determining this angle allows intra - operative determination of the body axes and thus of the plan coordinate system . it is assumed that the patient is supine at the beginning of the operation ; the physician has an x - ray image available which gives an adequate picture of the overall anatomical situation and the nature of the bones and from which he makes his first deductions as to the size of implant to be installed and the preferred approximate alignment of the implant . an incision , 4 cm in length , is made 3 - 5 cm dorsally of the spina iliaca superior anterior , the iliac crest is exposed and the tissue is exposed with a rasp . fig1 shows an iliac crest locator 1 with an associated mounting clamp 3 , which is attached in the exposed region of the iliac crest . the mounting clamp 3 comprises a medial clamp component 3 . 1 and a lateral clamp component 3 . 2 , which are screwed together by means of an allen bolt 5 until the mounting clamp is firmly seated on the iliac crest . the actual iliac crest locator 1 has a sickle - shaped basic body 1 . 1 having a mounting sleeve 1 . 2 for positioning on the mounting clamp 3 as well as a 4 - point locator array 1 . 3 consisting of four ir - reflecting spheres each of which is partially surrounded by a diffuser ( not separately referenced ) in the shape of a spherical segment in order to avoid troublesome radiation effects . these are so - called passive targets or adapters which are known per se and the mode of operation of which in conjunction with the ( likewise known ) stereocamera arrangement of a so - called navigation system will therefore not be described in greater detail here . after being put in position , the locator 1 is rotated relative to the mounting clamp 3 so that the locator array is suitably aligned relative to the camera but without any of the reflecting spheres being masked by another one . then , by screwing the locator and the mounting clamp together , a rigid connection is established between the two . instead of being attached to the iliac crest , the multipoint transducer 1 , referred to as the iliac crest locator above , can also be attached to the roof of the aceta - bulum of the pelvis . this has the advantage that the above - mentioned ( additional ) incision in the region of the iliac crest becomes superfluous , but the attachment of the multipoint transducer , which is then referred to as the “ surgical field locator ”, is less stable if the bone structure is weak . fig2 shows , in addition to the above - described bone - fixed locator 1 , a manual sensor 7 having a rod - shaped sensing component 9 , which tapers towards one end and from which a holder 9 . 1 projects perpendicularly , an approximately y - shaped sensor body 7 . 1 and a 4 - point locator array 7 . 2 , similar to the structure of the iliac crest locator described above . the locators of the components of the arrangement described below are also of similar structure , so that the naming of the corresponding parts and portions of those locators and the description thereof will be omitted . using the manual sensor 7 , at the beginning of the navigation sequence various points on the plane of the operating table on which the patient is lying are scanned in order to determine the position of the table plane in space . although this is not required for the actual determination of the patient &# 39 ; s position , it can be used for plausibility considerations ( for example in respect of the significance of the inclination of the patient &# 39 ; s pelvis relative to the plane of the table etc .). for the actual navigation it is usually assumed that the patient &# 39 ; s frontal plane lies parallel to the plane of the table . then , using the manual sensor 7 , characteristic bony references in the pelvis region are sensed through the skin . first of all , the left and right iliac crests and the center of the symphysis are sensed . these three sensed points and the crest / symphysis angle ascertained during the planning enable the body axes to be clearly determined . the direction from left iliac crest to right iliac crest represents the transversal body axis . the direction from the center of the iliac crest points to the symphysis is rotated through the crest / symphysis angle about the transversal axis and thus represents the vertical body axis ( orthogonal to the transversal axis ). the sagittal body axis is obtained from the two first - mentioned axes as an orthogonal . fig3 shows , in addition to the iliac crest locator 1 , a femur locator 11 having an associated adapter ( femoral clamp ) 13 for attachment close to the proximal end of the femur . the femoral clamp 13 has a two - part body consisting of a first base member 13 . 1 , which is fork - shaped in plan view and approximately l - shaped in side view , from which two pins 13 . 2 project for mounting the locator , and a second base member , which is approximately l - shaped in side view and which can be locked together with the first base member 13 . 1 . the structure of the femur locator 11 itself , apart from having an angled locator rod , is substantially the same as that of the iliac crest locator . it is pushed by way of a mounting sleeve 15 . 1 at the free end of a locator rod 15 onto one of the two pins 13 . 2 of the femoral clamp 13 . the femoral clamp 13 is then attached to the mounted locator rod 15 on the lateral femur side approximately at the level of the trochanter minor or between the trochanter minor and the trochanter major , by pushing the muscle groups located there aside and inserting the clamp . the rotated position is to be so selected that the locator rod projects laterally out of the surgical field , if possible in the direction of the camera . then the clamp is tightened with a moderate torque , the actual locator array ( not separately referenced here ) is mounted and aligned towards the camera and finally the femur locator is screwed tight . the kinematic center of rotation of the hip is then determined both in the hip - fixed coordinate system and in the femur - fixed coordinate system by a plurality of relative measurements of the femur locator in the hip - fixed coordinate system with the leg in different positions . the transformation of all measured values can accordingly be effected from the hip - fixed coordinate system into the coordinate system of the body axes . accordingly all the calibrated tools can then be aligned relative to the body axis coordinate system ; in this connection see below . using the center of rotation as origin , the implant can be installed at its kinematic origin . should corrections be necessary , displacements and changes of angle in the plan can be carried out intra - operatively . once the operating surgeon has carried out the position recordings in the various positions of the leg in “ dialogue ” with the interactive user guidance ( error correction again being provided on the basis of plausibility calculations ), the femur locator is removed from the clamp 13 and the head of the femur is resectioned . the diameter of the resectioned head is measured and , on the basis of the measurement result , a suitable hemisphere is selected for the next step , namely the determination of the center of the acetabulum or geometric center of rotation of the hip . as shown in fig4 , the selected hemisphere 17 is combined with a manual sensor 7 ′ of the kind shown in fig2 and described above to form a sphere adapter / manual sensor combination 19 . by guiding such a locator into the socket region ( usually assuming a certain anteversion angle , e . g . 12 °), first the validity of the ( kinematic ) center of rotation determined by means of the femur locator is checked from the geometric point of view and secondly the results allow a “ cross - check ” of the planned implantation values from geometric standpoints . furthermore , moving the hemisphere 17 in the socket region provides pointers to possible mechanical collisions . the structure of the half - shell and its adaptation to the manual sensor ensures that the probe tip is always in the sphere center of the sensing hemisphere . there then follows , within the framework of the stored evaluation program with interactive user guidance , the final planning of the implantation , from the determination of the implant size that is to be installed through to displacement values and angle sizes . on that basis and with reference to previously entered specific instrument data , the system calculates desired positions for the resectioning and setting instruments to be used or , more specifically , for their operational parts . fig5 shows , in addition to the iliac crest and femur locators 1 , 11 , a milling tool / locator combination 21 having a milling shaft 23 , a milling shaft adapter 25 and a locator 27 , the structure of which corresponds substantially to that of the femur locator 11 according to fig3 . this instrument is aligned in a socket region in the manner likewise shown in the figure , the position and alignment being recorded on the basis of position signals from the locator array and being displayed visually on screens in the manner shown in fig6 . a milling tool position that is correct in accordance with the plan data is indicated on the display by a ring encompassing the milling shaft and by acoustic signals . as soon as a socket seat has been produced in accordance with the plan data , the milling tool / locator combination is converted into a setting instrument / locator combination 29 , as shown in fig7 , the locator 27 again being used but this time in conjunction with a setting instrument shaft 31 and a shaft adapter 33 . using this instrument , a hip socket 35 is set in place in a manner that is largely analogous to the manipulation of the milling tool / locator combination and that is likewise displayed on the pc screen . the ultimate position of the hip socket 35 is still to be entered into the system by the operating surgeon . then the stem preparation and implantation ( in the first instance a test stem ) are carried out , either in a conventional way or again assisted by the navigation system . height and anteversion of the stem are fixed with reference to the plan data ; only the ball neck length is still freely selectable . the joint is then assembled with the test stem , and stability and any potential for collisions during movement of the stem in the socket are tested . in addition , the leg length is roughly tested by comparing the position of the malleoli on the leg undergoing surgery and the healthy leg . if joint stability problems arise , a solution is sought by selecting a specific ball or a stem of a different size from an available range . optionally , in this phase it is also possible to take measurements of the other leg using the navigation system , the results of which can be used in the sense of symmetry considerations with a view to fine adjustment of the implant . it will be understood that for such measurements , instead of using the femur locator described above , there is used a femur locator modified for external mounting over the skin . a considerable advantage of the proposed system is that using navigation data it is also possible to make a “ before and after ” comparison of the leg lengths ( on the diseased hip prior to the operation and during the above - mentioned testing step in the final phase of the operation ). for this purpose , the femur locator is again positioned and fixed in place on the holder which has remained on the femur and the position with the leg extended and aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body is recorded . the position data obtained indicate any lengthening or shortening of the leg and also the so - called lateralization or medialization , that is to say the “ sided ” position of the femur . where too much metallization ( displacement towards the inside ) is indicated , a stem different from the test stem can be used in conjuncttion with a different ball ; in any case , however , the measured values suggest to the physician what should be taken into consideration in the further care of the patient . the following remarks relate to the use of the described system in stem preparation and implantation . the placement of the stem of a prosthetic hip requires the establishment of a planned antetorsion angle of the femur neck and the creation of the angle of the original leg length . the axial alignment of the stem is governed to a very great extent by the position of the medullary canal in the femur . as a result , it is only therefrom that the actual stem size or its offsets can be calculated . a calibrated awl is used to determine the medullary canal of the femur . a further important item of information for the placement of the stem is the determination of the center of rotation ; see above in this connection . fig8 shows a further component of the proposed arrangement that is suitable for use in this connection , namely a medullary canal awl / locator combination 37 having a medullary canal awl 39 , an awl adapter 41 and ( again ) a locator 27 , similar to the locator variant already shown in fig3 . for the insertion of this navigation instrument , the proximal femur end is opened with a box chisel or a piercing saw in the vicinity of the trochanter major and the medullary canal awl 39 is inserted therein from the proximal end . the angle of inclination and antetorsion angle of the head of the femur are determined pre - operatively from an x - ray image and are entered intra - operatively . in addition , the antetorsion angle can be determined intra - operatively by measuring landmarks on the knee joint and on the ankle joint , so that the body planes are known intra - operatively . the actual implantation angles and positions of the socket navigation can also be taken into account in the stem implantation . the last spatial position of the socket can be applied as a relative correction of the stem . this procedure ensures optimum implantation . the preparation of the femur for installation of the stem is then effected — analogously to the preparation of the socket seat with a navigated milling tool — with a navigated stem rasp , that is to say a stem rasp / locator combination , which is very similar to the combination shown in fig8 and is therefore neither shown nor described in greater detail here . after the preparation , a test stem is again inserted and the tests described above in connection with the socket - side navigation are carried out . when satisfactory results have been obtained , the final stem is then installed without it having to be navigated again . the invention is not limited to the arrangement described above and the procedure outlined in connection therewith , but can also be realized in modifications that lie within the scope of technical action .	0
referring to the drawings in detail , and particularly fig1 and 3 , reference character 10 generally indicates any suitable life preserver of the usual or well knwon toroidal configuration constructed from any suitable or well known buoyant material and having an adapter 12 secured thereto for converting the life preserver 10 into a life preserver embodying the present invention . the adapter 12 comprises a scrim or cover 14 removably secured about at least a portion of the outer periphery of the toroidal life preserver 10 the cover 14 preferably being constructed from any suitable material which is sufficiently pliable as to wrap around and substantially conform to the contour of the body 12 , as clearly shown in fig1 and 3 , and which is resistant to damage from water or other atmospheric conditions frequently encountered during the use of devices of this type . the overall width of the cover 14 is preferably of a dimension as to provide a hiatus 16 ( fig2 ) around the outer circumference of the body 12 and between the opposite ends or edges of the cover . whereas the cover 14 may be removably secured around the outer surface of the body 12 in any suitable manner , it is preferable to provide a plurality of spaced ports or eyelets 18 around one edge 20 of the cover 14 and a plurality of similarly spaced ports or eyelets 22 around the opposite edges 24 thereof . a suitable tie or cable means 26 may be laced through and between the ports 18 and 22 for securing the cover 14 about the outer surface of the body 12 , with the edges 20 and 24 preferably in spaced relation as hereinbefore set forth , but not limited thereto . a plurality of yieldable straps or bands 28 which may be constructed from elastic or the like , are secured to the outer surface of the cover 14 in circumferentially spaced relation . whereas the straps 28 may be secured to the cover in any suitable manner , it is preferable to attach the opposite ends of each band in the proximity of the outer edges 20 and 24 of cover 14 whereby central portions of the straps 28 are unattached or free with respect to the cover . it will be readily apparent that the straps 28 extend transversely about the body 12 with the central portions of the straps 28 being disposed at the inner periphery of the toroid . the yieldable nature of the straps maintains the straps in a normal position substantially against the body 12 , but permits flexing of the straps in a radially inward direction for a purpose and in a manner as will be hereinafter set forth . in addition to the straps 28 , it is preferable to provide a plurality of spaced hand grip members 30 on the outer surface of the cover 14 for facilitating grasping of the device 10 , as will be hereinafter set forth . the hand grip members 30 may be constructed from any suitable material and secured to the cover 14 in any suitable manner , but as shown herein , the elements 30 are preferably constructed from a nylon webbing material , and the opposite ends of each element 30 may be stitched or otherwise secured to the cover 14 . the central portion of each element 30 is preferably spaced outwardly from the cover 14 for facilitating manual grasping of the element 30 when desired . a suitable sleeve or channel means 32 is secured to the cover 14 in any well known manner for slidably receiving the opposite ends of a cable or rope means 34 therethrough , as particularly shown in fig1 and 3 . the rope 34 is preferably nylon rope , or other buoyant and weather resistant material , but not limited thereto , and is threaded through the inner or central portions of the straps 28 . the rope means 34 may be a continuous length of rope , with the opposite or outer ends 36 and 38 thereof extending outwardly from the outer end of the sleeve 32 , or may comprise a plurality of rope lengths secured in end - to - end relation , as desired . the outer ends 36 and 38 are secured to a metallic ring 40 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth . in the normal stowage or non - use position for the device 10 , the elastic or yieldable nature of the strap members 28 holds the rope means 34 substantially against the inner periphery of the toroid , as particularly shown in fig1 . the yieldable nature of the straps 28 , however , permits the rope means 34 to be pulled radially inwardly during use of the device 10 , as will be hereinafter set forth and as particularly shown in fig3 . when desired , a suitable retrieving means or tow rope means 46 may be secured to the ring 40 for facilitating the application of longitudinal tension on the rope means 34 to provide said radial inward movement . the body 12 as shown herein is also preferably provided with the usual maneuvering rope or cable means 42 , which may be loosely but securely secured around the outer circumference of the toroid in any well known manner , such as by the usual fastening means 44 normally secured directly to the body 12 . the rope means 42 facilitates the casting or throwing of the device 10 to a struggling person or into the proximity of a person to be rescued by the device 10 , as is well known . in use , the device 10 may be utilized in the normal manner of the well known toroidal life preservers , and the like , during relatively normal rescue operations wherein the conditions warrant such normal usage . however , in the event the person being retrieved or rescued has been injured to such an extent or is weakened whereby he cannot maintain a grasp or hold onto the device 10 , the device may be utilized for emergency rescue in the following manner : the device 10 , having the adapter 12 provided thereon , may be cast , thrown , dropped , personally delivered or otherwise deposited in the proximity of the injured person whereby the device may be positioned about his body in such a manner that the toroidal configuration of the life preserver 10 surrounds his torso , or other part of his anatomy , such as an arm . the retrieving line or rope 46 may be pulled for transmitting a longitudinal force along the length of the rope means 32 , causing the rope means 34 to move radially inwardly against the force of the yieldable or elastic straps 28 . the rope means 34 is thus drawn tightly about the torso , or other body portion engaged by the device 10 for securely retaining the injured person being rescued in the device 10 , regardless of whether or not the person himself is able to grasp the device . of course , when the rescued person is removed from the device 10 , the elastic or yieldable nature of the strap means 28 automatically pulls or draws the rope means 34 into the normal stowage position thereof whereby the device 10 is in a &# 34 ; ready condition &# 34 ; for use in a subsequent rescue operation . such a rescue operation is of particular value in an air - sea rescue attempt in that the hoisting apparatus ( not shown ) normally provided in the aircraft utilized during the rescue operation may be actuated for lifting the device 10 carrying the injured person from the water and into the rescue craft . the loss of the person from the device during such a rescue operation is substantially eliminated since the device automatically clasps the person securely within the rescue device 10 until he may be retied by the rescue personnel . whereas the adapter 12 shown in fig1 and 3 may be applied to substantially any existing toroidal type life preserver , it is to be noted that the toroidal body 10 itself may be initially contructed in such a manner that the yieldable strap means 28 is integrally secured thereto , and the opposite ends of the rope means 34 may pass through a radial passageway ( not shown ) provided in the body 10 rather than through the channel means 32 as shown herein . referring now to fig4 and 5 , a modified adapter generally indicated at 50 is shown which may be removably secured to substantially any suitable life preserver 52 of a toroidal configuration . the adapter 50 is generally similar to the adapter 12 and comprises a cover 54 adapted to cover at least a portion of the outer surface of the body 52 . the cover 54 may be secured in position in any suitable manner , such as by the lacing of a suitable cable or rope means 56 through a plurality of spaced ports or apertures 58 as in the manner of the cover 14 hereinbefore set forth . in addition , yieldable strap means 60 may be secured to the scrim or cover 54 in the same manner and to perform the same function as the strap means 28 . channel or sleeve means 62 is secured to the outer surface of the cover 54 for receiving the opposite ends 64 and 66 of rope means 68 therethrough . the rope means 68 is threaded through or passes through the yieldable straps members 60 and is operable in the same manner as the rope means 34 . the ends 64 and 66 may be suitably secured to a suitable metallic ring 67 , and the retrieving rope means 46 may be secured to the ring 67 in the same manner as hereinbefore set forth with respect to the ring 40 , and for the same purpose . first pad or cushioning means 70 is suitably secured to the rope means 68 , and preferably is interposed between two of the strap members 60 whereby the pad 70 is disposed substantially diagonally from the sleeve means 62 . in addition , second pad or cushioning means 72 is secured to the rope means 68 in any suitable manner , and is preferably disposed in the proximity of the sleeve means 62 , but not limited thereto . the pad members 70 and 72 move radially inwardly and outwardly with the actuation of the rope means 68 . as shown in fig4 the normal stowage position for the rope means 68 and pads 70 and 72 is in the proximity of the inner periphery of the toroidal body 52 . when the device 50 is to be utilized for rescue of a weakened person , or the like , as hereinbefore set forth , the device may be positioned about the torso or other body portion of the victim and upon the application of pressure on the tow or retrieval line 46 , the rope means 68 is drawn radially inwardly as shown in fig5 for firmly engaging the torso or other body portion of the victim and securely retaining the person in the device 50 . the pads 70 and 72 are brought into engagement with the victim &# 39 ; s body portion as the rope means 68 is drawn radially inwardly , thus substantially precluding injury to the body portion engaged thereby during the rescue attempt or operation . of course , when the victim is removed from the device 10 , the normal yieldable characteristic of the strap members 60 will return the rope means 60 and pads 70 and 72 to the normal stowage positions therefor whereby the device is ready for use in a subsequent rescue operation . from the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel life preserver device which may be utilized in the normal manner of toroidal devices of this type , but which is particularly designed and constructed for automatically engaging the body or body portion of a victim being rescued thereby for sustaining the victim even when he is so greatly injured or is so weakened that he cannot cling to the device of his own power . the novel device comprises body grasping rope means secured within the central opening of the toroidal configuration of the preserver by means of yielding strap members whereby application of a force along the length of the rope means draws the rope means tightly about the body or body portion of the victim for securely retaining the victim in the device until he may be retrieved therefrom . the rope means is automatically restored to a stowage position upon removal of the victim therefrom whereby the device is in a &# 34 ; ready condition &# 34 ; for the next succeeding rescue operation . whereas the present invention has been described in particular relation to the drawings attached hereto , it should be understood that other and further modifications , apart from those shown or suggested herein may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention .	1
fig1 is a sectional view of principal parts of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention . in the example of the structure shown in fig1 two mos transistors of different operation modes , that is , a “ dynamic vth mos transistor ” ( hereinafter referred to as a “ dv - mos ”) and a conventional mos transistor ( hereinafter referred to as a “ con - mos ”) are shown . in a semiconductor device 1 shown in fig1 an insulating layer 4 is formed on a supporting substrate 2 via a bonding layer 3 . the supporting substrate 2 may be a silicon wafer or other semiconductor substrate , a glass substrate etc . when the supporting substrate 2 is a silicon wafer , usually polycrystalline silicon is used as the bonding layer 3 and a silicon oxide - based insulating film is used as the insulating layer 4 . a con - mos silicon active layer 5 and a dv - mos silicon active layer 6 are formed and separated from each other on the front side in the insulating layer 4 . the silicon active layers 5 and 6 are made of , for example , single crystal silicon doped by a p - type impurity ( for example boron ) or an n - type impurity ( phosphorus or arsenic ) at a relatively low concentration . in the insulating layer 4 , a back side gate electrode 8 facing the bottom surface of the con - mos silicon active layer 5 via a back side gate insulating film 7 a and a back side gate electrode 9 facing the bottom surface of the dv - mos silicon active layer 6 via a back side gate insulating film 7 b are buried and separated from each other . the back side gate electrodes 8 and 9 each have a thickness of , for example , about 300 nm and are made of polycrystalline silicon doped with an impurity . here , the con - mos back side gate electrode 8 is doped with a p - type impurity at a relatively high concentration in the case of an mos transistor of an n - type channel ( nmos ), and is doped with an n - type impurity at a relatively high concentration in the case of a mos transistor of a p - type channel ( pmos ). on the other hand , the dv - mos back side gate electrode 9 is doped with an n - type impurity at a relatively high concentration in both cases of an nmos and pmos . the back side gate insulating films 7 a and 7 b are made of , for example , silicon oxide . the back side gate insulating films 7 a and 7 b may be separated from each other , but in the present embodiment , one back side gate insulating film 7 having two regions of different thickness is shown . in the present invention , the back side gate insulating film 7 a on con - mos side in which the thickness is relatively large , for example 60 nm , is referred to as the “ first region of the back side gate insulating film 7 ” and the back side gate insulating film 7 b on the dv - mos side in which the thickness is relatively small , for example 6 nm , is referred to as the “ second region of the back side gate insulating film 7 ”. the gate electrode 11 of the transistor is formed on the silicon active layer 5 or 6 via the front side gate insulating film 10 ( thickness : 4 nm ). the gate electrode 11 comprises for example a lower layer of polycrystalline silicon 11 a ( thickness : 100 nm ) doped with an impurity of the same conductivity type as that of the channel and an upper layer of a refractory metal silicide 11 b ( thickness : 100 nm ) such as wsi x . although not particularly illustrated , a source and drain impurity region having an ldd structure is formed on the front side in the silicon active layers 5 and 6 . an inter - layer insulating film 12 is deposited over the entire surface , the inter - layer insulating film 12 is partially etched through , plugs 13 are buried , and an interconnection layer 14 is formed thereon . in the semiconductor device 1 having such a sectional structure , the con - mos has the back side gate electrode 8 and the front side gate electrode 11 insulated and separated from each other , has the back side gate electrode 8 connected to a predetermined bias voltage supply line , and has the front side gate electrode 11 connected to an input signal line . on the other hand , in the dv - mos , the back side gate electrode 9 and the front side gate electrode 11 are electrically connected at a not illustrated position and the two connected to an input signal line . in the semiconductor device 1 having such a structure , the dv - mos performs a so - called “ dynamic vth ” operation since the back side and front side gate electrodes are supplied with the input signal and controlled at the same phase . that is , the threshold voltage vth relatively rises and the leakage current at the off time is reduced when the input signal is at a low level and the transistor is nonconductive , while the threshold voltage vth relatively falls and the drive capability is improved when the input signal is at a high level and the transistor is conductive . in the present embodiment , in order to make such an effect larger , the back side gate insulating film 7 b is made relatively thin , i . e ., 6 nm , so as to raise the “ controllability ” of the back side gate electrode 9 with respect to the semiconductor active layer 6 . on the other hand , in a con - mos in which a constant voltage is supplied to the back side gate electrode 8 , if the back side gate insulating film 7 a is too thin , a sub - threshold characteristic of the transistor becomes bad , that is , the amount of change of the gate voltage required for changing the sub - threshold current by one order of magnitude ( sub - threshold coefficient ) becomes large , which is not preferred . further , when considering the diffusion of the impurity ( boron ) from the back side gate electrode 8 and the insulation characteristics of the back side gate and other aspects of reliability , a thick back side gate insulating film 7 a is preferred . accordingly , in this embodiment , the back side gate insulating film 7 a of the con - mos is set relatively thick , i . e ., 60 nm . as a result , the sub - threshold coefficient can be lowered to an ideal value of 60 mv / dec . even at the maximum . in this way , in the semiconductor device 1 according to the present embodiment of the present invention , the back side gate insulating film thickness is optimized between the two different operation mode transistors ( dv - mos and con - mos ). as a result , in the semiconductor device 1 , an improvement of the characteristics ( lower voltage , lower power consumption , higher drive capability , and lower leakage current ) of the integrated circuit formed using the two transistors having different operation modes is achieved . in this semiconductor device 1 , a thickness difference is set in the back side gate insulating film for the reason that the conductivity types of the back side gate electrodes are different , for example , as in cmos transistors , in addition to the reason that the operation modes are different as mentioned above . that is , even between con - mos &# 39 ; s or between dv - mos &# 39 ; s , a thickness difference is set in the back side gate insulating film between the p - channel mos and the n - channel mos . fig2 is a sectional view of a cmos transistor portion constituted by the con - mos in the semiconductor device 1 . the fundamental structure of the transistor in fig2 is similar to that of fig1 but while the back side gate electrode 8 a of the nmos was doped with a p - type impurity ( boron ) at a relatively high concentration , the back side gate electrode 8 b of the pmos is doped with an n - type impurity ( phosphorus or arsenic ) at a relatively high concentration . then , a region 7 c of the back side gate insulating film 7 contiguous with the p + back side gate electrode 8 a is set thicker than a region 7 d of the back side gate insulating film 7 contiguous with the n + back side gate electrode 8 b . specifically , while for example the region 7 d of the back side gate insulating film 7 has a thickness of about 60 nm , the region 7 c has a thickness of about 100 nm . in general , when fabricating a cmos transistor , in order to avoid the formation of a channel near the interface between the silicon active layer and the insulating layer so as to obtain a device of a surface channel type resistant to the short channel effect , the material of the back side gate electrode must be p + polycrystalline silicon in the nmos and n + polycrystalline silicon in the pmos in view of the work function . that is , when forming the back side gate electrodes , employment of a dual gate process for separately implanting the p + impurity and the n + impurity in the polycrystalline silicon becomes indispensable . in the method for forming a cmos transistor of the related art , however , after the impurity is doped in the polycrystalline silicon forming the back side gate electrodes by the dual gate process , heat treatment is carried out at a high temperature for a long time in the step of bonding the substrates etc . during this heat treatment , in particular the boron in the p + polycrystalline silicon is thermally diffused and sometimes penetrates through the back side gate insulating film to reach the silicon active layer . this is because boron has a large diffusion coefficient in silicon and the insulating film when compared with an n - type impurity such as phosphorus and arsenic . the thermal diffusion of this boron into the silicon active layer not only causes a deviation of the threshold value of the nmos , but also increases the leakage current at the off time and in some cases causes the disadvantage of formation of a partial depletion type transistor , a susceptibility to the short channel effect , or a lowered drive capability . as shown in fig2 in the semiconductor device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention , by making the back side gate insulating film region 7 c on the p + back side gate electrode 8 a side ( nmos side ) thick in comparison with the back side gate electrode region 7 d of the n + back side gate electrode 8 b side ( pmos side ), the fluctuation and lowering of the characteristics due to the diffusion of the boron mentioned above are effectively prevented . simultaneously , as the result of the fact that the p + back side gate electrode can be used particularly at the nmos , there is obtained an advantage that the formation of a back channel when the back side gate electrode 8 a has zero bias is suppressed , so punch through accompanying the short channel effect is hard to occur . next , an explanation will be made of an embodiment of a method for producing this semiconductor device 1 by referring to the drawings . fig3 to fig1 are sectional views of the state in the middle of the manufacture of the dv - mos and con - mos as an example of two transistor portions between which a thickness difference is provided in the back side gate insulating film in the semiconductor device 1 . in fig3 for example a silicon wafer or other substrate to be polished 20 is prepared , a resist pattern r 1 is formed on this , the surface of the substrate to be polished 20 is etched ( for example by reactive ion etching ( rie )) by using this as a mask , and thereby projections 20 a forming the silicon active layers later are formed . the step difference of the projections 20 a is set for example at about 70 nm . the resist pattern r 1 is removed , then , in fig4 for example , a thermal oxidation process is used to form a first layer of a back side gate insulating film 7 − 1 made of silicon oxide to about 60 nm on the front side of the surface of the substrate to be polished 20 on which the projections 20 a are formed . this thermal oxidation is carried out by using for example an atmospheric pressure vertical oxidation system under conditions of an introduction gas of h 2 : o 2 = 1 : 1 and a system temperature of 950 ° c . in fig5 a resist pattern r 2 covering only the con - mos part is formed on the back side gate insulating film 7 − 1 , and the back side gate insulating film 7 − 1 of the dv - mos part is removed by wet etching using this as a mask . the resist pattern r 2 is removed , then , in fig6 for example , a thermal oxidation process is used to form a second layer of a back side gate insulating film 7 − 2 made of silicon oxide to about 6 nm on the substrate region of the dv - mos part exposed by the wet etching in the above step . this thermal oxidation is carried out by using for example an atmospheric pressure vertical oxidation system under conditions of an introduction gas of h 2 : o 2 = 1 : 1 and a system temperature of 850 ° c . in this thermal oxidation , there is almost no thermal oxidation in the con - mos part . as a result , a back side gate insulating film 7 having a con - mos part ( region 7 a of fig1 ) having a thickness of about 60 nm and a dv - mos part ( region 7 b of fig1 ) having a thickness of about 6 nm , that is , in which the thickness is partially different , is completed . in fig7 the polycrystalline silicon for forming the back side gate electrode is deposited ( by chemical vapor deposition ( cvd )) to about 300 nm , then different ion species are injected using , for example , a resist pattern ( not shown ) as a mask to introduce the required impurities into predetermined regions of the polycrystalline silicon . thereafter , another resist pattern ( not shown ) is formed on the polycrystalline silicon , the polycrystalline silicon is etched using this as a mask , and the resist pattern is removed . by this , the con - mos back side gate electrode 8 and the dv - mos back side gate electrode 9 are formed on the back side gate insulating film 7 while separated from each other . in fig8 an insulating layer 4 made of for example silicon oxide is deposited relatively thickly to bury the back side gate electrodes 8 and 9 . further , for example polycrystalline silicon is deposited on the insulating layer 4 and the front surface is polished to form the bonding layer 3 . in fig9 for example , the substrate to be polished 20 is bonded to the supporting substrate 2 made of the silicon wafer or the like prepared in advance from the planarized surface of the bonding layer 3 and heat treated . the heat treatment at this time is carried out in for example an electric furnace in an oxygen atmosphere under conditions of 1100 ° c . and 60 min . the bonded soi substrate formed in this way is ground and polished ( cmp ) from the back side of the substrate to be polished 20 . in the cmp , at the point of time when the back side gate insulating film 7 is exposed between the projections 20 a of the substrate to be polished 20 , this acts as a stopper . accordingly , the polishing does not advance much after this , and the end point of the polishing is detected . by this selective polishing , the projections 20 a of the substrate to be polished 20 are separated from each other . next , different ion species are injected into the separated projections 20 a using for example a resist pattern ( not shown ) as a mask to introduce the required impurities into the silicon forming the projections 20 a . by this , as shown in fig1 , the con - mos silicon active layer 5 and the dv - mos silicon active layer 6 are formed insulated and separated from each other . thereafter , as shown in fig1 the mos transistors are formed . first , the front surfaces of the silicon active layers 5 and 6 are thermally oxidized to form a front side gate insulating film 10 having a thickness of 4 nm . a polycide film forming the gate electrodes is formed on the entire surface and patterned to form the gate electrodes 11 . by the ion implantation using the gate electrodes 11 as masks , ldd regions ( not illustrated ) are formed on the front surfaces of the silicon active layers 5 and 6 , then side wall insulating layers ( not illustrated ) are formed on the two sides of the gate electrodes 11 . by the ion implantation using the side wall insulating layers and the gate electrodes 11 as masks , source and drain impurity regions ( not illustrated ) are formed on the front surfaces in the silicon active layers 5 and 6 . an inter - layer insulating film 12 is deposited thickly on the entire surface including the mos transistors , then contact holes are opened and plugs 13 made of tungsten or polycrystalline silicon etc . are buried in the contact holes . then , the interconnection layer 14 is formed on the inter - layer insulating film 12 and the fundamental structure of the related semiconductor device 1 is completed . in the method for producing a semiconductor device according to this embodiment of the present invention , the process ( fig4 to fig6 ) for providing the thickness difference in the back side gate insulating film 7 can be achieved by the combination of lithography and etching . no special process is required . for this reason , the manufacturing cost is not greatly increased . fig1 is a sectional view of the principal parts of a semiconductor device according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention . in this modification , the gate electrodes 9 and 11 of the back side and the front side of the dv - mos are not directly electrically connected , but for example a bias switch circuit 30 for generating a control signal from the input signal is connected to the back side gate electrode 9 . for this reason , the control signal has the same phase as that of for example the input signal input to the front side gate electrode 11 , but the controllability of the back side gate electrode 9 with respect to the silicon active layer 6 can be raised by making the amplitude large . accordingly , in the present modification , there is the advantage that the absolute thickness value of the back side gate insulating film 7 b in the dv - mos can be enlarged by that amount , and the thermal diffusion of the boron into the silicon active layer 6 can be suppressed . the bias switch circuit 30 is made from an integrated circuit formed in another silicon active layer simultaneously formed with the silicon active layers 5 and 6 . summarizing the effects of the present invention , according to the semiconductor device according to the present invention and the method for producing the same , back side gate insulating films having optimum thicknesses are provided for transistors having different operation modes . as a result , the flexibility of the design of the integrated circuit using such transistors having different operation modes rises and in addition the characteristics of the integrated circuit can be improved . specifically , a semiconductor device excellent in points of the low voltage , low power consumption , high drive capability , and low leakage current can be realized . in addition , since the thickness of the back side gate insulating film is changed according to the type of the impurity to be introduced into the back side gate electrode , the penetration of boron etc . having a large diffusion coefficient to the semiconductor active layer is prevented and thus the generation of a leakage current at the off time and the fluctuation of the threshold value of the transistors can be prevented . further , the advantages obtained by complete depletion of the semiconductor active layer , for example , the suppression of the short channel effect ( and punch through ) and the improvement of the current drive capability are not degraded . while the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiment chosen for purpose of illustration , it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention .	7
in order to make those skilled in the art better understand technical solutions of the present application , the technical solutions of the examples of the present application will be clearly and fully described below by making reference to the accompanying drawings of the examples of the present application . obviously , the described examples are merely a part of the examples of the present application , but not all examples . based on the examples of the present application , all other examples obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts , should fall within the protection scope of the present application . the examples of the present application provide an interventional medical device , comprising a stent body with a drug releasing structure , wherein the drugs in the drug releasing structure are drugs for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts and for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells . fig1 is a structural schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig1 , 1 indicates stent body , 2 indicates drug releasing coating . drug releasing coating 2 is coated on the outer surface of stent body 1 , in which : stent body 1 can be a coronary artery stent , intracranial vascular stent , peripheral vascular stent , intraoperative stent , heart valve stent , biliary tract stent , esophageal stent , intestinal tract stent , pancreatic duct stent , urethral stent or tracheal stent . furthermore , the material of stent body 1 can be a material with good biocompatibility and mechanical characteristics , such as stainless steel , cobalt - based alloy , nickel - based alloy , titanium alloy , degradable magnesium alloy or a polymer material , etc . drug releasing coating 2 is a dense mixed layer formed by the polymer and the drug for suppressing adventitial fibroblast proliferation and the drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells . that is , drug releasing coating 2 is used as a carrier to allow the surface of stent body 1 to carry drugs . drug for inhibiting adventitial fibroblast proliferation includes at least one drug selected from the group consisting of tanshinone , asiaticoside , madecassoside , ligustrazine , dracorhodin , rosuvastatin , angiotensin . in the examples of the present application , asiaticoside is preferred . drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells can be at least one drug selected from the group consisting of rapamycin and derivative thereof and paclitaxel and derivative thereof , with rapamycin is preferred . in addition , the polymer in drug releasing coating 2 can be a polymer having biocompatibility and controlled release properties , such as , polylactic acid , polyethylene glycol , styrene - butene copolymer , polycaprolactone , poly ( butyl methacrylate ), poly ( ethyl methacrylate ), polyvinyl ethyl acetate , polyurethane , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyphosphorylcholine , silk protein , gelatin , chitin and / or hyaluronic acid . asiaticoside is the total glycosides extracted from umbelliferae centella asiatica . asiaticoside can inhibit the pathological role of tgf - beta by increasing expression of smad7 that inhibits smad transduction signal , thereby functioning in vascular remodeling by blocking fibroblast proliferation , promoting vascular compensatory expansion , thus reducing the occurrence rate of in - stent restenosis . furthermore , studies have found that asiaticoside could also promote endothelial cell growth and accelerate endothelialization process . for detailed , see “ experimental study of the effect of asiaticoside on preventing restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention ( clc r541 . 4 article id : 1671 - 8259 ( 2005 ) 05 - 0477 - 03 ). thus it can be seen that , compared with the current drug - eluting stents using rapamycin , paclitaxel and derivatives thereof , the interventional medical device provided by the examples of the present application also promotes endothelial cell growth and accelerates the process of endothelialization . fig2 is a structural schematic diagram of another specific embodiment of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig2 , 1 indicates stent body , 3 indicates micropores formed on the surface of the stent . in the example of the present application , the drug releasing structure is micropore 3 . micropore 3 may be obtained by oxidating or eroding the surface of stent body 1 . drugs may be loaded within micropore 3 , thus , the surface of stent body 1 will carry drugs . fig3 is structural schematic diagram of another specific embodiment of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . in the interventional medical device shown in fig2 , micropore 3 is obtained by directly oxidating or eroding the surface of stent body 1 . however , in the example of the present application , a layer of microporous coating can be prepared on the surface of stent body 1 . as shown in fig3 , 1 indicates stent body , 4 indicates microporous coating . this eliminates the need for oxidating or eroding the surface of stent body 1 . on the contrary , microporous coating 4 is directly prepared on the surface of stent body 1 to obtain micropores loaded with drugs . fig4 is a technological process of the preparation method of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig4 , in the example of the present application , taking metal stent as an example of the stent body , the preparation method of the interventional medical device comprises : during the preparation of the interventional medical device , in order to prevent residual stains on the stent body from affecting the quality of the interventional medical device , it is necessary to clean the stent body first . step s 102 : preparing micropores on the surface of the stent body . micropores on the surface of the stent body are formed by electrochemical corrosion and / or chemical corrosion . electrochemical corrosion includes anodic oxidation , micro - arc oxidation and so on . micropores can be formed on the surface of the stent body by this step . fig2 shows their structural schematic diagram . step s 103 : formulating a solution containing a drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts and a drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells . in the example of the present application , preferably , the drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts is asiaticoside , and the drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells is rapamycin . a mixed solution of asiaticoside and rapamycin is formulated , in which asiaticoside : rapamycin = 2 : 1 ˜ 5 : 1 . when formulating , 10 mg rapamycin and 30 mg asiaticoside are dissolved in 10 ml ethanol solution . after they are dissolved , the mixture is mixed thoroughly . step s 104 : loading the drugs within the formulated solution into the micropores of the stent body . the stent body with micropores on its surface obtained in step s 102 is immersed into the solution formulated in step s 103 , so that the drugs within the solution can be loaded into the micropores on the surface of the stent body . step s 105 : drying the stent body to get the interventional medical device . fig5 is another technological process of the preparation method of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig5 , in the example of the present application , the preparation method of the interventional medical device comprises : step s 202 : preparing a coating having micropores on the surface of the stent body . particular process includes the following steps : the silk protein solution is uniformly coated on the surface of the stent body . then the stent body is subject to thermal or chemical denaturation , and infiltration by pure water . after that , the stent body is freezed and then the temperature is increased to dry the stent body . a coating with microporous structure is thus formed on the surface of the stent body . step s 203 : formulating a solution containing a drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts and a drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells . in the example of the present application , preferably , the drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts is asiaticoside , and the drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells is rapamycin . when formulating , 10 mg rapamycin and 50 mg asiaticoside are dissolved in 10 ml ethanol solution . after they are dissolved , the mixture is mixed thoroughly . step s 204 : loading the drugs within the formulated solution into the micropores of the coating on the surface of the stent body . the stent body with a microporous coating on its surface obtained in step s 202 is immersed into the formulated solution , so that the drugs within the solution can be loaded into the micropores of the coating on the surface of the stent body . step s 205 : drying the stent body to get the interventional medical device . fig6 is another technological process of the preparation method of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig6 , in the example of the present application , the preparation method of the interventional medical device comprises : step s 302 : formulating a mixed solution containing a drug for suppressing adventitial fibroblast proliferation , a drug for suppressing intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cell proliferation and a polymer . in the example of the present application , the polymer is polylactic acid , the drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts is preferably asiaticoside , and the drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells is preferably rapamycin . a mixed solution of polylactic acid , asiaticoside and rapamycin is formulated , in which the ratio of asiaticoside and rapamycin is in the range of 2 : 1 ˜ 5 : 1 , and the ratio of polylactic acid and asiaticoside is in the range of 1 : 1 ˜ 5 : 1 . when formulating , 10 mg rapamycin , 30 mg asiaticoside and 10 mg polylactic acid can be added to 10 ml tetrahydrofuran . after they are sufficiently dissolved , the mixture is mixed uniformly . step s 303 : coating the surface of the stent body with the mixed solution . in the example of the present application , the mixed solution formulated in step 302 can be coated on the stent body by ultrasonic spraying , air spraying or dipping . step s 304 : drying the stent body to get the interventional medical device . in fig6 , a mixed solution of two drugs and the polymer is formulated . however , in the practical application , two drugs can be mixed with the polymer respectively . then the mixed solutions of each drug are successively coated on the surface of the stent body . fig7 is another technological process of the preparation method of the interventional medical device provided by the present application . as shown in fig7 , in the example of the present application , the preparation method of the interventional medical device comprises : step s 402 : formulating a mixed solution containing a drug for suppressing adventitial fibroblast proliferation and a polymer , as well as a mixed solution containing a drug for suppressing intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cell proliferation and a polymer . in the example of the present application , preferably , the polymer is polylactic acid , the drug for suppressing proliferation of adventitial fibroblasts is asiaticoside , and the drug for suppressing proliferation of intimal cells and / or smooth muscle cells is rapamycin . solution of polylactic acid and asiaticoside and solution of polylactic acid and rapamycin are formulated respectively , in which , the ratio of polylactic acid and asiaticoside is in the range of 1 : 1 ˜ 4 : 1 , and the ratio of polylactic acid and rapamycin is in the range of 1 : 1 ˜ 4 : 1 . when formulating , 30 mg asiaticoside and 60 mg polylactic acid are added to 10 ml tetrahydrofuran . after they are sufficiently dissolved , the mixture is mixed uniformly to get a first drug solution . additionally , 10 mg rapamycin and 20 mg polylactic acid are added to 10 ml tetrahydrofuran . after they are sufficiently dissolved , the mixture is mixed uniformly to get a second drug solution . step s 403 : coating the surface of the stent body with the resultant two mixed solutions on , respectively and successively . when coating , asiaticoside / polylactic acid solution can be coated on the surface of the stent body first . then the sprayed stent body is placed in the air for 4 h to make its surface dried . after that , rapamycin / polylactic acid solution is coated on the surface of the dried stent body . during above - mentioned spray coating , asiaticoside / polylactic acid solution is sprayed first , followed by rapamycin / polylactic acid solution . this is only an example of the present application , and should not be construed to limit the present application . those of ordinary skill in the art should know that , in other examples , the spraying order of the two drug solutions can be freely chosen . in addition , in the example of the present application , ultrasonic spraying , air spraying or dipping and other means may be used . step s 404 : drying the stent body to get the interventional medical device . the above examples are only preferred embodiments of the present application . with these examples the skilled person can understand or realize the present application . various modifications to these examples will be apparent to the skilled person in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be implemented in other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application . accordingly , the present application will not be limited to these examples described herein , but meet the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein .	0
according to fig1 to 4 , the bone stabilization means 1 comprises a central plate 2 with a longitudinal axis 8 , an outer surface 18 , which is averted from the bone 10 , an inner surface 19 and four peripheral arms 4 , which are angled or offset with respect to the longitudinal axis 8 . parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 , the central plate 2 has a length l and , transversely thereto , a width b , b being smaller than l . furthermore , the central plate 2 is provided with an elongated hole 3 , which passes through the plate 2 from the outer surface 18 up to the inner surface 19 , several fastening perforations 13 , which also extend through the plate 2 , and an opening 17 , which likewise passes through the plate and terminates in the elongated hole 3 . the arms 4 are disposed at the first end 25 of the plate 2 , which intersects the longitudinal axis 8 . moreover , the plate 2 is forked at its first end 25 and provided at each of the fork tips 27 with a sleeve 16 having a hole 5 and comprises terminally an arc - shaped crosspiece 28 , which connects the two fork tips 27 and two sleeves 16 , each having a hole 5 . the fixed ends 21 of two arms 4 a , 4 b are connected with the sleeves 16 at the fork tips 27 , while the fixed ends 21 of the two other arms 4 c , 4 d are connected with the sleeves 16 at the crosspiece 28 . moreover , the arms 4 a to 4 d are disposed so that the two arms 4 a , 4 b , which are connected with the sleeves 16 at the fork tips 27 , enclose an angle of approximately 110 ° with the longitudinal axis 8 , while the two arms 4 c , 4 d , which are connected with the sleeves 16 at the crosspiece 28 , enclose an angle of approximately 35 ° with the longitudinal axis 8 . the fastening perforations 13 are to accommodate bone fixation means 20 , especially bone screws , by means of which the bone stabilization agent 1 , together with the bone plate 30 of a sleeve link plate 29 ( fig6 ), can be fastened to the bone 10 . the opening 17 is constructed as an elongated hole , so that , if necessary , an additional bone screw ( not shown ) can be introduced . twisting of the head of the hip joint relative to the femur is prevented by this additional bone screw . the rear end of the fastening element 50 ( fig6 ), which may be constructed , for example , as a hip screw or as a spiral blade , can back out into the elongated hole 3 during axial displacements . the arms 4 are composed here of a sleeve 16 , which is disposed at the free end 22 , and of a crosspiece 7 , which is disposed between the sleeves 16 and the fixed end 21 . the sleeves 16 have a thickness d and the crosspieces 7 have a lesser thickness d , so that the crosspieces 7 can be bent without deformation of the sleeves 16 and , in particular , of the internal thread 6 within the sleeves 16 . the holes 5 in the sleeves 16 are constructed conically and provided with a conical internal thread 6 . furthermore , two guide rails 9 are mounted at the central plate 2 parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 on a length a , measured from the second end 26 of the plate 2 . by means of these guide rails 9 , the central plate 2 can be shifted parallel to its longitudinal axis 8 on the bone plate 30 of the sleeve link plate 29 fastened at the bone 10 ( fig6 ), until the arms 4 contact the surface of the large trochanter 12 ( fig6 ). a section of one of the arms 4 is shown in fig5 . so that a commercially available cutting instrument , such as the cutting instrument ( ao no . 329 . 142 ) from the set of the kalkaneus plate can be used , the following dimensions are selected for the sleeves 16 with the holes 5 and the crosspieces 7 : the distance c between two centers of two adjacent holes 5 is 14 mm ; the distance w between two adjacent sleeves 16 is 6 mm ; and the external diameter d a of the sleeves 16 is 8 mm . the embodiment of the trochanter stabilizing device 40 , shown in fig6 , consists essentially of a conventional sleeve link plate 29 , as used for taking care of femoral neck fractures and , especially , of trochanteric fractures of the femur , as well as of the central plate 2 , which is constructed as a trochanter stabilization plate with four peripheral arms ( 4 ), angled with respect to the longitudinal axis 8 of the central plate 2 ( fig1 to 4 ). the crosspieces 7 ( fig1 ) of the arms 4 can be bent so that the arms 4 lie in contact with the surface of the large trochanter 12 . the sleeve link plate 29 comprises a bone plate 30 , which can be connected with the bone 10 , especially with the femur shaft , extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft of the femur and is provided with a number of fastening perforations 33 , and a guide sleeve 31 , which is disposed at an angle to the bone plate 30 and has a central borehole 32 , through which a fastening element , 50 , especially a hip screw or spiral blade , can be passed . preferably , the fastening perforations 33 are disposed offset and are countersunk 14 . bone fixation means 20 , configured as bone screws , may be used for fixing the bone plate 32 to the bone . so that the bone plate 30 may be adapted better anatomically to the curved bone surface , it is constructed as a hollow cylindrical sector , which is adapted to the bone surface . the bone plate 30 and the central plate 2 can be shifted relative to one another and parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 by means of the guide rails 9 , until the fastening perforations 13 in the central plate 2 are aligned with the fastening perforations 33 at the bone plate 30 , so that the central plate 2 can be fastened to the sleeve link plate 29 , by means of a part of the bone fixation means 20 , especially the bone screws , which are to be screwed into the bone plate 30 . the conventional surgical technique for implanting the bone plate 30 consists therein that : several boreholes of different diameter for introducing the fastening element 50 and the guiding sleeve 31 , mounted at the sleeve link plate 29 , into the center of the neck of the femur , are produced by means of one instrument in one step in the lateral - medial direction below the large trochanter ; subsequently , the fastening element 50 is brought into the neck of the femur , the correct depth for screwing it in being determined by means of a targeting device ; after that , the guiding sleeve 31 of the sleeve link plate 29 is pushed over the fastening element 50 ; with the help of bone fixation means 20 , constructed as bone screws , the sleeve link plate 29 is fixed to the shaft of the bone , the first and the third fastening perforations 33 of the sleeve link plate 29 being left empty ; the arms 4 of the trochanter plate are trimmed and bent to shape with the help of suitable instrumentation corresponding to the fracture configuration present ; subsequently , the central plate 2 is mounted over the fastening perforations 13 , 33 , passing through the central plate 2 and the bone plate 30 , with the help of bone fixation agents 20 constructed as bone screws , and mounted at the already implanted sleeve link plate 29 ; if required , a bone screw , with a diameter of at least 6 . 5 mm , may be brought through the opening 17 into the bone stabilization means 1 in order to prevent rotational movement between the head fragment and the femur shaft . at the same time , the bone stabilization means 1 may serve as a counter - hold , in order to pull the head fragment laterally and thus to close the fracture gap ; and the bone fragments of the large trochanter can subsequently be fixed in position with the help of bone fixation means 20 , especially with angularly stable bone screws with a threaded knob . relative movement between the screws , and , accordingly , between the bone fragments is prevented by the angularly stable anchoring of the bone screws in the holes 5 of the bone stabilization means 1 . because of its structural stiffness , the trochanter stabilization plate can be produced from a fairly thin sheet of metal . while the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the embodiments of the invention described above are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention , which is defined only by the following claims .	0
although certain embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages have been described herein in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . moreover , the scope is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the processes , machines , manufactures , means , methods and steps described herein . as a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from this disclosure , other processes , machines , manufactures , 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 . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufactures , means , methods or steps . fig1 , shown as the numeral 100 , is a rendering of a pressure bottle showing a number of electronic components 110 , 120 , 130 , 140 , and a single board computer system 150 . the exterior pressure bottle itself is shown as transparent for illustrative purposes but is usually made from a stainless steel or beryllium copper metal . the electronics are usually mounted in aluminum enclosures with fingers in them that contact the hot spots on the boards . this spreads the heat and moves it to the main mounting plate 160 . the enclosures also retain connectors and provide precise paths for cables so that they are completely constrained . to facilitate conduction heat transfer most prior art implementations have clips , clamps , or ring mechanisms near the ends of the mounting plate , such as 180 in fig1 . one possible embodiment is shown as 170 in fig1 — an extended wedge that runs the length of the pressure bottle and can be adjustably pressed against the wall of the pressure bottle to provide a greatly increased heat conduction area . there is a thin flexible thermal gasket or thermal grease between the wedges and the bottle wall to compensate for compression of the bottle under pressure , so the wedge is not tightened completely against the bottle — the bottle is free to expand and contract as required . in an example case the wedge increases the contact area from 2 . 3 sq . in . to 55 . 9 sq . in . and thus distributes the heat more evenly to the wall . fig2 , shown generally as 200 , is a stripped down version of fig1 , showing only the main mounting plate 160 , the mounting rings 180 , and the adjustable wedge 170 — the adjustable wedge being one of the possible embodiment . an identical adjustable wedge is provided on the opposite side of the pressure bottle . to quantify the potential improvement from this dramatic increase of heat transfer surface area a thermal model of the bottle shown in fig1 was developed and simulated for two cases — first for a case in which an adjustable wedge was not included and a second case in which the adjustable wedge was included and pressed against the exterior wall . fig3 demonstrates the thermal gradients for a first case in which the available heat transfer area is provided by the mounting rings 310 only . for typical heat generated by electronic components the resultant temperature distribution resulted in most of the center components 350 eight degrees celsius hotter than end rings 310 . regions 330 were about 4 degrees hotter than end rings 310 . fig4 demonstrates the thermal gradient for a second case in which an adjustable wedge 410 is used and is in full contact with the exterior wall . the resulting temperature for this case , using the same parameters of heat generated results in components 410 all in contact with the exterior wall being within 0 . 2 degrees celsius of each other . regions 420 were within 0 . 5 degrees celsius of regions 410 . regions 430 were one degree hotter than regions 410 and region 440 the hottest at 1 . 5 degrees celsius hotter than region 410 . fig5 illustrates then manner in which an adjustable wedge 520 is used to maintain good contact between the electronics housing 540 and the outer housing 560 . the electronics housing 540 and the wedge 520 are both wedge shaped but in opposite directions and with the same wedge angle θ . thus as screw 580 is turned the amount of vertical movement a is dependent on the wedge angle θ , the thread pitch β of screw 580 , and the number of turns n of the screw so that α = n * β * tan θ . with such a design the contact with the outer housing 560 as exemplified by the thickness of the illustrated thermal grease 570 is uniform along the length of the wedge , insuring uniform contact for uniform heat conduction . with single wedges , the angle depends on the length of the cylinder and the space available between the outer housing and the electronics housing . the longer the housing , the shallower the angle , so it takes more turns to tighten the wedge . in another embodiment of the inventive concept fig6 illustrates an implementation that uses multiple sloped surfaces rather than one long one such as in fig2 . the result is a saw toothed wedge 610 . the saw toothed wedge installed inside a pressure bottle is shown as 620 on either side of the bottle . the saw tooth arrangement enables a simpler functionality for expanding the wedge . with saw tooth wedges the angle can be much steeper , so fewer turns are required , and the angle is independent of the length . a small forward adjustment of a screw on one end of the bottle provides a sideways movement of the wedge . this allows for the wedge to be independent of the length of the enclosure , so the angle can be fixed at a much greater value . one turn of the screw provides more lateral movement for less linear movement . the surface area of thermal contact is maintained . the saw tooth wedge will work with any length of bottle . in more demanding applications in which more heat conduction area is required alternate embodiments that include more wedge lobes deployed radially around the pressure bottle . fig7 illustrates an ultimate approach to this embodiment with an octagonal saw tooth wedge cylinder . a total of eight wedges 710 surround the electronic shelf . this type of arrangement can result in 4 times the contact area of the two - wedge unit of fig2 . with such expanded heat conduction area the possibility of adding shelves for multiple tiers of electronics is now possible . fig8 illustrates another octagonal saw tooth wedge cylinder with multiple shelves 850 , 860 , 870 . all internal surfaces can be used for mounting electronics . this arrangement would be assembled layer by layer and the saw tooth housing added last , with thermal gasket material or thermal grease in between to enhance conduction . in practice any of the embodiments illustrated in fig2 , 6 , 7 . and 8 can be inserted in the subsea pressure bottle and after insertion the end screws on each of the wedges can then be tightened to outwardly press the wedge against the interior wall of the external housing . all of the methods disclosed and claimed herein may be executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure . while the disclosure may have been described in terms of preferred embodiments , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may be applied to the components described herein without departing from the concept , spirit and scope of the disclosure . all such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit , scope , and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	7
in the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof and in which are shown , by way of illustration , specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention . other embodiments may be utilized and structural , logical , and electrical changes may be made . the term “ horizontal ” as used in this application is defined as a plane parallel to the conventional plane or surface of a wafer or substrate , regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate . the term “ vertical ” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal as defined above . prepositions , such as “ on ,” “ side ” ( as in “ sidewall ”), “ higher ,” “ lower ,” “ over ,” and “ under ” are defined with respect to the conventional plane or surface being on the top surface of the wafer or substrate , regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate . fig1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a memory device 100 , having a memory array 102 with memory cells 103 , according to an embodiment of the invention . memory cells 103 can be arranged in rows and columns along with lines 104 and lines 106 . lines 104 can carry signals wl 0 through wlm and can form part of access ( e . g ., word ) lines of memory device 100 . lines 106 can carry signals bl 0 through bln and can form part of data lines ( e . g ., bit lines ) of memory device 100 . memory device 100 may use lines 104 to access memory cells 103 and lines 106 to exchange information ( e . g ., via signals provided on the lines 106 ) with memory cells 103 . a row decoder 107 and a column decoder 108 decode address signals a 0 through ax on lines 109 ( e . g ., address lines ) to determine which memory cells 103 are to be accessed in a memory operation . memory device 100 can perform memory operations , such as a read operation to read information from memory cells 103 , and a write ( e . g ., programming ) operation to write ( e . g ., program ) information into memory cells 103 . memory device 100 can also perform an erase operation to clear information from some or all of memory cells 103 . a memory control unit 118 controls memory operations of the memory device 100 based on control signals on lines 120 . examples of the control signals on lines 120 include one or more clock signals and other signals to indicate which operation ( e . g ., read , programming , or erase operation ) memory device 100 is to perform . other devices external to memory device 100 ( e . g ., a memory access device , such as a processor or a memory controller ) can control the values of the control signals on lines 120 . specific values of a combination of the signals on lines 120 can produce a command ( e . g ., read , programming , or erase command ) that can cause memory device 100 to perform a corresponding memory operation ( e . g ., read , programming , or erase operation ). memory device 100 can include a selector 140 such as one or more select gates , configured to selectably couple memory cells 103 associated with lines 106 to sense circuits , such as data detectors 115 , in a memory operation , such as a read operation . selector 140 and memory cells 103 can be physically located in the same memory array 102 . a portion of the memory array 102 can include memory cells 103 to store information . another portion of memory array 102 can include the selector 140 . data detectors 115 are configured to determine the value of information from memory cells 103 in a memory operation , such as a read operation , and provides the information in the form of signals to lines 113 ( e . g ., data lines ). data detectors 115 can also use the signals on lines 113 to determine the value of information to be written ( e . g ., programmed ) into memory cells 103 . memory device 100 can include an input / output ( i / o ) circuit 117 to exchange information between memory array 102 and lines ( e . g ., i / o lines ) 105 . signals dq 0 through dqn on lines 105 can represent information read from or to be written into memory cells 103 . lines 105 can include nodes within memory device 100 or pins ( or solder balls , etc .) on a package where memory device 100 can reside . other devices external to memory device 100 ( e . g ., a memory controller or a processor ) can communicate with memory device 100 through lines 105 , 109 , and 120 . i / o circuit 117 can respond to signals csel 1 through cseln to select the signals on lines 113 that can represent the information read from or programmed into memory cells 103 . column decoder 108 can selectably activate the csel 1 through cseln signals based on the a 0 through ax address signals on lines 109 . i / o circuit 117 can select the signals on lines 113 to exchange information between memory array 102 and lines 105 during read and programming operations . each of memory cells 103 can be programmed to store information representing a value of a fraction of a bit , a value of a single bit or a value of multiple bits such as two , three , four , or another number of bits . for example , each of memory cells 103 can be programmed to store information representing a binary value “ 0 ” or “ 1 ” of a single bit . the single bit per cell is sometimes called a single level cell . in another example , each of memory cells 103 can be programmed to store information representing a value representing multiple bits , such as one of four possible values “ 00 ”, “ 01 ”, “ 10 ”, and “ 11 ” of two bits , one of eight possible values “ 000 ”, “ 001 ”, “ 010 ”, “ 011 ”, “ 100 ”, “ 101 ”, “ 110 ”, and “ 111 ” of three bits , or one of other values of another number of multiple bits . a cell that has the ability to store multiple bits is sometimes called a multi - level cell ( or multi - state cell ). memory device 100 can be configured to receive a supply voltage , including supply voltages vcc and vss , on lines 130 and 132 , respectively . supply voltage vss can operate at a ground potential ( e . g ., having a value of approximately zero volts ). supply voltage vcc can include an external voltage supplied to memory device 100 from an external power source such as a battery or an alternating - current to direct - current ( ac - dc ) converter circuitry . memory device 100 can include a non - volatile memory device and memory cells 103 can include non - volatile memory cells , such that memory cells 103 can retain information stored thereon when power ( e . g ., vcc , vss , or both ) is disconnected from memory device 100 . for example , memory device 100 may comprise a flash memory device , such as a nand flash or a nor flash memory device , and / or another kind of memory device , such as a variable resistance memory device ( e . g ., a phase change or resistive ram device ). memory device 100 can include a memory device where memory cells 103 can be physically located in multiple levels on the same device , such that some of memory cells 103 can be stacked over some other memory cells 103 in multiple levels over a substrate ( e . g ., a semiconductor substrate ) of memory device 100 . one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that memory device 100 may include other elements , several of which are not shown in fig1 , so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein . memory device 100 may include memory devices and operate using memory operations ( e . g ., read , programming , and erase operations ) similar to or identical to the memory devices and operations described below with reference to fig2 through fig1 . fig2 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory device 200 including memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 , according to an embodiment of the invention . memory device 200 can be associated with memory device 100 of fig1 , such as forming a portion of the memory array 102 of memory device 100 . as shown in fig2 , memory cell strings 201 and 202 can be coupled to line 270 at nodes 221 and 222 , respectively . memory cell strings 203 and 204 can be coupled to line 271 at nodes 223 and 224 , respectively . each of the memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can also be coupled to line 299 , which can be coupled to a line associated with a source ( src ). lines 270 and 271 can be structured as conductive lines and can form part of the data lines ( e . g ., bit lines ) of memory device 200 to carry signals bl 0 and bl 1 , respectively . line 299 can be structured as a conductive line and can form a part of a source line of the memory device 200 that carries signal src . as shown in fig2 , memory cell string 201 can include memory cells 210 with associated gates 231 , 232 , 233 , and 234 , and transistors 212 and 214 with associated gates 213 and 215 . memory cell string 202 can include memory cells 210 with associated gates 231 , 232 , 233 , and 234 , and transistors 216 and 218 with associated gates 217 and 219 . memory cell string 203 can include memory cells 211 with associated gates 231 , 232 , 233 , and 234 , and transistors 212 and 214 with associated gates 213 and 215 . memory cell string 204 can include memory cells 211 with associated gates 231 , 232 , 233 , and 234 , and transistors 216 and 218 with associated gates 217 and 219 . the memory cells ( 210 or 211 ) in each of memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can be stacked over each other in multiple levels of the memory device 200 over a substrate ( e . g ., a semiconductor substrate ) of the memory device 200 . gates 213 of memory cell strings 201 and 203 can be coupled together to carry the same signal sgdi . gates 217 of memory cell strings 202 and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal sgdj . signals sgdi and sgdj can be two different signals . gates 215 of memory cell strings 201 and 203 can be coupled together to carry the same signal sgsi . gates 219 of memory cell strings 202 and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal sgsj . signals sgsi and sgsj can be two different signals . gates 231 of memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal wl 0 . gates 232 of memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal wl 1 . gates 233 of memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal wl 2 . gates 234 of memory cell strings 201 , 202 , 203 , and 204 can be coupled together to carry the same signal wl 3 . fig2 shows an example of two lines ( e . g ., 270 and 271 ) and two memory cell strings coupled to each line with each string having four memory cells . the number of lines , memory cell strings , and memory cells in each memory cell strings may vary . for example , a memory cell string may be configured with eight memory cells in each string , as shown in examples below . fig3 shows an apparatus 300 including a plurality of stacked arrays . for illustration purposes , two arrays are shown , including a first array 310 and a second array 330 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . stacking arrays such as arrays 310 , 330 increases the density of memory per unit area on a semiconductor chip . the first array 310 includes a number of memory cell strings 311 , arranged in rows along axis 313 and columns along axis 315 . in one example , the memory cell strings 311 include nand memory cell strings . the example of fig3 shows the memory cell strings 311 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 317 . although substantially straight , substantially vertical memory cell strings 311 are used as an example , embodiments of the invention is not so limited . other memory cell string configurations such as lateral , or u - shaped memory cell strings 311 may be used in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention . the memory cell strings 311 are coupled between a source 312 and a data line 314 . in the example of fig3 , a memory cell region 320 is located in the middle of the memory cell strings 311 . a source select gate 316 is shown located between the memory cell region 320 and the source 312 . in one example , a drain select gate 318 is located between the memory cell region 320 and the data line 314 . the first array is shown with a first source 312 , and a first data line 314 , while the second array 330 is shown with a second source 332 and a second data line 334 . a data detector 340 is also shown in fig3 . in one example , the data detector 340 is a shared data detector . in fig3 , the data detector 340 is coupled to the second data line at node 342 , and is further coupled to the first data line 314 at node 344 . by using a shared data detector 340 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . in one example , the data detector is formed beneath the plurality of arrays in the apparatus 300 . forming the data detector beneath the plurality of arrays can further improve device density by reducing a number of circuits that are formed on a periphery of arrays 310 , 330 . examples of stacked array apparatuses using shared circuitry such as shared data detector can enable increased scaling of stacked arrays 310 , 330 , etc . in particular , larger circuits , such as data detectors can be formed in reduced numbers while larger numbers of arrays are stacked . fig4 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 300 from fig3 . the source select gate 316 is again shown located between the memory cell region 320 and the source 312 . in fig4 , the individual sources 312 are shown coupled together as a source line . the drain select gate 318 is again shown located between the memory cell region and the data line 314 . a number of individual memory cells 350 are shown along the vertical axis of the memory cell string 311 . a number of access lines 352 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 350 in the memory cell string 311 . in one example , a shared driver is used to drive corresponding access lines in each of the arrays . fig5 shows another example apparatus 500 including a plurality of stacked arrays . for illustration purposes , two arrays are shown , including a first array 510 and a second array 530 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . in one example , the number of arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays is an even number of arrays as discussed below . the first array 510 includes a number of memory cell strings 511 , arranged in rows along axis 513 and columns along axis 515 . in one example , the memory cell strings 511 include nand memory cell strings . fig5 shows the memory cell strings 511 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 317 , although other configurations such as lateral strings or u - shaped strings may also be used . the memory cell strings 511 are coupled between a source 512 and a data line 314 . in the example of fig5 , a memory cell region 520 is located in the middle of the memory cell strings 511 . a source select gate 518 is shown located between the memory cell region 520 and the source 512 . in one example , a drain select gate 516 is located between the memory cell region 520 and the data line 514 . in the example of fig5 , the data line 514 is a shared data line 514 . fig5 illustrates memory cell strings 534 in the second array 530 coupled between a source 532 and the shared data line 514 . a data detector 540 is also shown in fig5 . in one example , the data detector 540 is a shared data detector ( e . g ., in this case , shared between the arrays 510 and 530 ). the data detector 540 is coupled to the shared data line 514 at node 542 . in the example of fig5 , two arrays 510 , 530 are shown in the apparatus 500 . in other example embodiments , additional arrays are included and further stacked vertically along axis 517 . in one example , additional arrays are included in pairs , with each pair of arrays sharing one or more data lines similar to the first array 510 and the second array 530 . in one example , using paired arrays , the number of arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays is an even number . in one example , the pairs of the arrays coupled back to back . in one example an array is inverted with respect to a paired array to facilitate sharing of a data line . in fig5 , the first array 510 is inverted with respect to the second array 530 . the source 512 of the first array 510 is on the top of the first array 510 , and the source 532 of the second array 530 is on the bottom of the second array 530 . in operation current may conduct from the respective sources 512 , 532 to the shared data line 514 , and be detected at the data detector 540 . fig6 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 500 from fig5 . the source select gate 516 is again shown located between the memory cell region 520 and the source 512 . the drain select gate 518 is again shown located between the memory cell region 520 and the data line 514 . a number of individual memory cells 550 are shown along the vertical axis 517 of the memory cell string 511 . a number of access lines 552 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 550 in the memory cell string 511 . in one example , a shared driver is used to drive corresponding access lines in each of the arrays . fig7 shows an apparatus 700 including a plurality of stacked arrays , including a first array 710 and a second array 730 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . the first array 710 includes a number of memory cell strings 711 , arranged in rows along axis 713 and columns along axis 715 . in one example , the memory cell strings 711 include nand memory cell strings . the example of fig7 shows the memory cell strings 711 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 717 . although substantially straight , substantially vertical memory cell strings 711 are used as an example , other configurations such as lateral , or u - shapes memory cell strings 711 may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . the memory cell strings 711 of the first array 710 are coupled between a source 712 and a first data line 714 . in the example of fig7 , a memory cell region 720 is located in a middle of the memory cell strings 711 . a source select gate 716 is shown located between the memory cell region 720 and the source 712 . fig7 includes a plurality of hierarchical select gates 721 coupled between the memory regions 720 and the data lines 714 . in one example , the plurality of hierarchical select gates include a first select gate 718 and a second select gate 719 . in one example , a hierarchical select gate configuration operates using a first select gate to select a number ( referred to hereinafter as a “ block ”) of memory cell strings across more than one array in the plurality of stacked arrays . the hierarchical select gate configuration then operates using a second select gate to select a number of memory cell strings from within the block selected by the first select gate ( e . g ., the strings of the selected block within a selected one of stacked arrays 710 and 730 ). configurations using a hierarchical select gate configuration can reduce an amount of memory cell string selection circuitry ( for example selection circuitry 140 from fig1 ) and further increase device density on a given semiconductor surface . the first array 710 is shown with a first source 712 , and a first data line 714 , while the second array 720 is shown with a second source 732 and a second data line 734 . a data detector 740 is also shown in fig7 . in one example , the data detector 740 is a shared data detector . in fig7 , the data detector 740 is coupled to the second data line 734 at node 742 , and is further coupled to the first data line 714 at node 744 . by using a shared data detector 740 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . in one example , the data detector is formed beneath the plurality of arrays in the apparatus 700 . fig8 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 700 from fig7 . the source select gate 716 is again shown located between the memory cell region 720 and the source 712 . the hierarchical select gates 721 are shown coupled between the memory regions 720 and the data lines 714 . the hierarchical select gates 721 show the first select gate 718 to select a row of blocks . the hierarchical select gates 721 further show the second select gate 719 to select an array level within a selected one of stacked arrays 710 and 730 that are within the selected block 760 of memory cell strings . as in other example configurations shown , a number of individual memory cells 750 are shown along the vertical axis 717 of the memory cell string 711 . a number of access lines 752 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 750 in the memory cell string 711 . fig9 shows another example apparatus 900 including a plurality of stacked arrays . for illustration purposes , two arrays are shown , including a first array 910 and a second array 930 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . in one example , the number of arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays is an even number of arrays as discussed below . the first array 910 includes a number of memory cell strings 911 , arranged in rows along axis 913 and columns along axis 915 . in one example , the memory cell strings 911 include nand memory cell strings . fig9 shows the memory cell strings 911 as vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 917 , although other configurations such as lateral strings or u - shaped strings may also be used . the memory cell strings 911 are coupled between a source 912 and a data line 914 . in the example of fig9 , a memory cell region 920 is located in a middle of the memory cell strings 911 . a source select gate 916 is shown located between the memory cell region 920 and the source 912 . in the example of fig9 , the data line 914 is a shared data line 914 . fig9 illustrates memory cell strings 934 in the second array 930 coupled between a source 932 and the shared data line 914 . fig9 further includes a plurality of hierarchical select gates 921 coupled between the memory cell regions 920 and the shared data line 914 . in one example , the plurality of hierarchical select gates include a first select gate 918 and a second select gate 919 . in one example , a hierarchical select gate configuration operates using a first select gate to select a row of blocks 960 of memory cell strings across more than one array in the plurality of stacked arrays . the hierarchical select gate configuration then operates using a second select gate to select an array level of cell strings from within the selected row of blocks of memory cell strings selected by the first select gate . a data detector 940 is also shown in fig9 . in one example , the data detector 940 is a shared data detector . the data detector 940 is coupled to the shared data line 914 at node 942 . in the example of fig9 , two arrays 910 , 930 are shown in the apparatus 900 . in other example embodiments , additional arrays are included and further stacked vertically along axis 917 . in one example , additional arrays are included in pairs , with each pair of arrays sharing one or more data lines similar to the first array 910 and the second array 930 . in one example , using paired arrays , the number of arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays is an even number . in one example an array is inverted with respect to a paired array to facilitate sharing of a data line . in fig9 , the first array 910 is inverted with respect to the second array 930 . the source 912 of the first array 910 is on the top of the first array 910 , and the source 932 of the second array 930 is on the bottom of the second array 930 . in operation current may conduct from the respective sources 912 , 932 to the shared data line 914 , and be detected at the data detector 940 . fig1 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 900 from fig9 . the source select gate 916 is again shown located between the memory cell region 920 and the source 912 . the hierarchical select gates 921 are shown coupled between the memory cell regions 920 and the shared data line 914 . the hierarchical select gates 921 show the first select gate 918 to select a row of blocks 960 of memory cell strings . the hierarchical select gates 921 further show the second select gate 919 to select an array level of cell strings within a selected one of stacked arrays 910 and 930 that are within the selected row of blocks 960 . as in other example configurations shown , a number of individual memory cells 950 are shown along the vertical axis 917 of the memory cell string 911 . a number of access lines 952 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 950 in the memory cell string 911 . fig1 shows an apparatus 1100 including a plurality of stacked arrays , including a first array 1110 and a second array 1130 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . the first array 1110 includes a number of memory cell strings 1111 , arranged in rows along axis 1113 and columns along axis 1115 . in one example , the memory cell strings 1111 include nand memory cell strings . the example of fig1 shows the memory cell strings 1111 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 1117 . although substantially straight , substantially vertical memory cell strings 1111 are used as an example , other configurations such as lateral , or u - shapes memory cell strings 1111 may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . the memory cell strings 1111 of the first array 1110 are coupled between a source 1112 and a first data plate 1114 . in one example , the first data plate 1114 is coupled to multiple memory cell strings 1111 in both the row axis 1113 and the column axis 1115 as shown in the figure . in one example , the first data plate 1114 is coupled to four columns in the row axis 1113 , and complete rows in the column axis 1115 , as shown in similar examples above . in the example of fig1 , a memory cell region 1120 is located in a middle of the memory cell strings 1111 . a source select gate 1116 is shown located between the memory cell region 1120 and the source 1112 . fig1 includes a plurality of select gates 1121 coupled between the memory cell regions 1120 and the data plate 1114 . in one example , the plurality of select gates include a first select gate 1118 and a second select gate 1119 . in one example , the select gate configuration operates using a first select gate to select a row of blocks 1160 . the select gate configuration then operates using a second select gate to select a column of blocks 1160 from within the blocks of memory cell strings selected by the first select gate . configurations using such a select gate configuration can reduce an amount of memory cell string selection circuitry , and further increase device density on a given semiconductor surface . the first array 1110 is shown with a first source 1112 , and a first data plate 1114 , while the second array 1130 is shown with a second source 1132 and a second data plate 1134 . a data detector 1140 is also shown in fig1 . in fig1 , the data detector ddc0 1140 is coupled to the second data plate 1134 at node 1142 . by using the data plates and the illustrated select gate configuration , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . in one example , the data detectors are formed beneath the plurality of arrays in the apparatus 1100 . by using data plates 1114 , 1134 , more memory cell strings 1111 are coupled to a single data detector 1140 , and chip area may be further saved . fig1 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 1100 from fig1 . the source select gate 1116 is again shown located between the memory cell region 1120 and the source 1112 . the select gates 1121 are shown coupled between the memory cell regions 1120 and the data plate 1114 . the select gates 1121 show the first select gate 1118 to select a row of blocks 1160 . the select gates 1121 further show the second select gate 1119 to select a column of blocks 1160 . as in other example configurations shown , a number of individual memory cells 1150 are shown along the vertical axis 1117 of the memory cell string 1111 . a number of access lines 1152 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 1150 in the memory cell string 1111 . fig1 shows a block diagram of portions of an apparatus 1300 including a plurality of stacked arrays , including a first array 1310 and a second array 1330 . a source select gate 1316 is shown located between a memory cell region 1320 and a source 1312 . select gates 1321 are shown coupled between the memory cell regions in the first array 1310 , and a data plate 1314 . in the example configuration of fig1 , the data plate 1314 is a shared data plate . select gates 1331 are further shown coupled between the memory cell regions 1320 in the second array 1330 , and the shared data plate 1314 . in one example , the shared data plate 1314 is shared between two columns in the first array 1310 and two columns in the second array 1330 for a total of four columns . other configurations of shared data plates may couple to other numbers of columns in the first and second arrays 1310 , 1330 . the select gates 1321 show a first select gate 1318 in the first array 1310 and a first select gate 1338 in the second array 1330 coupled together and used to select a row of blocks 1360 . the select gates 1121 further show second select gates 1319 in the first array 1310 and second select gates 1339 in the second array 1330 to select a column of blocks 1360 . in the example of fig1 , two arrays 1310 , 1330 are shown in the apparatus 1300 . in other example embodiments , additional arrays are included and further stacked vertically along axis 1317 . in one example , additional arrays are included in pairs , with each pair of arrays sharing one or more data plates 1314 similar to the first array 1310 and the second array 1330 . in one example , using paired arrays , the number of arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays is an even number . in one example an array is inverted with respect to a paired array to facilitate sharing of a data plate . in fig1 , the first array 1310 is inverted with respect to the second array 1330 . the source 1312 of the first array 1310 is on the top of the first array 1310 , and a source 1332 of the second array 1330 is on the bottom of the second array 1330 . in operation current is conducted from the respective sources 1312 , 1332 to the shared data plate 1314 , and be detected at an attached data detector ( not shown ). fig1 shows an apparatus 1400 including a plurality of stacked arrays . for illustration purposes , two arrays are shown , including a first array 1410 and a second array 1430 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . stacking arrays such as arrays 1410 , 1430 increases a density of memory per unit area on a semiconductor chip . the first array 1410 includes a number of memory cell strings 1411 , arranged in rows along axis 1413 and columns along axis 1415 . in one example , the memory cell strings 1411 include nand memory cell strings . the example of fig1 shows the memory cell strings 1411 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 1417 . although substantially straight , substantially vertical memory cell strings 1411 are used as an example , other memory cell string configurations such as lateral , or u - shapes memory cell strings 1411 may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . the memory cell strings 1411 are coupled between a source 1412 and a data line 1414 . in the example of fig1 , a memory cell region 1420 is located in a middle of the memory cell strings 1411 . a source select gate 1416 is shown located between the memory cell region 1420 and the source 1412 . in one example , a drain select gate 1418 is located between the memory cell region 1420 and the data line 1414 . the first array is shown with a first source 1412 , and a first data line 1414 , while the second array 1430 is shown with a second source 1432 and a second data line 1434 . a data detector 1440 is also shown in fig1 . in one example , the data detector 1440 is a shared data detector . in fig1 , the data detector 1440 is selectably coupled to the second data line 1434 at node 1442 through a switch such as example switch 1446 , and is further selectably coupled to the first data line 1414 at node 1444 through a switch such as example switch 1466 . by using a shared data detector 1440 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . an inhibit voltage source 1450 is also shown in fig1 . in one example , the inhibit voltage source 1450 is a shared inhibit voltage source 1450 . in fig1 , the inhibit voltage source 1450 is selectably coupled to the second data line 1434 at node 1452 through switch 1456 , and is further selectably coupled to the first data line 1414 at node 1454 through a switch such as example switch 1468 . by using a shared inhibit voltage source 1450 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . by selective coupling the data detector 1440 and the inhibit voltage source 1450 , a string in one array within the plurality of stacked arrays can be inhibited while a string in another array within the plurality of stacked arrays is utilizing the data detector 1440 . examples including an inhibit voltage source 1450 may use the inhibit voltage source 1450 to reduce unwanted disturbing of a data state in memory cells within memory cell strings . for example a reverse bias within the memory cell region 1420 inhibits unwanted charge migration from floating gates within the memory cell region 1420 . in one example the data detector 1440 is selectably coupled to the data line 1434 through switch 1446 . the use of switches 1446 provides efficiency in manufacturing because similar structures are already being manufactured within the arrays 1410 , 1430 to form memory cell strings . switch 1446 includes at least one select gate 1447 , similar to other select gates 1418 already being formed within the arrays 1410 , 1430 . the select gate 1447 provides selective coupling of the data detector 1440 to the data line 1434 . as with the data detector 1440 , in one example , the inhibit voltage source 1450 is coupled to the data line 1434 through switch 1456 . the use of switches 1456 provides efficiency in manufacturing because similar structures are already being manufactured within the arrays 1410 , 1430 to form memory cell strings . switch 1456 includes at least one select gate 1457 that provides selective coupling of the inhibit voltage source 1450 to the data line 1434 . fig1 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 1400 from fig1 . the source select gate 1416 is again shown located between the memory cell region and the source 1412 . the drain select gate 1418 is again shown located between the memory cell region and the data line 1414 . a number of individual memory cells 1470 are shown along the vertical axis of the memory cell string 1411 . a number of access lines 1472 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 1470 in the memory cell string 1411 . the inhibit voltage source 1450 and the data detector 1440 are further shown in fig1 , selectably coupled to the data line 1434 by respective switches 1456 , 1446 . by appropriate selection , using select gates 1457 and 1447 , memory cell strings within a selected block within the plurality of stacked arrays can be either inhibited from electrical disturbance , or coupled to data detector 1440 to have their data state read . fig1 shows an apparatus 1600 including a plurality of stacked arrays . for illustration purposes , two arrays are shown , including a first array 1610 and a second array 1630 . although two arrays are shown , other example configurations include three or more arrays in the plurality of stacked arrays . stacking arrays such as arrays 1610 , 1630 increases a density of memory per unit area on a semiconductor chip . the first array 1610 includes a number of memory cell strings 1611 , arranged in rows along axis 1613 and columns along axis 1615 . in one example , the memory cell strings 1611 include nand memory cell strings . the example of fig1 shows the memory cell strings 1611 as substantially vertical memory cell strings oriented along vertical axis 1617 . although substantially straight , substantially vertical memory cell strings 1611 are used as an example , other memory cell string configurations such as lateral , or u - shapes memory cell strings 1611 may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . the memory cell strings 1611 are coupled between a source 1612 and a data line 1614 . in the example of fig1 , a memory cell region 1620 is located in a middle of the memory cell strings 1611 . a source select gate 1616 is shown located between the memory cell region 1620 and the source 1612 . in one example , a drain select gate 1618 is located between the memory cell region 1620 and the data line 1614 . a data detector 1640 is also shown in fig1 . in one example , the data detector 1640 is a shared data detector ( in this case shared between a number of data lines of the same array as opposed to data lines of different arrays ). in fig1 , for example , the data detector 1640 is selectably coupled to a first data line 1634 through detector plate 1642 and switches such as switch 1646 , and is further selectably coupled to second , third and fourth data lines ( not currently labeled ) through detector plate 1642 and switches such as switch 1646 . by using a shared data detector 1640 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . by using a detector plate such as detector plate 1642 , chip area may be further saved by selectably coupling a data detector 1640 to more than one data line of the same array 1630 . in the example shown in fig1 , each detector plate 1642 , 1644 is selectably coupled to four adjacent data lines by switches . four adjacent data lines are used as an example . other numbers of data lines may be selectably coupled to a detector plate in other examples . an inhibit voltage source 1650 is also shown in fig1 . in one example , the inhibit voltage source 1650 is a shared inhibit voltage source 1650 . in fig1 , the inhibit voltage source 1650 is selectably coupled to the first data line 1634 through inhibit source plate 1652 and switch 1656 . in one example , the inhibit voltage source 1650 is also selectably coupled to the second , third , fourth , sixth , seventh and eighth data lines ( not currently labeled ). similar to the detector plate described above , by using an inhibit source plate 1652 , chip area may be further saved by selectably coupling the inhibit voltage source 1650 to more than one data line of the same array 1630 ( and possibly to data lines , such as data line 1614 , of other arrays ). by using a shared inhibit voltage source 1650 , chip area can be saved , and device density can be improved . by using selective coupling of the data detector 1640 and the inhibit voltage source 1650 , a selected memory cell string , or groups of memory cell strings within the plurality of stacked arrays can be inhibited while another memory cell string within the plurality of stacked arrays utilize the data detector 1640 . in one example the data plate 1642 and the inhibit source plate 1652 may selectably couple to different numbers of data lines of the same array 1630 . as a result , in the example of fig1 , a single inhibit source plate 1652 is shown coupled to a number of data lines of the second array 1630 , while multiple data plates ( including data plate 1642 ) are coupled to the same number of data lines of the second array 1630 . an inhibit voltage source 1650 may be able to effectively drive a voltage to a large number of data lines , while a given data detector 1640 may be limited in a number of data lines that it can effectively service . in such a configuration , it may be desirable to have a single inhibit source plate 1652 selectably coupled to a number of data lines , while multiple data plates 1642 are selectably coupled to the same data lines . similar to the example from fig1 and 15 , in one example the data detector 1640 is selectably coupled to the data lines ( e . g ., data line 1634 ) through a switch ( e . g ., switch 1646 ). the use of switches provides efficiency in manufacturing . switch 1646 also includes at least one select gate 1647 , similar to other select gates 1618 already being formed within the arrays 1610 , 1630 . as with the data detector 1640 , in one example , the inhibit voltage source 1650 is selectably coupled to the data lines ( e . g ., data line 1634 ) through switches , such as switch 1656 . fig1 shows a block diagram of portions of the apparatus 1600 from fig1 . the source select gate 1616 is again shown located between the memory cell region 1620 and the source 1612 . the drain select gate 1618 is again shown located between the memory cell region 1620 and the data line 1614 . a number of individual memory cells 1670 are shown along the vertical axis of the memory cell string 1611 . a number of access lines 1672 ( e . g . wordlines ) are shown to operate each of the individual memory cells 1670 in the memory cell string 1611 . the inhibit voltage source 1650 and the data detector 1640 are further shown in fig1 , selectably coupled to the data line 1634 by respective switches 1656 , 1646 . by appropriate selection , using select gates 1657 and 1647 , a memory cell string coupled to the data line 1634 can be either inhibited from electrical disturbance , or coupled to data detector 1640 to have a data state read . fig1 shows an example method of operation that may be used with selected apparatus examples described . in operation 1802 , a first memory cell string is selected in a first array within a plurality of stacked arrays . in operation 1804 , the data state of a memory cell within the first memory cell string is detected at a shared data detector . in operation 1806 , a second memory cell string is selected in a second array within a plurality of stacked arrays . in operation 1808 , the data state of a memory cell within the second memory cell string is detected at the shared data detector . fig1 shows another example method of operation that may be used with selected apparatus examples described . in operation 1902 , a plurality of memory cell strings are selected across more than one array within a plurality of stacked arrays using a first select gate . in operation 1904 , a memory cell string of the selected plurality of memory cell strings is selected using a second select gate . in operation 1906 , the data state of a memory cell within the selected memory cell string is detected . fig2 shows another example method of operation that may be used with selected apparatus examples described . in operation 2002 , a first memory cell string is selected in an array of a plurality of stacked arrays . in operation 2004 , the data state of a memory cell within the first memory cell string is detected at a shared data detector . in operation 2006 , electrical disturbance is inhibited in a second memory cell string in the plurality of stacked arrays using a shared inhibit voltage source . an embodiment of an apparatus such as a computer is included in fig2 to show an embodiment of a high - level device application . fig2 is a block diagram of an information handling system 2100 incorporating at least one chip or chip assembly 2104 that includes a memory device 307 according to an embodiment of the invention . in one example , the memory device 307 includes a plurality of stacked arrays of memory cell strings as described in any of the embodiments previously described . the information handling system 2100 shown in fig2 is merely one example of a system in which the present invention can be used . other examples include , but are not limited to , personal data assistants ( pdas ), video game consoles , telephones , mp3 players , aircraft , satellites , military vehicles , etc . in this example , information handling system 2100 comprises a data processing system that includes a system bus 2102 to couple the various components of the system . system bus 2102 provides communications links among the various components of the information handling system 2100 and may be implemented as a single bus , as a combination of busses , or in any other suitable manner . chip assembly 2104 is coupled to the system bus 2102 . chip assembly 204 may include any circuit or operably compatible combination of circuits . in one embodiment , chip assembly 2104 includes a processor 2106 that can be of any type . as used herein , “ processor ” means any type of computational circuit such as , but not limited to , a microprocessor , a microcontroller , a graphics processor , a digital signal processor ( dsp ), or any other type of processor or processing circuit . multiple processors such as “ multi - core ” devices are also within the scope of the invention . in one embodiment , a memory device 2107 , including any memory device or array of devices described previously , is included in the chip assembly 2104 . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a wide variety of memory device configurations may be used in the chip assembly 2104 . acceptable types of memory chips include , but are not limited to , non - volatile memory configurations such as nand memory or nor memory . in one embodiment , additional logic chips 2108 other than processor chips are included in the chip assembly 2104 . an example of a logic chip 2108 other than a processor includes an analog to digital converter . other circuits on logic chips 2108 such as custom circuits , an application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ), etc . are also included in one embodiment of the invention . information handling system 2100 may also include an external memory 2111 , which in turn can include one or more memory elements suitable to the particular application , such as one or more hard drives 2112 , and / or one or more drives that handle removable media 2113 such as compact disks ( cds ), digital video disks ( dvds ), flash drives and the like . a memory constructed as described in any of the previous examples can be included in the external memory 2111 of the information handling system 2100 . information handling system 2100 may also include a display device 309 such as a monitor , additional peripheral components 2110 , such as speakers , etc . and a keyboard and / or controller 2114 , which can include a mouse , touch screen , or any other device that permits a system user to input information into and receive information from the information handling system 2100 . while a number of embodiments of the invention are described , the above lists are not intended to be exhaustive . although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown . this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention . it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive . combinations of the above embodiments , and other embodiments , will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the above description .	6
in the following detailed description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . however , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention 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 present invention . some portions of the detailed description that follows are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits or binary digital signals within a computer memory . these algorithmic descriptions and representations may be the techniques used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . an algorithm is here , and generally , considered to be a self - consistent sequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result . these include physical manipulations of physical quantities . usually , though not necessarily , these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic 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 understood , 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 discussions , it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as processing , computing , calculating , determining , or the like , refer to the action or processes of a computer , computing platform , or computing system , or similar electronic computing device , that manipulate or transform data represented as physical , such as electronic , quantities within the registers or memories of the computing system into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the memories , registers or other such information storage , transmission or display devices of the computing system . embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for performing the operations herein . this apparatus may be specially constructed for the desired purposes , or it may comprise a general purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a program stored in the device . such a program may be stored on a storage medium , such as , but is not limited to , any type of disk including floppy disks , optical disks , cd - roms , magnetic - optical disks , read - only memories ( roms ), random access memories ( rams ), electrically programmable read - only memories ( eproms ), electrically erasable and programmable read only memories ( eeproms ), flash memory , magnetic or optical cards , or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions , and capable of being coupled to a system bus for a computing device . the processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computing device or other apparatus . various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein , or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the desired method . the desired structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below . in addition , embodiments of the present invention are 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 invention as described herein . in the following description and claims , the terms coupled and connected , along with their derivatives , may be used . in particular embodiments , connected may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other . coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact . however , coupled may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other , but yet may still cooperate or interact with each other . it should be understood that embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications . although the present invention is not limited in this respect , the circuits disclosed herein may be used in many apparatuses such as in the transmitters and receivers of a radio system . radio systems intended to be included within the scope of the present invention include , by way of example only , wireless local area networks ( wlan ) devices and wireless wide area network ( wwan ) devices including wireless network interface devices and network interface cards ( nics ), base stations , access points ( aps ), gateways , bridges , hubs , cellular radiotelephone communication systems , satellite communication systems , two - way radio communication systems , one - way pagers , two - way pagers , personal communication systems ( pcs ), personal computers ( pcs ), personal digital assistants ( pdas ), and the like , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . types of wireless communication systems intended to be within the scope of the present invention include , although not limited to , wireless local area network ( wlan ), wireless wide area network ( wwan ), code division multiple access ( cdma ) cellular radiotelephone communication systems , global system for mobile communications ( gsm ) cellular radiotelephone systems , north american digital cellular ( nadc ) cellular radiotelephone systems , time division multiple access ( tdma ) systems , extended - tdma ( e - tdma ) cellular radiotelephone systems , third generation ( 3g ) systems like wide - band cdma ( wcdma ), cdma - 2000 , and the like , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . referring now to fig1 , a wireless local area network communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention will be discussed . in the wlan communications system 100 shown in fig1 , a mobile unit 110 may include a wireless transceiver 112 to couple to an antenna 118 and to a processor 114 to provide baseband and media access control ( mac ) processing functions . processor 114 in one embodiment may comprise a single processor , or alternatively may comprise a baseband processor and an applications processor , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . processor 114 may couple to a memory 116 which may include volatile memory such as dram , non - volatile memory such as flash memory , or alternatively may include other types of storage such as a hard disk drive , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . some portion or all of memory 116 may be included on the same integrated circuit as processor 114 , or alternatively some portion or all of memory 116 may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium , for example a hard disk drive , that is external to the integrated circuit of processor 114 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . mobile unit 110 may communicate with access point 122 via wireless communication link 132 , where access point 122 may include at least one antenna 120 . in an alternative embodiment , access point 122 and optionally mobile unit 110 may include two or more antennas , for example to provide a spatial division multiple access ( sdma ) system or a multiple input , multiple output ( mimo ) system , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . access point 122 may couple with network 130 so that mobile unit 110 may communicate with network 130 , including devices coupled to network 130 , by communicating with access point 122 via wireless communication link 132 . network 130 may include a public network such as a telephone network or the internet , or alternatively network 130 may include a private network such as an intranet , or a combination of a public and a private network , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . communication between mobile unit 110 and access point 122 may be implemented via a wireless local area network ( wlan ), for example a network compliant with a an institute of electrical and electronics engineers ( ieee ) standard such as ieee 802 . 11a , ieee 802 . 11b , hiperlan - ii , and so on , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . in another embodiment , communication between mobile unit 110 and access point 122 may be at least partially implemented via a cellular communication network compliant with a 3gpp standard , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . referring now to fig2 , a transceiver for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the transceiver 200 of fig2 may correspond , for example , to the transceiver 112 of mobile unit 116 or to the transceiver 124 of access point 122 of fig1 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . the transceiver 200 shown in fig2 may include a transmitter circuit 210 and a receiver circuit 228 . in addition , transceiver 200 may include a bit and power loading circuit 244 . as shown in fig2 , binary data 212 is provided to a trellis coded modulation ( tcm ) encoder 214 which may provide an output to a serial - to - parallel converter 216 . the parallel data output of serial - to - parallel converter 216 may be passed through a weighting block 218 and then through an inverse fast fourier transform ( ifft ) block 220 . the output of ifft block 220 may then be passed through a parallel - to - serial converter block 222 where a cyclic prefix may be appended to the data in accordance with a orthogonal frequency division system , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . the transmitter 210 may output ofdm data 224 to be transmitted to a remote device . receiver 228 may receive ofdm data 226 from a remote device which may be converted from a series signal into a parallel signal via serial - to - parallel converter block 230 where the cyclic prefix may be removed from the received ofdm data 226 . the parallel data from serial - to - parallel converter block 230 may then be passed through a fast fourier transform ( fft ) block 232 , the output of which math then be passed through an equalizer and weighting block 234 . the output of equalizer and weighting block 234 may be passed through a parallel - to - serial convert block 236 , which may provide data to a trellis coded modulation ( tcm ) decoder 238 . the decoded output provided by tcm decoder 238 is the desired binary data 240 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , bit and power loading block 244 may implement a bit and power loading algorithm ( bpla ) based on received channel state information ( csi ) 242 provided to the input of bit and power loading block 244 . in one embodiment of the invention , the channel state information ( csi ) may be obtained by transceiver 200 from a remote device or a remote user . the remote user may calculate channel state information by processing training symbols transmitted by transceiver 210 during a previous packet transmission . in one particular embodiment of the invention , channel state information may consist of a channel transfer function estimate in the frequency domain or a channel response function estimate in the time domain . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , a remote user may process channel function estimates itself using a bit and power loading block , and may then transmit power allocation and modulation type instructions as the ready to use channel state information back to the original transmitting device . based at least in part on obtained csi ( channel state information ) 242 , bit and power loading block 244 may determine which subcarriers , if any , that should be turned off , and may calculate the power values and the rates , or signal constellations , for the active subcarriers . such information may be provided by bit and power loading block 244 to transmitter 210 and receiver 228 by providing power allocation information 246 and 248 to equalizer and weighting block 234 and to weighting block 218 , and by providing modulation type information 250 and 252 to tcm decoder 238 and tcm encoder 214 as shown in fig2 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . in one embodiment of the invention , channel state information 242 may be available at the transmitter side . the transmitter side in one embodiment may be defined as being a first device that transmits data to a remote device , where the remote device may transmit some channel state information 242 back to the first device , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . for example , access point 122 may transmit a signal , which may contain training symbols , to mobile unit 110 , and then mobile unit may transmit the channel state information 242 back to access point 122 so that transceiver 124 of access point 122 may utilize the channel state information 242 in accordance with the present invention , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . in such a case , access point 122 may be considered as the transmitter side , and mobile unit 110 may be considered the receiver side , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . in response to the channel state information 242 , transmitter 210 may turn off one or more bad subcarriers , where a bad subcarrier may be defined as a subcarrier of the ofdm signal having a lower gain , and may then divide the remaining active , or turned on , subcarriers into one or more fixed subsets . in a subset , subset carriers may be appointed the same rate as a combination of modulation and encoding at tcm encoder 214 and tcm decoder 238 and then resealed via weighting block 218 and equalizer and weighting block 234 to provide weighted subcarrier powers , via bit and power loading block 244 . in one embodiment of the invention , resealing of subcarrier powers may be performed by bit and power loading block 244 so as to maintain a fixed bit error rate ( ber ) at the receiver side , for example at mobile unit 110 for the subcarriers in the subcarrier subsets . in a particular embodiment , the bit and power loading scheme in combination with a trellis coded modulation scheme to provide a fixed bit error rate may be optimized for an additive white gaussian noise ( awgn ) channel , and may thus mitigate an effect of channels having different frequency selective fading , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . referring now to fig3 , a block diagram of a trellis coded modulation encoder in accordance with the present invention will be discussed . based on the information obtained from bit and power loading block 244 as shown in fig2 , tcm encoder 214 may subsequently extract from binary data 212 a desired number of bits for mapping each active subcarrier , and then partitions a block of bits of binary data 212 into coded bits 314 and uncoded bits 316 . the coded bits 314 may be passed through a convolutional encoder 312 , whereas the uncoded bits 316 may be utilized to determine a signal constellation point for corresponding active subcarriers within the subset selected by convolutional encoder output . as shown in fig3 , a signal mapping block 310 may select the constellation subset based at least in part on the output of convolutional encoder 312 , and select the signal constellation point based at least in part on the uncoded bits 316 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . referring now to fig4 , a block diagram of a trellis coded modulation encoder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention will be discussed , further showing details of a convolutional encoder and signal mapping block . as shown in fig4 , convolutional encoder 312 in one embodiment may comprise a combination of bit time delays 410 and combiners 412 that may receive the coded bits 314 . in one particular embodiment of the invention , tcm encoder 214 may be a 64 - state tcm encoder arranged to be optimized for an additive white gaussian noise ( awgn ) channel with quadrature amplitude modulations ( qam ) of 16 - qam , 32 - qam , 64 - qam , and 128 - qam . the signal mapping block 310 may select from one of the available modulation types . at the receiver block 228 as shown in fig2 , tcm decoder 238 may find the allowed signal point sequence , which is closest in euclidian distance to the received sequence of signals . in one embodiment of the invention , a viterbi algorithm may be used to determine the closest signal sequence as follows . at each trellis branch , receiver 228 may compare the received signal with every signal allowed for that branch . the closest signal point may be saved in memory until final subsets are determined . the branch then may be labeled with the metric proportional to the euclidian distance between these two signal points . the viterbi algorithm then may be applied to determine a maximum likelihood path in the trellis to determine the subset sequence . after the subset sequence is determined , the appropriate delayed subset elements , the stored closest signal points , may be found and converted to output binary data 240 , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . referring now to fig5 , a diagram of a throughput verses signal - to - noise ratio of a transceiver in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention will be discussed . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , throughputs for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing in megabits per second are shown on the vertical axis and signal - to - noise ratio in decibels ( db ) is shown on the horizontal axis . the throughput for ofdm using transceiver 200 in which trellis coded modulation and bit and power loading is utilized is shown at 510 , compared with standard convolutional coding , for example as utilized in the ieee 802 . 11a standard , with code rate r = 3 / 4 is shown at 512 . in one embodiment of the invention , both coding schemes may utilize the same bit and power loading algorithm , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . as shown in fig5 , where transceiver 200 utilizes trellis coded modulation with bit and power loading in accordance with the present invention , at snr of 13 db or greater , a performance gain may be provided , with little or no loss in performance for snr less than 10 db when using 16 - qam as a minimal order modulation for trellis coded modulation , although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect . although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity , it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is believed that the modulation scheme for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems or the like of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the forgoing description , and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form , construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages , the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof , and further without providing substantial change thereto . it is the intention of the claims to encompass and include such changes .	7
this invention is a new style of tape which is easily handled by those wearing gloves . it has a middle section ( 1 ) with adhesive on one surface ( 2 ), and two end sections ( 3 ) having no adhesive on either surface ( see fig1 ). one end section is fixedly attached to each end of the middle section . the tape may be of any length or width , may be made of any material which is sufficiently flexible to conform to the contours of the human body , e . g ., rubber , cloth , paper , or flexible plastic , and may be packaged individually or in a roll or pad formation . the end sections ( 3 ) should be long enough that they may be gripped by a gloved hand , as shown in fig4 without the glove coming into contact with the middle section ( 1 ) of the tape . the tape may be made in many ways . a single tape may be made by applying adhesive ( 15 ) to only one portion of a piece of nonadhesive tape ( 17 ), as in fig2 or by applying short tab pieces ( 4 ) of backing material to the ends of a longer piece of tape ( 5 ) which has adhesive ( 15 ) on one side ( fig3 ). the backing material may be non - adhesive material , or material which is adhesive on one side . if an adhesive material is desired , the same tape that is used for the long piece may also be used as a backing material , or a different material may be selected . if such adhesive material is used , it is placed onto the main tape ( 5 ) such that the adhesive sides of the tape and the backing material come together ( 6 ), creating non - adhesive outer surfaces ( 7 ) on both sides . the use of adhesive backing material for the tabs creates a firmer bond between the adhesive surfaces of the tape and the tabs , with less likelihood that the backing material will become separated from the tape , which would defeat the purpose of the tabs . a bandage may be made by applying an absorbent pad ( 8 ) ( made of gauze , cloth , or any absorbent material ) to a tape made by any of the methods outlined above , or by joining such a pad between two pieces of tape that each have a single non - adhesive end , such that these non - adhesive ends are distal to the pad . the tapes may also be individually packaged or placed into a roll , with the individual pieces separated from each other by perforations for easy removal from the roll . see fig5 . the free end ( 9 ) of the roll ( 10 ) will have a non - adhesive tab ( 3 ) which may be gripped to pull the next tape from the roll . the tape may be removed from the roll by a sharp tug , which will tear the tape at the perforations ( 11 ). this procedure may be performed with or without gloves , and the tape will not stick to the gloves . the tapes may also be packaged in a pad formation , as shown in fig6 wherein the adhesive side of each tape is attached to the non - adhesive side of the tape below it . the bottom - most tape ( 18 ) may be placed onto a heavy backing material ( 19 ), such as cardboard . the non - adhesive tabs allow the tapes to be removed from the pad for individual use . a roll of the tapes may be made by a manufacturing process whereby a length of tape of the desired width is fed along a path , with the adhesive side down and the non - adhesive side up , and a length of backing material is fed in a path perpendicular to and underneath the first length . if the backing material has an adhesive side , it must be fed with the adhesive side up and the non - adhesive side down . the tape is advanced along its path to the desired length , the tape and the backing material are brought together , and a sharp blade is used to cut the backing material at the edges of the tape , creating an area on the tape which has backing attached . if an adhesive backing is used , this area will have adhesive in the middle , between the two materials , but none on either exposed surface . a perforating device can then be used to perforate the tape and backing in the center of this nonadhesive area . the tape , with non - adhesive sections ( provided by the backing material ) and perforations , can then be wound onto a roll ( 14 ). by grasping the non - adhesive tab at either end of the tape ( see fig4 ), one may easily remove the tape from the roll or pad , and later from the skin of a patient , even when wearing gloves . the foregoing description has been directed to particular embodiments of the invention in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes for the purposes of illustration and explanation . it will be apparent , however , to those skilled in this art that many modifications and changes will be possible without departure from the scope and spirit of the invention . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such modifications .	8
with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 10 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission ( evt ), designated generally by the numeral 14 . transmission 14 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 14 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . in the embodiment depicted the engine 12 may be a fossil fuel engine , such as a diesel engine which is readily adapted to provide its available power output typically delivered at a constant number of revolutions per minute ( rpm ). irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 14 . an output member 19 of the transmission 14 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 14 utilizes three differential gear sets , preferably in the nature of planetary gear sets 20 , 30 and 40 . the planetary gear set 20 employs an outer gear member 24 , typically designated as the ring gear member . the ring gear member 24 circumscribes an inner gear member 22 , typically designated as the sun gear member . a planet carrier 26 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 27 such that each planet gear 27 meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 24 and the inner , sun gear member 22 of the first planetary gear set 20 . the planetary gear set 30 also has an outer gear member 34 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 32 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 37 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 36 such that each planet gear member 37 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 34 and the inner , sun gear member 32 of the planetary gear set 30 . the planetary gear set 40 also has an outer gear member 44 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 42 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 47 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 46 such that each planet gear member 47 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 44 and the inner , sun gear member 42 of the planetary gear set 40 . a first interconnecting member 70 continuously connects the ring gear member 24 of the planetary gear set 20 with the sun gear member 32 of the planetary gear set 30 . a second interconnecting member 72 continuously connects the sun gear member 22 of the planetary gear set 20 with the ring gear member 34 of the planetary gear set 30 . a third interconnecting member 74 continuously connects the sun gear member 42 of the planetary gear set 40 with the transmission housing 60 . the first preferred embodiment 10 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 80 and 82 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 80 is secured to the transmission housing 60 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 80 is secured to the ring gear member 34 . the stator of the second motor / generator 82 is also secured to the transmission housing 60 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 82 is secured to the ring gear member 24 . a first torque transfer device , such as a clutch 50 , selectively connects the ring gear member 44 of the planetary gear set 40 to the ring gear member 34 of the planetary gear set 30 . a second torque transfer device , such as clutch 52 , selectively connects the planet carrier 26 of the planetary gear set 20 with the planet carrier 46 of the planetary gear set 40 . a third torque transfer device , such as brake 54 , selectively connects the planet carrier 26 of the planetary gear set 20 with the transmission housing 60 . that is , the planet carrier 26 is selectively secured against rotation by an operative connection to the non - rotatable housing 60 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 55 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 80 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fifth torque transfer device , such as the brake 57 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 82 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third , fourth and fifth torque transfer devices 50 , 52 , 54 , 55 and 57 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 14 , as will be hereinafter more fully explained . the output drive member 19 of the transmission 14 is secured to the planet carrier 36 of the planetary gear set 30 . returning now to the description of the power sources , it should be apparent from the foregoing description , and with particular reference to fig1 a , that the transmission 14 selectively receives power from the engine 12 . the hybrid transmission also receives power from an electric power source 86 , which is operably connected to a controller 88 . the electric power source 86 may be one or more batteries . other electric power sources , such as fuel cells , that have the ability to provide , or store , and dispense electric power may be used in place of batteries without altering the concepts of the present invention . one of the primary control devices is a well known drive range selector ( not shown ) that directs an electronic control unit ( the ecu 88 ) to configure the transmission for either the park , reverse , neutral , or forward drive range . the second and third primary control devices constitute an accelerator pedal ( not shown ) and a brake pedal ( also not shown ). the information obtained by the ecu from these three primary control sources is designated as the “ operator demand .” the ecu also obtains information from a plurality of sensors ( input as well as output ) as to the status of : the torque transfer devices ( either applied or released ); the engine output torque ; the unified battery , or batteries , capacity level ; and , the temperatures of selected vehicular components . the ecu determines what is required and then manipulates the selectively operated components of , or associated with , the transmission appropriately to respond to the operator demand . the invention may use simple or compound planetary gear sets . in a simple planetary gear set a single set of planet gears are normally supported for rotation on a carrier that is itself rotatable . in a simple planetary gear set , when the sun gear is held stationary and power is applied to the ring gear of a simple planetary gear set , the planet gears rotate in response to the power applied to the ring gear and thus “ walk ” circumferentially about the fixed sun gear to effect rotation of the carrier in the same direction as the direction in which the ring gear is being rotated . when any two members of a simple planetary gear set rotate in the same direction and at the same speed , the third member is forced to turn at the same speed , and in the same direction . for example , when the sun gear and the ring gear rotate in the same direction , and at the same speed , the planet gears do not rotate about their own axes but rather act as wedges to lock the entire unit together to effect what is known as direct drive . that is , the carrier rotates with the sun and ring gears . however , when the two gear members rotate in the same direction , but at different speeds , the direction in which the third gear member rotates may often be determined simply by visual analysis , but in many situations the direction will not be obvious and can only be accurately determined by knowing the number of teeth present on all the gear members of the planetary gear set . whenever the carrier is restrained from spinning freely , and power is applied to either the sun gear or the ring gear , the planet gear members act as idlers . in that way the driven member is rotated in the opposite direction as the drive member . thus , in many transmission arrangements when the reverse drive range is selected , a torque transfer device serving as a brake is actuated frictionally to engage the carrier and thereby restrain it against rotation so that power applied to the sun gear will turn the ring gear in the opposite direction . thus , if the ring gear is operatively connected to the drive wheels of a vehicle , such an arrangement is capable of reversing the rotational direction of the drive wheels , and thereby reversing the direction of the vehicle itself . in a simple set of planetary gears , if any two rotational speeds of the sun gear , the planet carrier , and the ring gear are known , then the speed of the third member can be determined using a simple rule . the rotational speed of the carrier is always proportional to the speeds of the sun and the ring , weighted by their respective numbers of teeth . for example , a ring gear may have twice as many teeth as the sun gear in the same set . the speed of the carrier is then the sum of two - thirds the speed of the ring gear and one - third the speed of the sun gear . if one of these three members rotates in an opposite direction , the arithmetic sign is negative for the speed of that member in mathematical calculations . the torque on the sun gear , the carrier , and the ring gear can also be simply related to one another if this is done without consideration of the masses of the gears , the acceleration of the gears , or friction within the gear set , all of which have a relatively minor influence in a well designed transmission . the torque applied to the sun gear of a simple planetary gear set must balance the torque applied to the ring gear , in proportion to the number of teeth on each of these gears . for example , the torque applied to a ring gear with twice as many teeth as the sun gear in that set must be twice that applied to the sun gear , and must be applied in the same direction . the torque applied to the carrier must be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the sum of the torque on the sun gear and the torque on the ring gear . in a compound planetary gear set , the utilization of inner and outer sets of planet gears effects an exchange in the roles of the ring gear and the planet carrier in comparison to a simple planetary gear set . for instance , if the sun gear is held stationary , the planet carrier will rotate in the same direction as the ring gear , but the planet carrier with inner and outer sets of planet gears will travel faster than the ring gear , rather than slower . in a compound planetary gear set having meshing inner and outer sets of planet gears the speed of the ring gear is proportional to the speeds of the sun gear and the planet carrier , weighted by the number of teeth on the sun gear and the number of teeth filled by the planet gears , respectively . for example , the difference between the ring and the sun filled by the planet gears might be as many teeth as are on the sun gear in the same set . in that situation the speed of the ring gear would be the sum of two - thirds the speed of the carrier and one third the speed of the sun . if the sun gear or the planet carrier rotates in an opposite direction , the arithmetic sign is negative for that speed in mathematical calculations . if the sun gear were to be held stationary , then a carrier with inner and outer sets of planet gears will turn in the same direction as the rotating ring gear of that set . on the other hand , if the sun gear were to be held stationary and the carrier were to be driven , then planet gears in the inner set that engage the sun gear roll , or “ walk ,” along the sun gear , turning in the same direction that the carrier is rotating . pinion gears in the outer set that mesh with pinion gears in the inner set will turn in the opposite direction , thus forcing a meshing ring gear in the opposite direction , but only with respect to the planet gears with which the ring gear is meshingly engaged . the planet gears in the outer set are being carried along in the direction of the carrier . the effect of the rotation of the pinion gears in the outer set on their own axis and the greater effect of the orbital motion of the planet gears in the outer set due to the motion of the carrier are combined , so the ring rotates in the same direction as the carrier , but not as fast as the carrier . if the carrier in such a compound planetary gear set were to be held stationary and the sun gear were to be rotated , then the ring gear will rotate with less speed and in the same direction as the sun gear . if the ring gear of a simple planetary gear set is held stationary and the sun gear is rotated , then the carrier supporting a single set of planet gears will rotate with less speed and in the same direction as the sun gear . thus , one can readily observe the exchange in roles between the carrier and the ring gear that is caused by the use of inner and outer sets of planet gears which mesh with one another , in comparison with the usage of a single set of planet gears in a simple planetary gear set . the normal action of an electrically variable transmission is to transmit mechanical power from the input to the output . as part of this transmission action , one of its two motor / generators acts as a generator of electrical power . the other motor / generator acts as a motor and uses that electrical power . as the speed of the output increases from zero to a high speed , the two motor / generators 80 , 82 gradually exchange roles as generator and motor , and may do so more than once . these exchanges take place around mechanical points , where essentially all of the power from input to output is transmitted mechanically and no substantial power is transmitted electrically . in a hybrid electrically variable transmission system , the battery 86 may also supply power to the transmission or the transmission may supply power to the battery . if the battery is supplying substantial electric power to the transmission , such as for vehicle acceleration , then both motor / generators may act as motors . if the transmission is supplying electric power to the battery , such as for regenerative braking , both motor / generators may act as generators . very near the mechanical points of operation , both motor / generators may also act as generators with small electrical power outputs , because of the electrical losses in the system . contrary to the normal action of the transmission , the transmission may actually be used to transmit mechanical power from the output to the input . this may be done in a vehicle to supplement the vehicle brakes and to enhance or to supplement regenerative braking of the vehicle , especially on long downward grades . if the power flow through the transmission is reversed in this way , the roles of the motor / generators will then be reversed from those in normal action . each of the embodiments described herein has sixteen functional requirements ( corresponding with the 16 rows of each operating mode table shown in the figures ) which may be grouped into five operating modes . these five operating modes are described below and may be best understood by referring to the respective operating mode table accompanying each transmission stick diagram , such as the operating mode tables of fig1 b , 2 b , 3 b , etc . the first operating mode is the “ battery reverse mode ” which corresponds with the first row ( batt rev ) of each operating mode table , such as that of fig1 b . in this mode , the engine is off and the transmission element connected to the engine is not controlled by engine torque , though there may be some residual torque due to the rotational inertia of the engine . the evt is driven by one of the motor / generators using energy from the battery , causing the vehicle to move in reverse . depending on the kinematic configuration , the other / motor / generator may or may not rotate in this mode , and may or may not transmit torque . if it does rotate , it is used to generate energy which is stored in the battery . in the embodiment of fig1 b , in the battery reverse mode , the clutch 50 is engaged , the generator 80 has a torque of − 1 . 68 , the motor 82 has a torque of − 0 . 81 units , and a torque ratio of − 3 . 07 is achieved , by way of example . in each operating mode table an ( m ) next to a torque value in the motor / generator columns 80 and 82 indicates that the motor / generator is acting as a motor , and the absence of an ( m ) indicates that the motor / generator is acting as generator . the second operating mode is the “ evt reverse mode ” ( or mechanical reverse mode ) which corresponds with the second row ( evt rev ) of each operating mode table , such as that of fig1 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine and by one of the motor / generators . the other motor / generator operates in generator mode and transfers 100 % of the generated energy back to the driving motor . the net effect is to drive the vehicle in reverse . referring to fig1 b , for example , in the evt reverse mode , the clutch 52 is engaged , the motor 80 has a torque of − 2 . 00 units , the generator 82 has a torque of − 1 . 23 units , and an output torque of − 8 . 33 is achieved , corresponding to an engine torque of 1 unit . the third operating mode includes the “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( also referred to as “ torque converter reverse and forward modes ”) corresponding with the third and fourth rows ( tc rev and tc for ) of each operating mode table , such as that of fig1 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine and one of the motor / generators . a selectable fraction of the energy generated in the generator unit is stored in the battery , with the remaining energy being transferred to the motor . in fig1 , this fraction is approximately 99 %. the ratio of transmission output speed to engine speed ( transmission speed ratio ) is approximately +/− 0 . 001 ( the positive sign indicates that the vehicle is creeping forward and negative sign indicates that the vehicle is creeping backwards ). referring to fig1 b , in the reverse and forward launch modes , the clutch 52 is engaged . in the tc reverse mode , the motor / generator 80 acts as a motor with − 2 . 00 units of torque , the motor / generator 82 acts as a generator with − 1 . 29 units of torque , and a torque ratio of − 7 . 00 is achieved . in the tc forward mode , the motor / generator 80 acts as a generator with 2 . 72 units of torque , the motor / generator 82 acts as a motor with 0 . 55 units of torque , and a torque ratio of 5 . 00 is achieved . the fourth operating mode is a “ continuously variable transmission range mode ” which includes the range 1 . 1 , range 1 . 2 , range 1 . 3 , range 1 . 4 , range 2 . 1 , range 2 . 2 , range 2 . 3 and range 2 . 4 operating points corresponding with rows 5 - 12 of each operating point table , such as that of fig1 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine as well as one of the motor / generators operating as a motor . the other motor / generator operates as a generator and transfers 100 % of the generated energy back to the motor . the operating points represented by range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , . . . , etc . are discrete points in the continuum of forward speed ratios provided by the evt . for example in fig1 b , a range of torque ratios from 4 . 69 to 0 . 54 is achieved with the clutch 52 engaged . the fifth operating mode includes the “ fixed ratio ” modes ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 and f 4 ) corresponding with rows 13 - 16 of each operating mode table ( i . e . operating mode table ), such as that of fig1 b . in this mode the transmission operates like a conventional automatic transmission , with two torque transfer devices engaged to create a discrete transmission ratio . the clutching table accompanying each figure shows only 4 fixed - ratio forward speeds but additional fixed ratios may be available . referring to fig1 b , in fixed ratio f 1 the clutch 52 and the brake 55 are engaged to achieve a fixed torque ratio of 3 . 19 . accordingly , each “ x ” in the column of motor / generator 80 in fig1 b indicates that the brake 55 is engaged and the motor / generator 80 is not rotating . in fixed ratio f 2 , the clutch 50 and brake 54 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 1 . 9 . in fixed ratio f 3 , the clutch 50 and the brake 57 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 1 . 48 . in fixed ratio f 4 , the clutch 52 and brake 57 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 0 . 71 . the transmission 14 is capable of operating in so - called single or dual modes . in single mode , the engaged torque transfer device remains the same for the entire continuum of forward speed ratios ( represented by the discrete points : ranges 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 and 1 . 4 ). in dual mode , the engaged torque transfer device is switched at some intermediate speed ratio ( e . g ., range 2 . 1 in fig2 ). depending on the mechanical configuration , this change in torque transfer device engagement has advantages in reducing element speeds in the transmission . in some designs , it is possible to synchronize clutch element slip speeds such that shifts are achievable with minimal torque disturbance ( so - called “ cold ” shifts ). for example , the transmissions of fig2 a , 6 a , 7 a , 8 a and 9 a have cold shifts between ranges 1 . 4 and 2 . 1 . this also serves as an enabler for superior control during double transition shifts ( two oncoming clutches and two off - going clutches ). as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 20 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 30 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 40 . also , the chart of fig1 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 68 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 28 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 2 . 08 , and the ratio spread is 4 . 49 . with reference to fig2 a , a powertrain 110 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 114 . transmission 114 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . in the embodiment depicted the engine 12 may also be a fossil fuel engine , such as a diesel engine which is readily adapted to provide its available power output typically delivered at a constant number of revolutions per minute ( rpm ). as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 114 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 114 . an output member 19 of the transmission 114 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 114 utilizes three differential gear sets , preferably in the nature of planetary gear sets 120 , 130 and 140 . the planetary gear set 120 employs an outer gear member 124 , typically designated as the ring gear member . the ring gear member 124 circumscribes an inner gear member 122 , typically designated as the sun gear member . a planet carrier 126 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 127 such that each planet gear 127 meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 124 and the inner , sun gear member 122 of the first planetary gear set 120 . the planetary gear set 130 also has an outer gear member 134 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 132 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 137 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 136 such that each planet gear member 137 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 134 and the inner , sun gear member 132 of the planetary gear set 130 . the planetary gear set 140 also has an outer gear member 144 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 142 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 147 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 146 such that each planet gear member 147 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 144 and the inner , sun gear member 142 of the planetary gear set 140 . the transmission input member 17 is connected with the planet carrier 146 of the planetary gear set 140 , and the transmission output member 19 is connected with the planet carrier 126 of the planetary gear set 120 . a first interconnecting member 170 continuously connects the ring gear member 124 of the planetary gear set 120 with the sun gear member 132 of the planetary gear set 130 . a second interconnecting member 172 continuously connects the planet carrier 126 of the planetary gear set 120 with the planet carrier 136 of the planetary gear set 130 . a third interconnecting member 174 continuously connects the sun gear member 142 of the planetary gear set 140 with the transmission housing 160 . the transmission 114 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 180 and 182 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 180 is secured to the transmission housing 160 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 180 is secured to the ring gear member 124 of the planetary gear set 120 . the stator of the second motor / generator 182 is also secured to the transmission housing 160 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 182 is secured to the sun gear member 122 . a first torque transfer device , such as a clutch 150 , selectively connects the sun gear member 122 to the ring gear 144 of the planetary gear set 140 . a second torque transfer device , such as clutch 152 , selectively connects the planet carrier 146 of the planetary gear set 140 with the ring gear member 134 of the planetary gear set 130 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 155 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 180 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 157 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 182 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque transfer devices 150 , 152 , 155 and 157 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 114 . returning now to the description of the power sources , it should be apparent from the foregoing description , and with particular reference to fig2 a , that the transmission 114 selectively receives power from the engine 12 . the hybrid transmission also exchanges power with an electric power source 186 , which is operably connected to a controller 188 . the electric power source 186 may be one or more batteries . other electric power sources , such as fuel cells , that have the ability to provide , or store , and dispense electric power may be used in place of batteries without altering the concepts of the present invention . as described previously , each embodiment has sixteen functional requirements ( corresponding with the 16 rows of each operating mode table shown in the figures ) which may be grouped into five operating modes . the first operating mode is the “ battery reverse mode ” which corresponds with the first row ( batt rev ) of the operating mode table of fig2 b . in this mode , the engine is off and the transmission element connected to the engine is effectively allowed to freewheel , subject to engine inertia torque . the evt is driven by one of the motor / generators using energy from the battery , causing the vehicle to move in reverse . the other motor / generator may or may not rotate in this mode . as shown in fig2 b , in this mode the clutch 150 is engaged , the generator 180 has a torque of − 1 . 87 units , the motor 182 has a torque of − 0 . 62 units , and an output torque of − 4 . 00 is achieved , by way of example . the second operating mode is the “ evt reverse mode ” ( or mechanical reverse mode ) which corresponds with the second row ( evt rev ) of the operating mode table of fig2 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine and by one of the motor / generators . the other motor / generator operates in generator mode and transfers 100 % of the generated energy back to the driving motor . the net effect is to drive the vehicle in reverse . in this mode , the clutch 150 is engaged , the motor 180 has a torque of − 2 . 05 units , the generator 182 has a torque of − 0 . 91 units , and an output torque of − 8 . 33 is achieved , corresponding to an input torque of 1 unit . the third operating mode includes the “ reverse and forward launch modes ” corresponding with the third and fourth rows ( tc rev and tc for ) of each operating mode table , such as that of fig2 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine and one of the motor / generators . a selectable fraction of the energy generated in the generator unit is stored in the battery , with the remaining energy being transferred to the motor . in the tc reverse mode , the clutch 150 is engaged , the motor / generator 180 acts as a motor with − 2 . 05 units of torque , the motor / generator 182 acts as a generator with − 0 . 95 units of torque and a torque ratio of − 7 . 00 is achieved . in the tc forward mode , the clutch 150 is engaged , the motor / generator 180 acts as a generator with 3 . 52 units of torque , the motor / generator 182 acts as a motor , with 0 . 52 units of torque , and a torque ratio of 5 . 00 is achieved . for these torque ratios , approximately 99 % of the generator energy is stored in the battery . the fourth operating mode includes the “ range 1 . 1 , range 1 . 2 , range 1 . 3 , range 1 . 4 , range 2 . 1 , range 2 . 2 , range 2 . 3 and range 2 . 4 ” modes corresponding with rows 5 - 12 of the operating mode table of fig2 b . in this mode , the evt is driven by the engine as well as one of the motor / generators operating as a motor . the other motor / generator operates as a generator and transfers 100 % of the generated energy back to the motor . the operating points represented by range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , . . . , etc . are discrete points in the continuum of forward speed ratios provided by the evt . for example in fig2 b , a range of ratios from 4 . 69 to 1 . 86 is achieved with the clutch 150 engaged , and a range of ratios from 1 . 36 to 0 . 54 is achieved with the clutch 152 engaged . the fifth operating mode includes the fixed “ ratio ” modes ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 and f 4 ) corresponding with rows 13 - 16 of the operating mode table of fig2 b . in this mode the transmission operates like a conventional automatic transmission , with two torque transfer devices engaged to create a discrete transmission ratio . in fixed ratio f 1 the clutch 150 and brake 155 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 2 . 77 . in fixed ratio f 2 , the clutch 152 and brake 155 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 1 . 66 . in fixed ratio f 3 , the clutches 150 and 152 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 1 . 14 . in fixed ratio f 4 , the clutch 152 and brake 157 are engaged to achieve a fixed ratio of 0 . 77 . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig2 b . fig2 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig2 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 120 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 130 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 140 . also , the chart of fig2 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 67 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 46 , the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 48 , and the ratio spread is 3 . 60 . with reference to fig3 a , a powertrain 210 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 214 . the transmission 214 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 214 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission 214 . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 214 . an output member 19 of the transmission 214 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 214 utilizes three differential gear sets , preferably in the nature of planetary gear sets 220 , 230 and 240 . the planetary gear set 220 employs an outer gear member 224 , typically designated as the ring gear member . the ring gear member 224 circumscribes an inner gear member 222 , typically designated as the sun gear member . a planet carrier 226 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 227 such that each planet gear 227 meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 224 and the inner , sun gear member 222 of the first planetary gear set 220 . the planetary gear set 230 also has an outer ring gear member 234 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 232 . a plurality of planet gears 237 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 236 such that each planet gear 237 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 234 and the inner sun gear member 232 of the planetary gear set 230 . the planetary gear set 240 also has an outer ring gear member 244 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 242 . a plurality of planet gears 247 are rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 246 such that each planet gear member 247 simultaneously and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 244 and the inner , sun gear member 242 of the planetary gear set 240 . the transmission input member 17 is connected with the ring gear member 244 , and the transmission output member 19 is connected to the planet carrier 226 . a first interconnecting member 270 continuously connects the sun gear member 222 of the planetary gear set 220 with the ring gear member 234 of the planetary gear set 230 . a second interconnecting member 272 connects the ring gear member 224 of the planetary gear set 220 with the sun gear member 232 of the planetary gear set 230 . a third interconnecting member 274 continuously connects the sun gear member 242 of the planetary gear set 240 with the transmission housing 260 . the transmission 214 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 280 and 282 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 280 is secured to the transmission housing 260 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 280 is secured to the ring gear member 224 of the planetary gear set 220 . the stator of the second motor / generator 282 is also secured to the transmission housing 260 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 282 is secured to the ring gear member 234 of the planetary gear set 230 . a first torque - transfer device , such as clutch 250 , selectively connects the sun gear member 232 of the planetary gear set 230 with the planet carrier 246 of the planetary gear set 240 . a second torque - transfer device , such as clutch 252 , selectively connects the planet carrier 236 of the planetary gear set 230 with the planet carrier 246 of the planetary gear set 240 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 255 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 280 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 257 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 282 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 250 , 252 , 255 and 257 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 214 . the hybrid transmission 214 receives power from the engine 12 , and also from electric power source 286 , which is operably connected to a controller 288 . the operating mode table of fig3 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 214 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . modes ” and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig3 b . fig3 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig3 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 220 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 230 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 240 . also , the chart of fig3 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between the first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 44 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios 1 . 47 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 2 . 15 . with reference to fig4 a , a powertrain 310 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 314 . the transmission 314 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 314 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 314 . an output member 19 of the transmission 314 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 314 utilizes three planetary gear sets 320 , 330 and 340 . the planetary gear set 320 employs an outer ring gear member 324 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 322 . a planet carrier 326 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 327 such that each planet gear 327 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 324 and the inner sun gear member 322 of the first planetary gear set 320 . the planetary gear set 330 also has an outer ring gear member 334 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 332 . a plurality of planet gears 337 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 336 such that each planet gear member 337 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 334 and the inner , sun gear member 332 of the planetary gear set 330 . the planetary gear set 340 also has an outer ring gear member 344 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 342 . a plurality of planet gears 347 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 346 such that each planet gear member 347 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 344 and the inner sun gear member 342 of the planetary gear set 340 . the transmission input member 17 is connected with the carrier 326 of the planetary gear set 320 , and the transmission output member 19 is connected with the planet carrier 346 of the planetary gear set 340 . a first interconnecting member 370 continuously connects the ring gear member 324 of the planetary gear set 320 with the planet carrier 336 of the planetary gear set 330 . a second interconnecting member 372 continuously connects the sun gear member 322 of the planetary gear set 320 with the sun gear member 332 of the planetary gear set 330 . a third interconnecting member 374 continuously connects the sun gear member 342 of the planetary gear set 330 with the transmission housing 360 . the transmission 314 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 380 and 382 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 380 is secured to the transmission housing 360 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 380 is secured to the sun gear member 332 of the planetary gear set 330 . the stator of the second motor / generator 382 is also secured to the transmission housing 360 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 382 is secured to the ring gear member 334 of the planetary gear set 330 . a first torque - transfer device , such as the clutch 350 , selectively connects the sun gear member 332 with the ring gear member 344 . a second torque - transfer device , such as the clutch 352 , selectively connects the planet carrier 336 with the ring gear member 344 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 355 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 380 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 357 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 382 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third , and fourth torque - transfer devices 350 , 352 , 355 and 357 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the transmission 314 . the hybrid transmission 314 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with an electric power source 386 , which is operably connected to a controller 388 . the operating mode table of fig4 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 314 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig4 b . fig4 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig4 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 320 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 330 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 340 . also , the chart of fig4 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 75 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 47 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 30 . with reference to fig5 a , a powertrain 410 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 414 . the transmission 414 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 414 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 414 . an output member 19 of the transmission 414 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 414 utilizes three planetary gear sets 420 , 430 and 440 . the planetary gear set 420 employs an outer ring gear member 424 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 422 . a planet carrier 426 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 427 such that each planet gear 427 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 424 and the inner sun gear member 422 of the first planetary gear set 420 . the planetary gear set 430 also has an outer ring gear member 434 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 432 . a plurality of planet gears 437 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 436 such that each planet gear member 437 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 434 and the inner , sun gear member 432 of the planetary gear set 430 . the planetary gear set 440 also has an outer ring gear member 444 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 442 . a plurality of planet gears 447 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 446 such that each planet gear member 447 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 444 and the inner sun gear member 442 of the planetary gear set 440 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 424 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the planet carrier 446 . a first interconnecting member 470 continuously connects the sun gear member 422 with the ring gear member 434 . a second interconnecting member 472 continuously connects the planet carrier 426 with the planet carrier 436 . a third interconnecting member 474 continuously connects the sun gear member 442 with the transmission housing 460 . the transmission 414 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 480 and 482 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 480 is secured to the transmission housing 460 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 480 is secured to the ring gear member 434 . the stator of the second motor / generator 482 is also secured to the transmission housing 460 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 482 is secured to the sun gear member 432 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 450 , selectively connects the ring gear member 444 with the ring gear member 434 . a second torque - transfer device , such as clutch 452 , selectively connects the ring gear member 444 with the planet carrier 436 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 455 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 480 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 457 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 482 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 450 , 452 , 455 and 457 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the transmission 414 . the hybrid transmission 414 receives power from the engine 12 and also from an electric power source 486 , which is operably connected to a controller 488 . the operating mode table of fig5 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 414 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig5 b . fig5 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig5 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 420 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 430 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 440 . also , the chart of fig5 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 67 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 29 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 33 . each of the single step forward shifts between fixed ratios is a single transition shift . with reference to fig6 a , a powertrain 510 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 514 . the transmission 514 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 514 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 514 . an output member 19 of the transmission 514 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 514 utilizes three planetary gear sets 520 , 530 and 540 . the planetary gear set 520 employs an outer ring gear member 524 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 522 . a planet carrier 526 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 527 such that each planet gear 527 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 524 and the inner sun gear member 522 of the first planetary gear set 520 . the planetary gear set 530 also has an outer ring gear member 534 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 532 . a plurality of planet gears 537 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 536 such that each planet gear member 537 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 534 and the inner , sun gear member 532 of the planetary gear set 530 . the planetary gear set 540 also has an outer ring gear member 544 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 542 . a plurality of planet gears 547 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 546 such that each planet gear member 547 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 544 and the inner sun gear member 542 of the planetary gear set 540 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 544 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the planet carrier 536 . the first interconnecting member 570 continuously connects the ring gear member 524 with the sun gear member 532 . a second interconnecting member 572 continuously connects the sun gear member 522 with the ring gear member 534 . a third interconnecting member 574 continuously connects the sun gear member 542 with the transmission housing 560 . the transmission 514 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 580 and 582 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 580 is secured to the transmission housing 560 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 580 is secured to the ring gear member 534 . the stator of the second motor / generator 582 is also secured to the transmission housing 560 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 582 is secured to the ring gear member 524 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 550 , selectively connects the ring gear member 544 with the ring gear member 534 . a second torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 552 , selectively connects the planet carrier 526 with the planet carrier 546 . a third torque - transfer device , such as a brake 554 , selectively connects the planet carrier 526 with the transmission housing 560 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 555 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 580 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fifth torque transfer device , such as the brake 557 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 582 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third , fourth and fifth torque - transfer devices 550 , 552 , 554 , 555 and 557 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 514 . the hybrid transmission 514 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with an electric power source 586 , which is operably connected to a controller 588 . the operating mode table of fig6 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 514 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig6 b . fig6 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig6 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 520 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 530 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 540 . also , the chart of fig4 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 68 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 28 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 2 . 08 . with reference to fig7 a , a powertrain 610 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 614 . the transmission 614 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 614 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 614 . an output member 19 of the transmission 614 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 614 utilizes three planetary gear sets 620 , 630 and 640 . the planetary gear set 620 employs an outer ring gear member 624 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 622 . a planet carrier 626 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 627 such that each planet gear 627 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 624 and the inner sun gear member 622 of the first planetary gear set 620 . the planetary gear set 630 also has an outer ring gear member 634 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 632 . a plurality of planet gears 637 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 636 such that each planet gear member 637 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 634 and the inner , sun gear member 632 of the planetary gear set 630 . the planetary gear set 640 also has an outer ring gear member 644 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 642 . a plurality of planet gears 647 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 646 such that each planet gear member 647 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 644 and the inner sun gear member 642 of the planetary gear set 640 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 624 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the sun gear member 642 . a first interconnecting member 670 continuously connects the planet carrier 626 with the ring gear member 634 . a second interconnecting member 672 continuously connects the sun gear member 622 with the sun gear member 632 . a third interconnecting member 674 continuously connects the ring gear member 644 with the transmission housing 660 . the transmission 614 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 680 and 682 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 680 is secured to the transmission housing 660 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 680 is secured to the sun gear member 622 . the stator of the second motor / generator 682 is also secured with the transmission housing 660 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 682 is secured to the planet carrier 626 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 650 , selectively connects the ring gear member 634 with the sun gear member 642 . a second torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 652 , selectively connects the planet carrier 646 with the planet carrier 636 . a third torque - transfer device , such as a brake 654 , selectively connects the planet carrier 636 with the transmission housing 660 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 655 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 680 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 650 , 652 , 654 and 655 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 614 . the hybrid transmission 614 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with an electric power source 686 , which is operably connected to a controller 688 . the operating mode table of fig7 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 614 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig7 b . fig7 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig7 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 620 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 630 ; and the n r1 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 640 . also , the chart of fig7 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 34 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 42 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 87 . with reference to fig8 a , a powertrain 710 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 714 . the transmission 714 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 714 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 714 . an output member 19 of the transmission 714 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 714 utilizes three planetary gear sets 720 , 730 and 740 . the planetary gear set 720 employs an outer ring gear member 724 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 722 . a planet carrier 726 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 727 such that each planet gear 727 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 724 and the inner sun gear member 722 of the first planetary gear set 720 . the planetary gear set 730 also has an outer ring gear member 734 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 732 . a plurality of planet gears 737 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 736 such that each planet gear member 737 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 734 and the inner , sun gear member 732 of the planetary gear set 730 . the planetary gear set 740 also has an outer ring gear member 744 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 742 . a plurality of planet gears 747 , 748 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 746 such that each planet gear member 747 meshingly engages the outer ring gear member 744 and each planet gear 748 meshingly engages both the inner sun gear member 742 of the planetary gear set 740 and the respective planet gear 747 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 724 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the sun gear member 742 . a first interconnecting member 770 continuously connects the carrier 726 with the ring gear member 734 . a second interconnecting member 772 continuously connects the sun gear member 722 with the sun gear member 732 . a third interconnecting member 774 continuously connects the planet carrier 746 with the transmission housing 760 . the transmission 714 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 780 and 782 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 780 is secured to the transmission housing 760 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 780 is secured to the sun gear member 722 . the stator of the second motor / generator 782 is also secured to the transmission housing 760 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 782 is secured to the planet carrier 726 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 750 , selectively connects the ring gear member 734 with the sun gear member 742 . a second torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 752 , selectively connects the planet carrier 736 with the ring gear member 744 . a third torque - transfer device , such as the brake 754 , selectively connects the planet carrier 736 with the transmission housing 760 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 755 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 780 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 750 , 752 , 754 and 755 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 714 . the hybrid transmission 714 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with an electric power source 786 , which is operably connected to a controller 788 . the operating mode table of fig8 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 714 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig8 b . fig8 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig8 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 720 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 730 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 740 . also , the chart of fig8 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 34 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 42 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 87 . each of the single step forward shifts between fixed ratios is a single transition shift . with reference to fig9 a , a powertrain 810 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 814 . the transmission 814 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 814 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 814 . an output member 19 of the transmission 814 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 814 utilizes three planetary gear sets 820 , 830 and 840 . the planetary gear set 820 employs an outer ring gear member 824 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 822 . a planet carrier 826 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 827 such that each planet gear 827 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 824 and the inner sun gear member 822 of the first planetary gear set 820 . the planetary gear set 830 also has an outer ring gear member 834 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 832 . a plurality of planet gears 837 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 836 such that each planet gear member 837 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 834 and the inner , sun gear member 832 of the planetary gear set 830 . the planetary gear set 840 also has an outer ring gear member 844 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 842 . a plurality of planet gears 847 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 846 such that each planet gear member 847 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 844 and the inner sun gear member 842 of the planetary gear set 840 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the sun gear member 822 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the planet carrier 846 . a first interconnecting member 870 continuously connects the planet carrier 826 with the ring gear member 834 . a second interconnecting member 872 continuously connects the sun gear member 822 with the planet carrier 836 . a third interconnecting member 874 continuously connects the ring gear member 844 with the transmission housing 860 . the transmission 814 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 880 and 882 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 880 is secured to the transmission housing 860 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 880 is secured to the planet carrier 826 . the stator of the second motor / generator 882 is also secured to the transmission housing 860 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 882 is secured to the ring gear member 824 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 850 , selectively connects the ring gear member 834 with the planet carrier 846 . a second torque - transfer device , such as clutch 852 , selectively connects the sun gear member 832 with the sun gear member 842 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 855 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 880 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 857 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 882 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 850 , 852 , 855 and 857 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 814 . the hybrid transmission 814 receives power from the engine 12 , and exchanges power with an electric power source 886 , which is operably connected to a controller 888 . the operating mode table of fig9 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 814 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig9 b . fig9 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig9 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 820 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 830 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 840 . also , the chart of fig9 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 2 . 07 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 38 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 26 . with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 910 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 914 . the transmission 914 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 914 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 914 . an output member 19 of the transmission 914 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 914 utilizes three planetary gear sets 920 , 930 and 940 . the planetary gear set 920 employs an outer ring gear member 924 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 922 . a planet carrier 926 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 927 such that each planet gear 927 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 924 and the inner sun gear member 922 of the first planetary gear set 920 . the planetary gear set 930 also has an outer ring gear member 934 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 932 . a plurality of planet gears 937 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 936 such that each planet gear member 937 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 934 and the inner , sun gear member 932 of the planetary gear set 930 . the planetary gear set 940 also has an outer ring gear member 944 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 942 . a plurality of planet gears 947 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 946 such that each planet gear member 947 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 944 and the inner sun gear member 942 of the planetary gear set 940 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the planet carrier 946 . the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 934 . a first interconnecting member 970 continuously connects the ring gear member 924 with the sun gear member 932 . a second interconnecting member 972 continuously connects the planet carrier 926 with the planet carrier 936 . a third interconnecting member 974 continuously connects the sun gear member 942 with the transmission housing 960 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 950 , selectively connects the sun gear member 932 with the ring gear member 944 . a second torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 952 , selectively connects the ring gear member 944 with the sun gear member 922 . a third torque - transfer device , such as brake 954 , selectively connects the planet carrier 926 with the transmission housing 960 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 955 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 980 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fifth torque transfer device , such as the brake 957 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 982 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third , fourth and fifth torque - transfer devices 950 , 952 , 954 , 955 and 957 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 914 . the hybrid transmission 914 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with an electric power source 986 , which is operably connected to a controller 988 . the operating mode table of fig1 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 914 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 920 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 930 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 940 . also , the chart of fig1 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 89 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 41 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 71 . with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 1010 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 1014 . the transmission 1014 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 1014 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 1014 . an output member 19 of the transmission 1014 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 1014 utilizes three planetary gear sets 1020 , 1030 and 1040 . the planetary gear set 1020 employs an outer ring gear member 1024 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1022 . a planet carrier 1026 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 1027 such that each planet gear 1027 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 1024 and the inner sun gear member 1022 of the first planetary gear set 1020 . the planetary gear set 1030 also has an outer ring gear member 1034 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1032 . a plurality of planet gears 1037 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1036 such that each planet gear member 1037 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 1034 and the inner , sun gear member 1032 of the planetary gear set 1030 . the planetary gear set 1040 also has an outer ring gear member 1044 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1042 . a plurality of planet gears 1047 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1046 such that each planet gear member 1047 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 1044 and the inner sun gear member 1042 of the planetary gear set 1040 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 1024 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the planet carrier 1046 . a first interconnecting member 1070 continuously connects the planet carrier 1026 with the ring gear member 1034 . a second interconnecting member 1072 continuously connects the sun gear member 1022 with the planet carrier 1036 . a third interconnecting member 1074 continuously connects the sun gear member 1042 with the transmission housing 1060 . the transmission 1014 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 1080 and 1082 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 1080 is secured to the transmission housing 1060 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 1080 is secured to the planet carrier 1026 . the stator of the second motor / generator 1082 is also secured to the transmission housing 1060 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 1082 is secured to the sun gear member 1032 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 1050 , selectively connects the planet carrier 1036 with the ring gear member 1044 . a second torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 1052 , selectively connects the ring gear member 1034 with the planet carrier 1046 . a third torque - transfer device , such as brake 1054 , selectively connects the sun gear member 1022 with the transmission housing 1060 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 1055 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 1082 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 1050 , 1052 , 1054 and 1055 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 1014 . the hybrid transmission 1014 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with the electric power source 1086 , which is operably connected to a controller 1088 . the operating mode table of fig1 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 1014 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1020 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1030 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1040 . also , the chart of fig1 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 53 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 38 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 73 . with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 1110 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 1114 . the transmission 1114 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 1114 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 1114 . an output member 19 of the transmission 1114 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 1114 utilizes three planetary gear sets 1120 , 1130 and 1140 . the planetary gear set 1120 employs an outer ring gear member 1124 which circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1122 . a planet carrier 1126 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 1127 such that each planet gear 1127 meshingly engages both the outer ring gear member 1124 and the inner sun gear member 1122 of the first planetary gear set 1120 . the planetary gear set 1130 also has an outer ring gear member 1134 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1132 . a plurality of planet gears 1137 are also rotatably mounted in a carrier 1136 such that each planet gear member 1137 simultaneously , and meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 1134 and the inner , sun gear member 1132 of the planetary gear set 1130 . the planetary gear set 1140 also has an outer ring gear member 1144 that circumscribes an inner sun gear member 1142 . a plurality of planet gears 1147 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1146 such that each planet gear member 1147 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer ring gear member 1144 and the inner sun gear member 1142 of the planetary gear set 1140 . the transmission input member 17 is continuously connected with the ring gear member 1124 , and the transmission output member 19 is continuously connected with the carrier 1146 . the first interconnecting member 1170 continuously connects the carrier 1126 with the ring gear member 1134 . a second interconnecting member 1172 continuously connects the sun gear member 1122 with the planet carrier 1136 . a third interconnecting member 1174 continuously connects the sun gear member 1142 with the transmission housing 1160 . the transmission 1114 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 1180 and 1182 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 1180 is secured to the transmission housing 1160 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 1180 is secured to the planet carrier 1126 . the stator of the second motor / generator 1182 is also secured to the transmission housing 1160 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 1182 is secured to the sun gear member 1132 . a first torque - transfer device , such as a clutch 1150 , selectively connects the planet carrier 1136 with the ring gear member 1144 . a second torque - transfer device , such as clutch 1152 , selectively connects the ring gear member 1134 with the planet carrier 1146 . a third torque - transfer device , such as the brake 1154 , selectively connects the sun gear 1122 with the transmission housing 1160 . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 1155 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 1182 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque - transfer devices 1150 , 1152 , 1154 and 1155 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the transmission 1114 . the hybrid transmission 1114 receives power from the engine 12 , and also exchanges power with the electric power source 1186 , which is operably connected to a controller 1188 . the operating mode table of fig1 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 1114 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), the “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ continuously variable transmission range modes ” ( range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . ) and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above , the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1120 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1130 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1140 . also , the chart of fig1 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 54 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 37 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 73 . with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 1210 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 1214 . transmission 1214 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . in the embodiment depicted the engine 12 may also be a fossil fuel engine , such as a diesel engine which is readily adapted to provide its available power output typically delivered at a constant number of revolutions per minute ( rpm ). as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 1214 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 1214 . an output member 19 of the transmission 1214 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 1214 utilizes three differential gear sets , preferably in the nature of planetary gear sets 1220 , 1230 and 1240 . the planetary gear set 1220 employs an outer gear member 1224 , typically designated as the ring gear member . the ring gear member 1224 circumscribes an inner gear member 1222 , typically designated as the sun gear member . a planet carrier 1226 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 1227 such that each planet gear 1227 meshingly engages both the outer , ring gear member 1224 and the inner , sun gear member 1222 of the first planetary gear set 1220 . the planetary gear set 1230 also has an outer gear member 1234 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 1232 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 1237 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1236 such that each planet gear member 1237 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 1234 and the inner , sun gear member 1232 of the planetary gear set 1230 . the planetary gear set 1240 also has an outer gear member 1244 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 1242 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 1247 are also rotatably mounted in a carrier 1246 . the planet gears 1247 are configured as long pinions having a narrow radius end 1249 and a large radius end 1248 . the narrow radius end 1249 is meshingly engaged with the sun gear member 1242 , and the large radius end 1248 is meshingly engaged with the ring gear member 1244 . the transmission input member 17 is connected with the planet carrier 1246 of the planetary gear set 1240 , and the transmission output member 19 is connected with the planet carrier 1226 of the planetary gear set 1220 . a first interconnecting member 1270 continuously connects the ring gear member 1224 of the planetary gear set 1220 with the sun gear member 1232 of the planetary gear set 1230 . a second interconnecting member 1272 continuously connects the planet carrier 1226 of the planetary gear set 1220 with the planet carrier 1236 of the planetary gear set 1230 . a third interconnecting member 1274 continuously connects the sun gear member 1242 of the planetary gear set 1240 with the transmission housing 1260 . the transmission 1214 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 1280 and 1282 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 1280 is secured to the transmission housing 1260 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 1280 is secured to the ring gear member 1224 of the planetary gear set 1220 . the stator of the second motor / generator 1282 is also secured to the transmission housing 1260 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 1282 is secured to the sun gear member 1222 . a first torque transfer device , such as a clutch 1250 , selectively connects the sun gear member 1222 to the ring gear 1244 of the planetary gear set 1240 . a second torque transfer device , such as clutch 1252 , selectively connects the planet carrier 1246 of the planetary gear set 1240 with the ring gear member 1234 of the planetary gear set 1230 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 1255 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 1280 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 1257 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 182 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque transfer devices 1250 , 1252 , 1255 and 1257 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 114 . returning now to the description of the power sources , it should be apparent from the foregoing description , and with particular reference to fig1 a , that the transmission 1214 selectively receives power from the engine 12 . the hybrid transmission also exchanges power with an electric power source 1286 , which is operably connected to a controller 1288 . the electric power source 1286 may be one or more batteries . other electric power sources , such as fuel cells , that have the ability to provide , or store , and dispense electric power may be used in place of batteries without altering the concepts of the present invention . the operating mode table of fig1 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 1214 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . modes ” and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1220 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1230 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1240 . also , the chart of fig3 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between the first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 67 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios 1 . 46 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 48 . this embodiment may be modified by reversing the long pinions 1247 such that the narrow radius end 1249 is meshingly engaged with the ring gear member 1244 , and the large radius end 1248 is meshingly engaged with the sun gear member 1242 . with reference to fig1 a , a powertrain 1310 is shown , including an engine 12 connected to one preferred embodiment of the improved electrically variable transmission , designated generally by the numeral 1314 . transmission 1314 is designed to receive at least a portion of its driving power from the engine 12 . in the embodiment depicted the engine 12 may also be a fossil fuel engine , such as a diesel engine which is readily adapted to provide its available power output typically delivered at a constant number of revolutions per minute ( rpm ). as shown , the engine 12 has an output shaft that serves as the input member 17 of the transmission 1314 . a transient torque damper ( not shown ) may also be implemented between the engine 12 and the input member 17 of the transmission . irrespective of the means by which the engine 12 is connected to the transmission input member 17 , the transmission input member 17 is operatively connected to a planetary gear set in the transmission 1314 . an output member 19 of the transmission 1314 is connected to a final drive 16 . the transmission 1314 utilizes three differential gear sets , preferably in the nature of planetary gear sets 1320 , 1330 and 1340 . the planetary gear set 1320 employs an inner gear member 1322 , typically designated as the sun gear member . a planet carrier 1326 rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears 1327 such that each planet gear 1327 meshingly engages the inner , sun gear member 1322 of the first planetary gear set 1320 . the planetary gear set 1330 also has an outer gear member 1334 , often also designated as the ring gear member . a plurality of planet gears 1337 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1336 such that each planet gear member 1337 meshingly engages the outer , ring gear member 1334 of the planetary gear set 1330 . as shown , the planet gears 1327 and 1337 are integrally connected , and the planet carriers 1326 and 1336 are integrally connected . the planetary gear set 1340 also has an outer gear member 1344 , often also designated as the ring gear member , that circumscribes an inner gear member 1342 , also often designated as the sun gear member . a plurality of planet gears 1347 are also rotatably mounted in a planet carrier 1346 such that each planet gear member 1347 simultaneously , and meshingly , engages both the outer , ring gear member 1344 and the inner , sun gear member 1342 of the planetary gear set 1340 . the transmission input member 17 is connected with the planet carrier 1346 of the planetary gear set 1340 , and the transmission output member 19 is connected with the planet carrier 1326 of the planetary gear set 1320 . the integral connection of the planet gears 1327 and 1337 forms a first interconnecting member 1370 . the integral connection of the planet carriers 1326 and 1336 forms a second interconnecting member 1372 . a third interconnecting member 1374 continuously connects the sun gear member 1342 of the planetary gear set 1340 with the transmission housing 1360 . the transmission 1314 also incorporates first and second motor / generators 1380 and 1382 , respectively . the stator of the first motor / generator 1380 is secured to the transmission housing 1360 . the rotor of the first motor / generator 1380 is secured to the ring gear member 1334 of the planetary gear set 1330 . the stator of the second motor / generator 1382 is also secured to the transmission housing 1360 . the rotor of the second motor / generator 1382 is secured to the sun gear member 1322 . a first torque transfer device , such as a clutch 1350 , selectively connects the sun gear member 1322 to the ring gear 1344 of the planetary gear set 1340 . a second torque transfer device , such as clutch 1352 , selectively connects the planet carrier 1346 of the planetary gear set 1340 with the ring gear member 1334 of the planetary gear set 1330 . a third torque transfer device , such as the brake 1355 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 1380 for selectively braking rotation thereof . a fourth torque transfer device , such as the brake 1357 , is connected in parallel with the motor / generator 1382 for selectively braking rotation thereof . the first , second , third and fourth torque transfer devices 1350 , 1352 , 1355 and 1357 are employed to assist in the selection of the operational modes of the hybrid transmission 1314 . returning now to the description of the power sources , it should be apparent from the foregoing description , and with particular reference to fig1 a , that the transmission 1314 selectively receives power from the engine 12 . the hybrid transmission also exchanges power with an electric power source 1386 , which is operably connected to a controller 1388 . the electric power source 1386 may be one or more batteries . other electric power sources , such as fuel cells , that have the ability to provide , or store , and dispense electric power may be used in place of batteries without altering the concepts of the present invention . the operating mode table of fig1 b illustrates the clutching engagements , motor / generator conditions and output / input ratios for the five operating modes of the transmission 1314 . these modes include the “ battery reverse mode ” ( batt rev ), “ evt reverse mode ” ( evt rev ), “ reverse and forward launch modes ” ( tc rev and tc for ), “ range 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 . . . modes ” and “ fixed ratio modes ” ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) as described previously . as set forth above the engagement schedule for the torque - transfer devices is shown in the operating mode table and fixed ratio mode table of fig1 b . fig1 b also provides an example of torque ratios that are available utilizing the ring gear / sun gear tooth ratios given by way of example in fig1 b . the n r1 / n s1 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1320 ; the n r2 / n s2 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1330 ; and the n r3 / n s3 value is the tooth ratio of the planetary gear set 1340 . also , the chart of fig1 b describes the ratio steps that are attained utilizing the sample of tooth ratios given . for example , the step ratio between the first and second fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 67 , the step ratio between the second and third fixed forward torque ratios 1 . 46 , and the step ratio between the third and fourth fixed forward torque ratios is 1 . 48 . this embodiment may be modified by reversing the pinions 1327 , 1337 such that the pinion 1327 is meshingly engaged with the ring gear member 1334 , and the pinion 1337 is meshingly engaged with the sun gear member 1322 . in the claims , the language “ continuously connected ” or “ continuously connecting ” refers to a direct connection or a proportionally geared connection , such as gearing to an offset axis . also , the “ stationary member ” or “ ground ” may include the transmission housing ( case ) or any other non - rotating component or components . also , when a torque transmitting mechanism is said to connect something to a member of a gear set , it may also be connected to an interconnecting member which connects it with that member . while the best modes for carrying out the invention have been described in detail , those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention within the scope of the appended claims .	8
referring first to fig1 , a basic circuit 10 applying the principle of the present invention is comprised of a pair of diodes 12 , 14 connected in reverse parallel or antiparallel . when a voltage is applied across terminals 16 & amp ; 18 , regardless of the polarity , current flows across the parallel diode path , provided that the voltage is equal to or greater than the forward bias voltage of the diodes . the forward bias voltage is an inherent property of all diodes . the forward bias voltage is defined as the voltage level required to forward bias the diode to a conductive state . typically , the forward bias voltage of a single diode is very low , on the order of 0 . 7v , and may vary more or less according to the properties of the particular diode that is used . for the purpose of the present invention it is convenient to think of the forward bias voltage as a threshold voltage for conduction . each single diode could be replaced by multiple diodes in series to increase threshold voltage and / or by multiple diodes in parallel to increase current - carrying capacity . fig2 is a graph showing the voltage - current profile of the present invention . v th represents the voltage barrier or threshold of the circuit 10 . as the voltage increases from zero to v th , the current is approximately zero . when the voltage exceeds v th , the circuit will pass large currents with little further increase in voltage drop . as will be described in further detail below , various configurations of the voltage barrier circuits of the present invention provide a voltage barrier ranging from 0 . 7v to 2 . 8v , depending on the number of series - connected diodes in each leg of the circuit 10 . voltage differences in this range present no danger of electrical shock to personnel . therefore , low - voltage currents generated during the testing of the local ground are blocked from circulating through the voltage barrier circuit 10 , yet dangerous - voltage shorts cause enough current flow to trip circuit breakers . fig3 illustrates the connections among the electric utility lines , the local ground and the communication tower with its associated equipment . utility power line 104 provides “ hot ” phases 26 and 27 , plus neutral line 20 . within service panel 102 current passes through circuit breaker 106 and cable 28 to reach communications equipment 108 associated with tower 100 . the return path for current reaches utility neutral 20 by way of cable 28 and neutral bus 21 . the third wire in cable 28 is one of the safety ground wires 24 . all safety grounds are connected to ground bus 25 and hence to the local ground 23 , and should carry no current unless there is some type of failure or a lightning strike . main bonding jumper 22 should be the only connection between neutral bus 21 and ground bus 25 . referring to fig1 and 3 , during testing of the local grounding system resistance , main bonding jumper 22 is replaced by circuit 10 , with terminal 16 attached to neutral bus 21 and terminal 18 attached to ground bus 25 . this effectively isolates the local grounding system 23 , 24 , 25 for testing purposes , yet still maintains sufficient current - carrying capacity to trip a circuit breaker 106 in case failures would otherwise put dangerous voltages on neutral bus 21 . in the event of a power system failure , e . g ., a fault or a lightning strike , the voltage barrier circuit 10 permits the flow of current between the neutral bus 21 and a grounding system 23 , effectively providing the safety of the solid connection 22 . if the power system failure applies a voltage in excess of v th across the voltage barrier circuit 10 , it causes one or both of the diodes 12 , 14 to conduct high currents through to ground . the current capacity of circuit 10 is not unlimited , and a lightning strike could destroy it ; however , proper component selection , as practiced by those skilled in the art , will yield a circuit capable of withstanding failures in the ordinary utility power circuits . referring next to fig4 , a rectifier bridge 30 is used as the voltage barrier circuit 10 . ( catalog data indicates that conventional bridge rectifiers rated for 35 to 50 amps continuous current can handle brief surges of hundreds of amps , sufficient to trip circuit breakers .) a shorting leadwire 32 is connected between the positive terminal 34 and the negative terminal 36 of a conventional bridge rectifier . diodes 12 a and 12 b are series connected in a first path 38 , and diodes 14 a and 14 b are series connected in the reverse direction of diodes 12 a and 12 b in the opposite path 40 . both paths follow the same direction through shorting wire 32 . the voltage barrier v th is approximately 1 . 4v , since each diode in a pair of series connected diodes requires approximately 0 . 7v of forward biasing voltage to become conductive , and the respective forward biasing voltage of the pair is cumulative . referring next to fig5 , in another embodiment of the present invention the voltage barrier circuit 10 uses a second conventional bridge rectifier 52 in place of the shorting wire 32 of fig4 . the voltage barrier circuit 10 shown in fig5 provides four - diode isolation , or in other words , v th is approximately equal to 2 . 8 v . a greater threshold voltage v th provides higher reliability of the ground measurements during testing because the likelihood of a potential difference of 2 . 8 volts in the ground testing path is less than a potential difference of 1 . 4v , and 1 . 4v difference is less likely than a 0 . 7v potential difference . this greater difference also allows the use of standard leds to indicate voltage differences approaching or exceeding v th , as indicated in fig6 . rectifier 30 has a negative terminal 36 connected to a positive terminal 56 of rectifier 52 by a first connector 58 . rectifier 52 has negative terminal 60 connected to positive terminal 34 of rectifier 30 by a second connector 64 . diodes 12 a , 13 a - 13 d and 12 b form a first series path 38 and diodes 14 a , 13 a - 13 d and 14 b form a second path 40 opposite first path 38 . note that diodes 13 a and 13 b are connected in parallel with diodes 13 c and 13 d . both pairs conduct current in the same direction for both paths , just as shorting wire 32 did in fig4 . the voltage barrier circuit 10 of fig5 can use off - the shelf components , i . e ., bridge rectifiers 30 , 52 , with a pair of external connectors 58 , 64 , that may be easily friction - connected to the rectifiers 30 , 52 . thus , it is unnecessary to modify the rectifier packages as , for example , in fig4 , where a shorting connector 32 is inserted in the rectifier 30 . referring next to fig6 , the voltage barrier circuit 10 is shown with a status indicator for visual signaling to the user of voltage differences between the neutral terminal 16 and the grounding terminal 18 . two light - emitting diodes ( leds ) 70 and 72 , and the voltage barrier circuit 10 are connected in parallel . first led 70 is connected in series with a resistor 74 . preferably , resistor 74 is rated at 10 ohms . first led 70 has a threshold voltage v led of approximately 1 . 7 v . led 70 illuminates if the voltage across the neutral terminal 16 and grounding terminal 18 exceeds 1 . 7 v . varieties of leds can have greater or lesser threshold voltage parameters , and may be substituted in order to give more or less sensitive indications . second led 72 is connected in series with a diode 76 , the diode 76 and led 72 being connected in parallel with both the led 70 and the voltage barrier circuit 10 . the connection of the diode 76 in series with led 72 forms a combined threshold of approximately 2 . 4v for illuminating the led 72 , since the forward - bias voltage of diode 76 is approximately 0 . 7 v and the threshold voltage of the led 72 is approximately 1 . 7 v . the configuration of indicating leds 70 , 72 described above may also optionally include a test probe 80 , for testing the operation of the leds before the neutral connection 16 is made . the probe line 82 includes a diode 84 , and a resistor 86 connected in series with the diode 84 and the probe 80 . the diode 84 is preferably capable of withstanding at least 200 volts of reverse bias potential . resistor 86 preferably is rated at 2 k - ohms and is capable of dissipating at least 3 . 5 watts of power . referring next to fig7 , another embodiment of the present invention includes a measurement of voltage difference between the service neutral 20 and grounding system 24 . an ac voltmeter 90 is connected across the neutral connection 16 and the grounding connection 18 , in parallel with the voltage barrier circuit 10 . this provides a continuous reading of voltage difference instead of the two - step led level indicators , but requires battery power or power derived from the ac line itself . the voltage barrier circuit 10 of the present invention may be used to facilitate testing of a communication tower grounding system , but is not limited to such an application . ground system testing generally is not a continuous process , but is done periodically , as required , to maintain the integrity of the communications or other grounding systems . it is therefore contemplated that the present invention may be utilized as a temporary or permanent installation , to bypass the solid bonding jumper 22 . in a temporary application of the voltage barrier circuit 10 , clamping devices ( not shown ) may be attached to the neutral bus 21 and to the ground bus 25 of the electrical utility service 102 , to shunt around the solid neutral - to - ground connection 22 , before removing the solid neutral - to - ground connection 22 . the test of the tower 100 grounding system can then be conducted , the neutral - to - ground connection 22 restored upon completion of the ground testing , and the clamping devices removed . alternatively , the voltage barrier circuit 10 may be installed as a hard wired component of an electrical service panel . in a permanently installed embodiment , referring to fig8 , a neon bulb 98 may be connected in parallel with the voltage barrier circuit 10 and in series with a resistor 126 . the neon bulb 98 illuminates when the neutral line voltage becomes elevated to line voltage , signaling a hazardous condition . a heavy - duty shorting switch 128 also is connected in parallel with voltage barrier circuit 10 . this switch normally is closed , and is physically configured so that it cannot be accidentally left open . it is opened only during testing , and must be closed before the door to the electrical panel 102 can be closed . if the test measurements of the grounding system test are not measurably affected by opening and closing switch 128 , an improper ground connection is indicated . also , a pair of opposed leds 110 and 112 is provided to indicate a significant dc or ac voltage difference between the neutral connection 16 and the ground connection 18 . if only one of the leds 110 , 112 is illuminated , a dc voltage difference is indicated . if both leds 110 and 112 are illuminated , an ac voltage difference is indicated . finally , battery test terminals 114 and 116 may optionally be connected to leds 110 and 112 , respectively . battery test terminals 114 and 116 provide a means for testing the leds 110 , 112 , for operability . a 9 v battery may be connected across terminals 114 and 116 , to test both leds simultaneously . diodes 120 prevent reverse - biasing leds 110 , 112 , and resistors 122 limit the current . it is noted that the above configurations of the voltage barrier circuit 10 are examples and the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown , as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . other embodiments of the present invention may be configured , for example , by cascading combinations of the above circuits . by selectively cascading two or more configurations , various barrier voltages may be tailored to suit particular test conditions confronted in the field . furthermore , the invention may be practiced using devices other than diodes , such as vacuum tubes , gas discharge tubes and other power thyristors . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims .	6
a system constructed in accordance with the invention can be seen in fig1 as depicted generally by reference numeral 100 . a trunked communication system having a resource controller , such as a central controller ( 101 ), operably connects to 7 repeaters ( 102 ) ( a - g ) that support communications on the communication resources . in this particular embodiment , it will be presumed that one of the repeaters ( g ) comprises a dedicated control channel that supports inbound and outbound data signalling related to resource allocation and other system operability messages . the remaining 6 repeaters ( a - f ) support various communication capabilities as described in more detail below . in addition , in this embodiment , the central controller ( 101 ) connects to a terminal ( 103 ) that allows a system operator to alter operating parameters that govern control of the system . various prior art trunking systems are known that would provide a satisfactory hardware and software embodiment for this invention . for example , a privacy plus trunked communication system , available from motorola , inc ., can be readily configured as described above . the central controller ( 101 ) of such a system includes an appropriate computer platform to support the following described processing . prior to discussing the operation of the invention , it will be helpful to first detail , in hypothetical manner , the capabilities of the described system , giving particular reference to table 1 . table 1______________________________________resource capabilities group ( s ) ______________________________________a d smr / policeb d , i smr / policec d , s smr / policed d , s , i policee d , s , i policef d , data smr / police______________________________________ d = dispatch ( weight = 1 ) i = telephone interconnect ( weight = 2 ) s = secure ( weight = 3 ) data = data messaging ( weight = 4 ) in the table above , the 6 available communication resources are shown as having varying communication capabilities . for example , resource a will support dispatch communications , only , whereas resource d will support dispatch , secure , and telephone interconnect services . in addition , two of the resources ( d and e ) are reserved for exclusive use only by a predetermined group ( police ), whereas the remaining resources are available for use by either the predetermined group or the remaining system users ( smr ) ( to achieve this , existing resources and their associated repeaters may be assigned to the predetermined group , and / or new resources may be added to the system , which new resources are reserved for the exclusive use of the predetermined group ). finally , the various capabilities are weighted . in particular , dispatch services are provided with a weight factor of 1 , telephone interconnect services are provided with a weight factor of 2 , secure services are provided with a weight factor of 3 , and data services are provided with a weight factor of 4 . in general , the higher the weighting factor , the greater the preceived importance of that particular resource in that system . this weighting factor can represent either the intrinsic value of the service itself , and / or the relative scarcity of that resource , either as viewed from the standpoint of the system in its entirety , or with respect to accessibility to a particular group or groups . operation of the resource controller in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to fig2 and continued reference to table 1 . in this particular embodiment , the processing begins when the resource controller receives a channel request ( 201 ) from a communication unit ( this request will occur , of course , on the dedicated control channel referred to earlier , as well understood in the art ). the resource controller then determines the relevant group for the requesting communication unit ( 202 ), which in this case will be presumed to be the police group . the resource controller then determines the resource capabilities that will be required to support this particular call request ( 203 ). for purposes of this example , it will be presumed that the requesting communication unit seeks to make a secure communication , and hence will need a communication resource that will support secure transmission activity . the resource controller then determines which resources have capabilities suitable to support the call request ( 204 and 205 ). if no such resources exist , the call request will be denied ( 206 ). presuming that there are some resources capable of supporting the call request , the resource controller then determines which of the capable resources are available for use by the group to which the communication unit belongs ( 207 and 208 ). again , if there are no resources available to this particular group , the request will be denied ( 206 ). in this particular example , however , the communication unit belongs to the police group , and resources c , d , and e are all capable of supporting secure communications , and are all available to the police group . the resource controller then determines whether any of these candidate resources are currently unassigned ( 209 and 210 ). if no resources are currently available , a busy signal is provided to the requesting unit ( 211 ). otherwise , presuming for purposes of this example that all three resources are available , the resource controller will determine the weight factors of the unused resources ( 212 ). for example , resource c , being capable of supporting dispatch and secure communications , has a weight of 4 ( 1 + 3 ). this may be compared against the weight factor of resources d and e , which are both capable of supporting dispatch , secure , and telephone interconnect services , and therefore each have a weight of 6 . the resource controller then allocates the resource having the lowest weight ; in this example , resource c would be allocated to the requesting unit to support the desired communication . so configured , the remaining two eligible resources ( d and e ) are not allocated , and hence their interconnect capabilities are preserved for subsequent assignment as needed . from the above example , it should also be clear that the police group comprises a preselected group that is ensured exclusive access to two of the communication resources . notwithstanding this exclusive access , the police group shares channel allocation control with other non - police users .	7
aspirin is well known . some of its properties are briefly described above . a therapeutically effective amount of aspirin for the dosage forms of this invention will vary with the proposed utility and with the regimen for administration . the process of administration is oral , but a treatment dosage unit may be administered as one dosage unit , or as several dosage units over a period of time . accordingly , the amount of aspirin in specific dosage units is not critical . therapeutically effective amounts may vary over a wide range , typically from about 80 to about 700 milligrams per coated tablet or other dosage unit . pepsin , its properties , activities and the fact that it is available at a variety of activity levels has been described above . the presently preferred film former for the first coat is methocel or methyl cellulose . other typically useful pharmaceutically acceptable film formers are hydroxy propyl cellulose , hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose , carboxy methyl cellulose , sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , methacrylic ethers ( eudragit available from rhom pharma ), ethyl cellulose , methyl cellulose and pseudo latex ethocel systems ( available from fmc ). other useful materials will be known to the skilled artisan or can be identified by reference to remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , 18th edition . gelatin is a well known coating material used in pharmaceutical practice . it is derived by acid or basic hydrolysis from the collagen of skin , tendons , ligaments and bones . it is available commercially in many forms . the principal commercial forms are acid bone gelatin and lime bone gelatin . these are presently preferred because of their ready availability . however , any pharmaceutically acceptable gelatin suitable for human administration may be employed in the invention . all forms of gelatin are water soluble , hygroscopic proteins . their water content varies appreciably . when first layered on a tablet substrate , they are in the form of a flexible sheet with a water content of about 30 % by weight based on the weight of the gelatin on a wet basis . when dried for commercial distribution of the tablets , the water content is about 6 % by weight on the same basis . while aspirin is normally the principal therapeutically active ingredient in the compositions of this invention , other therapeutic components such as those identified above may be employed in the mixture . additionally the composition may contain other inert ingredients often employed in such compositions including disintegrants such as corn starch , cellulose ( e . g ., microcrystalline cellulose ), primogel , ac - di - sol , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , veegum hv , bentonite and others well known to the skilled artisan ; lubricants such as magnesium , zinc or calcium stearates , stearic acid , mineral oil , waxes or sodium lauryl sulfate ; fillers such as lactose , dicalcium phosphate , calcium sulfate , mannitol , kaolin , starch , etc ; and buffering agents , typically magnesium , sodium or calcium carbonates . the products of this invention can be produced by conventional procedures well known to those skilled in the art . the solid core may be produced , for example by compression on a tablet press . the first coating is typically applied by spray coating an aqueous solution or suspension containing the pepsin and film coating agent and , optionally , a plasticizer , while the cores are tumbled in a coating pan . the coating process is carried out at an elevated temperature so that the water contained in the coating solution or suspension flashes off when the solution or suspension is sprayed onto the tumbled cores . the presently preferred procedure for forming the gelatin coating is the enrobing procedure described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 146 , 730 , the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . briefly , the tablet is enrobed in a gelatin coating formed by application of respective layers of elastic gelatin film to opposite sides of the coated inner core . the applied gelatin layers conform tightly to the tablet surface , bond securely thereto and are sealed together in an essentially edge to edge manner at a seal line which extends around the tablet . other equivalent procedures are known and can be employed . as indicated above , pepsin preparations are available at a variety of activity levels . the amount of aspirin in the core may vary over a wide range . accordingly , the amounts of each component in the final composition may vary appreciably . the principal variant is the pepsin . generally , the minimum amount of pepsin to achieve stability will be employed . if the amounts of all of the other ingredients are kept essentially constant , the desired stability can be obtained by varying the amount of pepsin having a specific activity level or by varying the activity level of a specific amount of pepsin employed . as will be apparent , the amount of pepsin which will be effective to achieve stabilization will vary with the activity of the pepsin selected and with the amount of aspirin to be stabilized . the optimum quantity of pepsin of a selected activity to achieve stabilization of dosage units containing a therapeutically effective amount of aspirin can be readily ascertained by a few simple tests or by calculation based on the teachings of this disclosure , especially the following description for the optimum amounts of pepsin in a gelatin coated tablet containing 674 mg of aspirin . if the inner core weighs more or less than 674 mg , the amount of pepsin utilized for stabilization will vary accordingly while maintaining the same weight ratios of the various components . when the dosage unit contains an aspirin core which weighs 674 mg , the amount of pepsin having an activity of 3000 will be from about 0 . 2 % to about 0 . 3 % by weight . such coated tablets are then enrobed in gelatin using for example , the enrobing process of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 146 , 730 . the total amount of gelatin normally applied is from about 90 to 150 mg . per tablet , the average weight being about 114 mg , per tablet including the moisture content . the tablets therefore are coated with from about 11 % to about 20 % gelatin . each of 100 tablets will contain about 0 . 2 % to about 0 . 3 % pepsin . all weight percents are based on the total weight of the dosage unit , i . e ., the core , the initial coating , the gelatin coating and any components in the said coatings . a typical tablet of the invention the central core of which weighs about 674 mg and contains principally aspirin , may be coated with 5 . 055 mg of a mixture containing 2 . 5275 mg of pepsin and 5 . 5275 mg of methocel . other tablets in which the core weight is more or less than 674 mg ., or the pepsin is of more or less activity , will contain different but equivalent amounts of the stated ingredients the exact amounts of which can be readily calculated by the skilled artisan following the teachings of this disclosure . the following non - limiting examples are given by way of illustration only . mixtures were prepared containing the components shown in the following table and reacted for 22 hours at 40 ° c . aspirin was quantified by hplc . ______________________________________sample composition aspirin recovered ( potencyaspirin / pepsin / gelatin / water after 22 hours at 40 ° c . (% weight / weight ) (% of initial ) ______________________________________26 / 26 / 26 / 22 86 . 036 / 0 / 36 / 28 62 . 6______________________________________ it will be observed that the amount of aspirin recovered in the composition protected with pepsin was appreciably higher than in the unprotected mixture , indicating that a larger amount of aspirin was hydrolyzed to fsa in the latter mixture . tablets were prepared by coating an inner solid core of aspirin using an aqueous mixture containing 7 . 5 % pepsin and 7 . 5 % methocel . the amount of dried coating on the core was 0 . 75 %. the tablet was then enrobed in gelatin to provide a final tablet weighing about 795 mg coated with 15 % gelatin . the tablets were then packaged in groups of 20 and 40 tablets , each package containing one standard dessicant . the aspirin tablets were then subjected to accelerated stability tests under the conditions shown in the following table . at selected intervals the tablets were tested to determine the amount of fsa formed . the stabilizing action of pepsin is readily apparent from the table . these tablets could be labeled as stable for two years . ______________________________________ 20 tablets 40 tabletscondition interval per package per package______________________________________40 ° c ./ 75 % 4 weeks 0 . 7 0 . 7relative humidity 8 weeks 1 . 3 1 . 9 13 weeks 1 . 8 2 . 535 ° c ./ 75 % 4 weeks 0 . 6 0 . 7relative humidity 8 weeks 0 . 5 1 . 2 13 weeks 0 . 9 1 . 7 20 weeks 2 . 1 2 . 8 26 weeks 2 . 6 3 . 0______________________________________	8
fig1 and 2 depict an apparatus 1 for the binding of book blocks 2 , by timed processing where the book blocks comprise at least one signature . fig1 and 2 furthermore show a gripper 3 that is attached to a traction mechanism for a circulating conveyor of a perfect binder . the book blocks 2 are supplied in conveyor direction f on a conveying belt 4 or the like for the apparatus 1 . the book blocks are transferred in a timed operation and / or intermittently to a feed element 5 . that is , the book blocks 2 ′, 2 ″ which follow a transferred book block 2 , are stopped on the conveyor belt 4 until the apparatus 1 has transferred the book block 2 to the gripper 3 and has returned to the starting position as shown in fig1 . a light barrier 6 at a conveying end of the conveyor belt 4 detects the presence of the next book block 2 ′. the feed element 5 comprises several ( five according to fig2 ) conveying elements 7 in the form of circulating belts 8 . the circulating belts 8 are spaced apart side - by - side and arranged transverse to the conveying direction f ( see fig2 ). two deflection rollers 9 , 10 are provided for the circulating belts 8 . the conveying sections of the belts 8 form a conveying plane . a deposited book block 2 is supplied in the conveying plane in direction f until it reaches a limit stop 11 . the book block is arranged with a front edge of the book block 2 facing in the conveying or feed direction f . the limit stop 11 , which is also provided for lifting up the upright book block 2 into the gripper 3 , is operatively connected on both sides to a traction mechanism drive 12 . the limit stop 11 can be displaced along the feed element 5 on a guide arrangement 13 . in addition , the limit stop 11 can be pivoted around a horizontal axis 15 , for example approximately 90 °, so that the book block 2 that is present at the limit stop 11 rests approximately perpendicular thereon , with a spine of the book block against the limit stop ( see fig3 and 4 ). for this , the limit stop 11 is provided with several fingers 16 which are evenly distributed over the length of the book block 2 spine and / or transverse to the conveying direction f . these fingers 16 are attached to a crossbar 17 that is operatively connected to the traction mechanism 12 and can be moved along the guide arrangement 13 . fingers 16 are respectively arranged between two conveying elements 7 of the feed element 5 . guide bars 18 also extend between the conveying elements 7 and are connected to the crossbar 17 of the limit stop 11 . when the book blocks 2 are supplied to the lifting device 14 , the lifting device 14 is in a first position . the guide bars 18 are advantageously positioned below the conveying plane formed by the conveying sections of the conveying elements 7 . the conveying elements 7 are supported on and slide along supports 19 , so as to prevent the book blocks 2 from rubbing against the guide bars 18 . the lifting of the book blocks 2 by the guide bars 18 , which are connected to the limit stop 11 , starts with the lifting device 14 pivoting clockwise by 90 ° ( see fig3 ). following this movement , the book block 2 is positioned perpendicular , meaning the book block is standing upright on the limit stop 11 . the pivoting movement is realized by means of a toothed - wheel gearing 20 . the tooth - wheel gearing 20 comprises a toothed wheel 22 which is attached to a shaft 21 . the shaft 21 is connected to the limit stop 11 and meshes with a toothed segment 23 , driven so as to pivot . the toothed segment 23 , in turn , is driven by a lever gear 24 , provided with a lever arm 26 . the lever arm 26 makes contact via a roller 28 with an endless control cam 25 , as well as with a steering rod 27 . the steering rod 27 is connected at one end to the exposed end of the lever arm 26 and at the other end to the toothed segment 23 . an electric motor 29 for driving the feed element 5 is connected by a drive belt 30 to the control cam 25 . the gripper 3 , which is shown schematically in fig1 and 2 , is provided with an immovable gripper jaw 31 and a movable gripper jaw 32 , shown in the opened position of the gripper 3 . the opening of the gripper 3 is initiated by a roller 34 that is connected to the movable gripper jaw 32 and moves against the force of a spring to strike a control member 33 . the apparatus 1 moves parallel to and synchronized with the gripper 3 of the perfect binder for the transfer of the book block 2 . in the process , the feed element 5 does not change its position within the apparatus 1 , but the lifting device 14 lifts up the book block 2 and inserts it from below into the gripper 3 . the synchronized operation of the apparatus 1 and the gripper 3 for the perfect binder starts as soon as a book block 2 is positioned on the feed element 5 . following receipt of the book block 2 by the gripper 3 , the apparatus 1 moves back to the first position . fig3 shows the book block 2 pivoted to the upright position by the guide bars 18 on the limit stop 11 and resting on its spine . the book block 2 is guided by a guide element 35 to prevent tilting . the guide element 35 can be adjusted along the length of fingers 16 of the limit stop 11 to adapt the guide element 35 to the different thicknesses of the book blocks . the guide element 35 is provided with an additional traction mechanism drive 36 . the traction mechanism drive 36 comprises two traction elements with respectively two reversing rollers 37 , 38 and one drive wheel 39 . a reversing roller pair 37 and the drive wheel 39 of the traction mechanism drive 36 have the same axis 15 as the toothed wheel 22 of the toothed wheel gearing 20 . the guide element 35 forms a supporting wall for the book block 2 in an upright position . the guide element 35 comprises several guide members 40 distributed over the length of the book block spine and can be adjusted and secured on the fingers 16 of the limit stop 11 . if a book block 2 has a narrow width , the slider 41 can be used to extend the guide members 40 . a pneumatically controlled pressure cylinder 42 is connected to the slider 41 for this . fig3 furthermore shows the position where the book block 2 below the opened gripper 3 is ready to be transferred to the gripper 3 . the book block 2 is lifted by the lifting device 14 during the parallel , synchronized operation of the feed element 5 , lifting device 14 and the gripper 3 . fig3 shows the lifting device 14 in its second position . if a book block 2 with a narrow width is located between the guide bars 18 and the guide element 35 , the sliders 41 of the guide members 40 are extended before the book block 42 is lifted into the gripper 3 , so that the book block 2 is guided during the transfer into the gripper 3 ( see fig4 and 5 ). fig6 shows the book block 2 , gripped in the processing position by the closed gripper 3 . the roll 34 of the gripper 3 has moved away from the control member 33 . the limit stop 11 can now be lowered . during the process of lowering the limit stop 11 , the sliders 41 on the guide members 40 are retracted as shown in fig7 , so that the lifting device 14 does not hit the gripper 3 when the lifting device is pivoted back to the first position . in fig8 the lifting device 14 is again in the first position and ready to take another book block 2 ′ from the conveying belt 4 . fig9 shows the joint axis 15 that is provided for the drives of the lifting device 14 , the limit stop 11 , and the guide element 35 . this joint axis comprises a shaft 21 , positioned inside a frame 43 , for the toothed wheel 22 of the toothed wheel gearing 20 . the toothed wheel 22 is responsible for the pivoting movements of the lifting device 14 . an additional toothed wheel 44 is positioned on the shaft 21 and is connected to the traction mechanism drive 12 for moving the limit stop 11 and / or for lifting up a book block 2 into the gripper 3 . a hollow shaft 45 is positioned on the shaft 21 to connect the toothed wheel 44 to the traction mechanism drive 12 . another toothed wheel 39 is mounted on an additional hollow shaft 47 that is attached rotatably to the hollow shaft 45 and is used with the traction mechanism drive 36 for adjusting the guide element 35 . reversing wheels for the tractions mechanism drive for adjusting the guide element 35 are connected to the hollow shaft 45 . it will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications , changes and adaptations , and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims .	1
the invention is an end face polishing device comprising a pressing unit pressing an end face of a fixed bar member to a polishing sheet and a driving unit driving the polishing sheet in a roulette - like movement while rotating on circumference parallel to the end face of the bar member . by using roulette - like movement relative speed of end face of a bar member to a polishing sheet varies , and polishing speed can be increased at high area in relative speed . oppositely , in low area in relative speed , time that polishing liquid flows into area where quantity of polishing liquid decreases by contact of the end face on the polishing sheet increases , quantity of the polishing liquid becomes constant even when loci of polishing are overlapped , and high symmetric to axis of the bar member , that is , little eccentric polishing becomes possible . in the invention , the polishing device has a rotating shaft eccentric from revolution center of a first revolution shaft in the revolution shaft , a second revolution shaft eccentric from the rotation center of the rotation shaft in the rotation shaft , and a polishing disc connected to the second revolution shaft . further , in the end face polishing device , the second revolution shaft has an internal gear fixed at a frame of the end face polishing device , a first transfer gear engaging with the internal gear , a rotation shaft having a second transfer gear at opposite end portion of the end portion of the first transfer gear , and an external gear engaging with the second transfer gear . fig3 is a view showing characteristic part of the driving mechanism of the polishing device according to the invention . in the figure , the whole performs revolution re 1 . revolution center of revolution shaft and center position are eccentric r , and inner part of rotation shaft ro rotating by the external gear eg 1 engaging with the gear ig 1 is performed with revolution re 2 to rotation shaft by revolution of the gear g 2 engaging with the gear g 1 driven by the external gear eg 2 engaging with the internal gear ig 2 . in the end face polishing device , the first revolution shaft is connected to a motor through a timing belt . in the end face polishing device , the rotation shaft is connected to a motor through another timing belt . further , the end face polishing device has an ultra sonic actuator contacting outer circumference portion of the first revolution shaft and revolving the revolution shaft . by using the ultra sonic actuator , a polishing device of high torque and small size can be obtained . the invention has steps of pressing an end face of a fixed bar member to a polishing sheet , driving the polishing sheet with roulette - like movement while rotating on circumference parallel to the end face of the bar member , and making the end face for polishing disc . here , the roulette - like movement may be a cycloid . further , the roulette - like movement may be an internal cycloid . moreover , the roulette - like movement may be an external cycloid . further , the roulette - like movement may be a relative trochoid inscribed to a first circle and drawn by a point fixed at a second circle smaller in diameter than the first circle . the roulette - like movement may be a relative external trochoid inscribed to the first circle and drawn by a point fixed at out of the second circle smaller in diameter than the first circle . especially , the roulette - like movement may be a relative internal trochoid inscribed to a first circle and drawn by a point fixed in the second circle smaller in diameter than the first circle . here , an xy table can be used for driving the polishing sheet . by using the xy table , a polishing device can be designed without using complex driving mechanism of rotation system such as an epicyclic gear for usual rotation and revolution . further , by using large xy table in a moving distance , the polishing sheet is kept away far from the bar member , the state of the end face of the bar member in the middle of polishing , a polishing sheet different in roughness is arranged at another area of the xy table , the same polishing device can be used from coarse polishing to finishing polishing . by varying the driving speed using a single sheet or plural sheets , polishing speed can be decreased at initial coarse polishing so as to reduce load to driving system large in frictional resistance . because frictional resistance is small at finishing polishing , driving speed is increased , and polishing speed is increased so as to reduce whole polishing time . an embodiment according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to fig4 - 9 fig4 is a sectional view showing a driving mechanism of the end face polishing device according to the invention . an elastic body 30 is arranged on a top portion of a polishing disc 10 through a frame 20 of an external circumference , a polishing sheet 40 is arranged on the elastic body 30 , an end face of a bar member is pressed against the sheet 40 during a polishing operation . a lower face side of the polishing disc 10 and a flange 60 on a revolution shaft 50 are connected through plural fixed pins 70 a and 70 b , and the polishing disc 10 is supported by the revolution shaft 50 . the revolution shaft 50 is connected to a rotation shaft 80 at eccentric position in designated quantity to the rotation shaft 80 through a transfer gear 100 is connected to a transfer gear 101 coaxially . the transfer gear 101 engages with an internal gear in the frame of main body of the polishing device . the lower part of the revolution shaft 50 is connected to a rotation portion 230 through a timing belt 220 arranged at outer side of a pulley 210 connected to a driving shaft of a motor 200 and engages with an internal gear of the rotation portion 230 . a revolution shaft 300 is connected to the driving shaft of the motor 200 though a pulley 310 and a timing belt 320 . the rotation shaft 80 is arranged in the revolution shaft 300 . a polishing locus of the polishing device according to the invention will be described below . fig5 is a view showing the instance when the revolution radius in the rotation shaft is large , and the locus is a continued locus 1 where a shape 4 is given a roulette - like movement in the form of a cycloid shape and has sharp points 5 and revolves in the external circumference 2 where circumference of radius r is center through center p of external circumference 2 . by this polishing locus , overlapping of locus of the internal circumference portion 3 is removed . fig6 is a view where the locus 1 goes around in the external circumference 2 . fig7 is a view when revolution radius in the rotation shaft is small , a shape 6 of locus becomes a shape of three leaves . by driving the shape continuously , the locus becomes like locus 1 . further , by going around in the external circumference 2 , the density of locus of the internal circumference 3 becomes low as shown in the locus 1 of fig8 . fig9 is a view of the case when the ratio of revolution diameter is further varied . the locus becomes a shape 7 of locus having five times of symmetric axis in the external circumference 2 . fig1 is a view where similarly the shape of the locus 1 goes around driving continuously , and in which a high density locus 1 is obtained in the external circumference 2 so that the polishing sheet can be used efficiently . according to the invention , since a locus of the end face is given a roulette - like motion while rotating on the circumference , life of the polishing sheet can be made long and the polishing time can be decreased to provide a polishing device having a high polishing speed .	6
an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a front view of a copying machine arrangement including copying machine 100 , a sorter 200 and an embodiment of the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 according to the present invention . the copying machine 100 comprises an optical system 1 for imaging an original , a sheet supply bin 2 for supplying paper sheets , an image formation portion 3 for developing and transferring the image onto the sheet , a fixing portion 4 for thermally fixing the image - formed sheet and a sheet discharging portion 5 for discharging the sheets . the sorter 200 comprises a sheet intake portion 7 for retrieving the sheets and a bin tray 6 for storing the sorted sheets . the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 is secured to the discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 and engaged by a hook 8 of the sorter 200 . fig2 is an enlarged schematic section view of the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 which is centrally shown . frames 9 of the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 are secured to the sheet discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 by means of screws 92 . a support shaft 10 is mounted on the side plates 91 of the frames 9 . a lower carrying plate 11 for carrying the sheet is rotatably mounted onto the support shaft 10 by brackets 12 . a plurality of rubber carrying rollers 14 are rotatably disposed on a shaft 13 which is secured to brackets 12 . the upper portions of the carrying rollers 14 protrude through a plurality of cut - out apertures formed in the lower carrying plate 11 . securing pins 25 for securing the lower carrying plate 11 to the frames 9 are uprightly and outwardly disposed on the lower portions of the brackets 12 . at opposite sides of upper portions of the brackets 12 are uprightly provided another pair of brackets 18 shown by dotted lines . an upper carrying plate 15 is disposed above the lower carrying plate 11 and rotatably held by a shaft 16 which is rotatably fitted into holes formed on the side plates 91 of the frames . base pieces 17 are fixed to both side edges of the lower ends of the upper carrying plate 15 so as to form a space with a prescribed distance between the upper carrying plate 15 and the lower carrying plate il . the sheets are carried in this space between the upper carrying plate 15 and the lower carrying plate il . the springs 19 by which the upper carrying plate 15 is pressed so as to not float upward are attached to the lower portions of the brackets 18 . the distance of the space formed between both the carrying plates 11 , 15 is , therefore , kept constant . a plurality of cut - out apertures in the upper carrying plate 15 are formed through which protrude the lower portions of a plurality of upper carrying rollers 21 made of plastic . the carrying rollers 21 are axially supported on a shaft 20 fixed to the brackets 18 . the upper carrying rollers 21 and the lower carrying rollers 14 together serve to move the sheets through the joint mechanism . broken lines 11 , 15 indicate a state in which these carrying plates are in their upward positions . near the upper end portions of these upper and lower carrying plates 11 , 15 is provided a fixed carrying plate 22 fixed to the frame 9 . the fixed carrying plate 22 and the upper end of the lower carrying plate 11 together constitute a sheet intake portion 23 . this sheet intake portion 23 is positionally adjusted relative to the sheet discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 . more precisely , the sheet intake portion 23 is positionally adjusted by threading the securing pins 25 to the side plates 91 so that the tip of the sheet discharged from discharging rollers 51 is guided by the fixed carrying plate 22 and then carried into the space between the upper carrying plate 15 and the lower carrying plate 11 . reference numerals designate a discharging roller 51 , a puncher 52 and a punched waste storing tank 53 . in the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 is positioned a lower end ( sheet discharging portion 111 ) of the lower carrying plate 11 . reference numeral 71 denotes a sheet intake roller and numeral 72 designates a sheet intake claw . a fixture rod 24 of a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; shape is mounted on the upper portion of the frame 9 adjacent to the sorter 200 . the engaging hook 8 is provided at the side of the sorter 200 for engaging with the copying machine 100 and is adapted in order to engage with the fixture rod 24 . fig3 is a partly fragmented side view seen from the outside of frame 9 . a slot 911 is formed on each of the side plates 91 through which the end portions of the shaft 13 , secured to the bracket 12 , are exposed outward . the configuration of the slot 911 is predetermined in a range where the shaft 13 moves . when a driving force is externally transmitted to the shaft 13 , the lower carrying rollers 14 are thereby rotated and the upper carrying rollers 21 are driven in turn to rotate . the transmission of the driving force is described here in more detail . the shaft 13 is designed to rotate synchronously with the driving of the copying machine 100 side in accordance with the transmission of the driving force through gears 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 and a discharging roller gear 511 . at this time , the carrying speed of the upper and lower carrying rollers 14 , 21 is so predetermined as to be equal to the sheet carrying speed of the discharging roller 51 . a slot 922 is formed on each of the side plates 91 through which the tip end of the pin 25 protruding from and attached to the lower portion of the bracket 12 is exposed outwardly . the configuration of the slot 922 is predetermined in a range where the pin 25 moves . a screw 26 is threaded to the tip end of the pin 25 . the collar portion of the screw 26 is pressed to the peripheral edge of the slot 922 by fastening the screw 26 , so that the pin 25 , the bracket 12 , and the lower carrying plate 11 and the upper carrying plate 15 can be secured to the frame 9 under the influence of the pressure of the screw 26 . an upper portion 99 of the frame 9 including the fixed carrying plate 22 can be turned upward and opened about a shaft 27 . when open , it is held on the horizontal portion of the fixture rod 24 to keep it in an open state . removing the jammed sheets can be readily done , therefore , when the sheets are jammed in the frames 9 . fig7 is a perspective view seen from an upper portion of the upper side - opened sheet conveyor joint mechanism . as can be seen from the drawing , a portion 915 of each of the side plates 91 is bent inwardly . a magnet 991 provided on the upper portion 99 is magnetically affixed thereto so as to hold upper portion 99 tightly closed . the height of the fixture rod 24 can be freely adjusted relative to the side plate 91 . namely , a holding member 242 which is fixed to the side plate 91 , through which a fixture rod 24 passes and on which a slit 243 is formed , and a pivot 241 inserted into the slit 243 so as to press the fixture rod 24 , enables the fixture rod 24 to be secured at a desired height . reference numeral 151 designates a cut - out aperture adapted to permit each of the carrying rollers to be moved when the upper carrying plate 15 is rotated . as shown in fig4 the discharging roller 51 , the puncher 52 , the tank 53 , etc ., of the copying machine 100 and a part of a side plate 101a at a discharging side of the copying machine 100 are united to form a unit portion 1010 . this unit portion 1010 is rotated outwardly together with the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 so as to be opened ( refer to the dotted lines ). reference numeral 30 denotes its rotation support shaft . as shown in fig5 a coil spring 31 adapted to resiliently support the opened unit portion 1010 and the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 is provided on the shaft 30 . this coil spring 31 also plays an important role when the sheet conveyor mechanism 300 is attached to the copying machine 100 , as described below . as can be seen in fig6 an operator raises the frame 9 by hand , enabling access to the copying machine 100 . at that time , a bottom face 93 of the frame 9 temporarily rests on the coil spring 31 . then , a protrusion 94 of the frame 9 is drawn nearer to and placed on a base portion 33 of a lower portion of the unit portion 1010 . in this position , in which the protrusion 94 is placed on the base portion 33 , the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 is secured to the copying machine 100 side by means of screws 92 . the positions of the tapped holes of the screws 92 are so designed that the sheet intake portion 23 above the lower carrying plate il is aligned with the discharging portion 5 . in the instance where the coil spring 31 is not provided ( as in the conventional mechanism ), the base portion 33 has to bear the entire weight of the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 , making it difficult to readily detach the sheet convey mechanism 300 from the copying machine 100 side . in contrast , according to the present invention , the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 can be firmly supported in accordance with the position of the tip end and the influence of the spring force of the coil spring 31 , such that the operation is conveniently and easily completed . next , the height of the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 is examined . in the case where it is located at a lower portion , as indicated by a solid line in fig2 the screws 26 in the slot 922 formed on each of the side plates 91 of the frames 9 are unfastened , as shown in fig3 before the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 is united with the sorter 200 and the pin 25 is moved upwardly and downwardly by hand . as a result , the brackets 21 secured to the side plates 91 by means of the pins 25 , and the lower carrying plate 11 connected to the side plates through the brackets 12 , move upwardly and downwardly while rotating about the support shaft 10 , as shown in fig2 . when the lower carrying plate 11 moves , the upper carrying plate 15 likewise moves while sliding . further , the lower carrying rollers 14 or the upper carrying rollers 21 similarly move together with the lower carrying plate 11 and the upper carrying plate 15 ( refer to arrow a and dotted lines ). consequently , since the lower end portion of the lower carrying plate 11 moves upwardly and downwardly , a sheet discharging portion 111 is moved upwardly and downwardly . the lower and upper carrying plates il , 15 are , therefore , moved to their proper positions . then , each of the screws 26 is fastened and the pin 25 is fixed to the peripheral edge of the slot 922 at the positions of the carrying plates . in such a way , at whatever height the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 may be positioned , the position of the sheet discharging portion 111 can be adjusted correspondingly . after the height of the sheet discharging portion 111 is adjusted in this manner , the height of the fixture rod 24 is adjusted by unfastening the pivot 241 , then , suitably moving the fixture rod 24 upwardly or downwardly , fastening the pivot and securing the fixture rod 24 to the side plate 91 . after that , the hook 8 is engaged with the fixture rod 24 to thereby couple the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 to the sorter 200 . when a copying operation is carried out , the copied sheets are punched by the puncher 52 and discharged by the sheet discharging roller 51 . the discharged sheets enter a portion between the fixed carrying plate 22 and the upper portion of the lower carrying plate 11 , pass through the space between the lower carrying plate 11 and the upper carrying plate 15 and arrive at the sheet discharging portion 111 . then , the sheets are supplied to an inner portion from the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 and then sorted . when the sheets jam , the upper portion of the frame 9 is opened upwardly together with the fixed carrying plate 22 , as shown in fig3 so that the jammed sheets can be removed . in the case where the sheets jam in the sheet discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 , the unit portion 1010 is rotated and opened together with the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 , as shown in fig4 . when jamming of the sheets arises in the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 , the hook 8 of the sorter 200 is disengaged from the fixture rod 24 and the sorter 200 is separated from the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 so that the jammed sheets can be removed . as illustrated in the drawings , the distance for carrying the sheets from the sheet discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 to the carrying rollers 21 , 14 of the sheet conveyor joint mechanism 300 is designed to become longer as the difference in height between the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 and the sheet discharging portion 5 becomes larger . as the difference in height between the sheet intake portion 7 and the sheet discharging portion 5 becomes larger , the extent of a sheet carried in a bent state increases . when the distance for carrying the sheet becomes shorter , it is difficult to properly guide the sheet to the carrying rollers 21 , 14 so as to effectively catch it therebetween . accordingly , as the extent of bending when the sheet is carried increases , ( i . e ., the difference in height between the sheet intake portion and the sheet discharging portion becomes larger ), the distance for carrying the sheet is made longer , so that the sheet can be properly guided to the carrying rollers 21 , 14 and thereby effectively be caught therebetween at any time . although the sheet discharging portion 5 of the copying machine 100 is positioned at a position higher than that of the sheet intake portion 7 of the sorter 200 , as an example , it will be readily appreciated that the positions may be reversed . it will be further appreciated that the first sheet processing unit and the second sheet processing unit of the present invention are not restricted to the combination of the photocopying machine and the sorter , as in the above - described embodiment , but they may be modified to the combination of other sheet processing units . although the proper positional adjustment of the sheet intake portion of the present invention relative to the sheet discharging portion of the copying machine cannot be adequately performed , in the above embodiment , when the operator connects the sheet conveyor joint mechanism to the copying machine side ( its positional adjustment can be made somewhat , however , by rotating the lower carrying plate 11 ), it will be noted that a sheet conveyor mechanism may include a sheet intake portion whose positional adjustment relative to the sheet discharging portion can be made . it will be further noted that if the sheet intake portion can be positionally adjusted , the sheet discharging portion whose positional adjustment cannot be performed may then be used . as can be understood from the foregoing description , according to the present invention , a sheet conveyor joint mechanism is provided , by which a first sheet processing unit and a second sheet processing unit can be suitably connected to each other at whatever height the sheet discharging portion of the first sheet processing unit and the sheet intake portion of the second sheet processing unit may be positioned relative to one another . it is , therefore , unnecessary to prepare a new or special base for adjusting the height of , for example , a desk top type copying machine . the present invention is not confined to the embodiment described above , but may be embodied or practiced in other various ways without departing from the spirit or practicality of the invention as disclosed .	6
fig1 through 7 illustrate one or more embodiments of a hot beverage maker as disclosed herein . naturally , a design engineer having ordinary skill with the assembly of coffee makers will be able to create a coffee maker that incorporates the teachings of the present invention , but which may look different and incorporate different , alternative parts . a cup - actuated dispenser makes the unit very convenient and very different from existing coffee makers that include , for instance , a carafe and other components unnecessary in the present invention . turning now to fig1 , there is shown a coffee maker 10 that is made up of a stand 11 , fresh water reservoir 12 , brewed beverage tank 13 , and a lid 14 . the stand 11 forms the base of coffee maker 10 and supports the reservoir 12 and tank 13 . the stand 11 includes a recess 20 in which is situated a push - button 21 . adjacent to recess 20 are the electrical switches 22 that operate the coffee maker 10 and allow the user to , for instance , program a start time or set the time of the clock 23 . of course , these electrical switches 22 may be analog or digital . fewer or more controls may be applicable for a given model of coffee maker . the fresh water reservoir 12 has transparent sidewalls 30 . the transparent sidewalls 30 allow users to easily and immediately determine whether and how much fresh water is in the coffee maker 10 . of course , nontransparent walls may be used , or a vertical window slot could be used . a water level indicator may also facilitate the ability of a user to accurately gauge the water volume . the fresh water reservoir 12 rests on the stand 11 . the fresh water reservoir 12 wraps partially around the brewed beverage tank 13 . the brewed beverage tank 13 also rests on the stand 11 . the brewed beverage tank 13 has a transparent window 25 which allows a user to observe very easily and quickly how much brewed beverage is contained within the tank 13 . finally , a lid 14 is rotatably connected to back wall of the reservoir 12 . the lid 14 is adapted to cover both the fresh water reservoir 12 and the brewed beverage tank 13 . fig2 is similar to fig1 except that the lid 14 is rotated up to the open position in fig2 . with the lid 14 open , there can be seen a removable filter basket 40 that is mountable with the brewed beverage tank 13 . the showerhead 35 is connected to the lid 14 and rotates up and down with the lid . support arm 36 is a channel connecting the showerhead 35 to the hot water tube shown in fig4 . fig3 is a still further view of the coffee maker 10 wherein the brewed beverage tank has been removed . the stand 11 includes a platform 50 which is adapted to support the brewed beverage tank shown in the other figures . the apertures 37 on the bottom of the showerhead 35 allow for the even distribution of water into the filter basket when the showerhead / lid is in the down position . the end of the arm portion 36 of the showerhead 35 includes an aperture 38 . when the lid 14 is rotated open , the aperture 38 rotates around and diverts the flow of hot water back into the fresh water reservoir 12 . the platform 50 includes a warmer plate 51 which is adapted to engage the bottom of the brewed beverage tank to keep a brewed beverage inside the tank warm . the platform 50 is molded in part into a recess that is adapted to receive in a mating fashion the molded male portion 110 ( see fig7 ) of the bottom of a brew tank . in this mating relationship , the tank is properly aligned and retained in position in the stand 11 . referring briefly back to fig2 , hooks 42 engage the top of the fresh water tank walls 30 to work with the male portion 110 to properly position the tank 13 on the stand 11 . finally , the platform 50 includes an aperture 53 from which protrudes a lever that makes up part of the dispenser actuator . ( see fig4 - 6 ). fig4 is a cross sectional view of the coffee maker 10 that provides a view of the operational components of the coffee maker . the portions of the coffee maker 10 not previously shown include the water tube 60 which carries heated water from the hot water heater element 61 up to the pipe 62 and then showerhead 35 via the arm 36 . the top of the pipe 62 is hingedably connected to the end of the arm 36 . the arm 36 includes an aperture 38 which is aligned with an opening to the pipe 62 when the showerhead 35 and lid 14 are in the down position as shown . however , when the showerhead 35 / lid 14 are swivelled upwardly , the aperture 38 is rotated around and hot water is rerouted back into the fresh water reservoir 12 to prevent any water flow out of the showerhead when it is in the up position . although not shown , there is a further tube that is adjacent to the tube 60 that carries the fresh cold water from the fresh water reservoir 12 through the heater coil 61 to the hot water pipe 62 as shown . the brewed beverage tank 13 is made up of the filter basket 40 that has an aperture 41 at the bottom of the filter basket to allow the infused water to drip into the reservoir portion 45 of the brewed beverage tank 13 . an outlet port 70 is the aperture through which the brewed beverage may be allowed to exit the brewed beverage tank 13 . the filter basket 40 is conventional in structure and dimension in order to be easily usable . as is also evident from fig4 , the bottom of the reservoir portion 45 slopes generally from the back of the coffeemaker ( i . e ., the fresh water reservoir 12 ) to the front where the port 70 is fixed . this configuration allows full drainage out of the bottom towards the front of the tank 13 where a user &# 39 ; s cup may be easily placed for dispensing . turning now to fig5 and 6 , there is shown one embodiment of a dispenser actuator mechanism in accordance with the present invention . fig5 and 6 demonstrate the mechanism in the biased closed position ( fig5 ) and in the open position as when a cup 100 is pressing against the push button 21 ( fig6 ). push button 21 is connected to one end of lever 80 . lever 80 has a pivot point 81 that is a hinge mounted behind the front face 82 of the stand 11 . the opposite end 83 of the lever 80 protrudes through aperture 53 ( see fig3 ) that makes up a portion of the platform 50 of the stand 11 . a second lever 90 is mounted onto the bottom 76 of the brew tank 13 . the lever 90 has a first end 91 and a second end 93 that are on opposite ends with a pivot 92 mounted on the bottom portion 76 . further , a spring 95 biases the first end 91 of the lever 90 downwardly so that the second end 93 is biased in a downward position . plug 94 is adapted to seal the outlet port 70 of the brew tank 13 . the plug 94 is connected to second end 93 and is urged upwardly or downwardly based on the movement of the second end 93 of the second lever 90 . in the closed position shown in fig5 , the spring 95 urges the first end 91 downwardly so that the second end 93 is urged downwardly . accordingly , the plug 94 is securely sealed to the outlet port 70 . alternatively , as demonstrated in fig6 , end 83 of the first lever 80 urges the first end 91 of the second lever 90 against the bias of the spring 95 . this moves the second end 93 of the second lever 90 upwardly to thereby open the outlet port 70 and allow brewed beverage to flow out of the brew tank 13 . while the “ two - piece ” actuator illustrated in fig4 , 5 and 6 is one type of cup - actuated dispensing means , there are , of course , alternative types of dispenser actuators . there are numerous types of electronic dispensers that are well known in the refrigerator door ice and dispensers . similarly , other types of mechanical dispensers may be designed to accommodate the specific engineering needs of a given coffee maker structure . fig7 displays further embodiments of the brew tank 113 and filter basket 140 . the filter basket 140 is different from the earlier described filter basket 40 in that it includes a handle 141 for making removal very simple . similarly , the alternative brew tank 113 includes a handle 111 to facilitate handling . the brew tank 113 also has a transparent window 125 allowing a user to observe the brewed beverage volume inside . a spout 112 improves the use of the brew tank as a fresh water bucket to transfer fresh water from a sink or other source and pour it into the fresh water reservoir 12 . finally , lip 114 is merely a design variation of the hooks 140 which allow the brew tank 113 to engage the top of the fresh water reservoir walls 30 to secure the brew tank 113 in place once it is mounted on the platform 50 . the male portion 110 is the molded piece of the bottom of the brew tank 113 which is received in the platform 50 . while the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that numerous variations , modifications and additional embodiments are possible , and all such variations , modifications , and embodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
there will now be described a semiconductor device according to a first embodiment of this invention with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig7 is a block diagram of a flash memory according to the first embodiment . as shown in fig7 , an address buffer 1 receives an external address and outputs an internal address corresponding to a memory cell which is subjected to the readout , program or erase operation . an i / o buffer 2 outputs data stored in a memory cell and sensed and amplified by a sense amplifier 3 to the exterior at the readout time and inputs program data into a program circuit 4 at the program time . the program circuit 4 supplies program voltage to the drain of a corresponding memory cell in a memory cell array 11 via a corresponding bit line . a command register 5 holds a command input at the program time or erase time . a controller 6 generates control signals to control various circuits in the flash memory . a row decoder 7 selects a word line corresponding to the internal address output from the address buffer 1 . a column decoder 8 selects a column gate of a column gate circuit 9 corresponding to the internal address output from the address buffer 1 to connect the sense amplifier 3 or program circuit 4 to the bit line . a charge pump circuit 10 boosts the input power supply voltage to output voltage which is supplied to a memory cell array 11 at the time of readout , program or erase . a regulator 12 receives voltage vpp which is higher than the power supply voltage and outputs controlled voltage vreg . the voltage vreg is supplied to the word line selected by the row decoder 7 . a vddh generator 13 converts voltage vpp supplied from a vpp pad 14 into word line power supply voltage vddh which is supplied to the word line connected to the control gate of the memory cell at the program time . the word line power supply voltage vddh is supplied to the common well region or source of the memory cell at the erase time . a vddp generator 15 converts the voltage vpp supplied from the vpp pad 14 into bit line power supply voltage . vddp which is supplied to the bit line connected to the drain of the memory cell at the program time . a source / well switch 16 causes the voltage vddh to be selectively supplied to the well region or the source of each block via the source line at the data erase time . fig8 a , 8 b , 8 c show the configurations of a switch circuit used in the vddh generator 13 according to the first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig8 a , the switch circuit includes an n - channel mos transistor qn 1 , p - channel mos transistor qp 1 and n - channel mos transistor qn 2 . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 1 is connected to a terminal t 1 connected to an external terminal ( not shown ) to which voltage is supplied from the exterior . the source of the nmos transistor qn 1 is connected to the source and the back gate of the pmos transistor qp 1 . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 2 is connected to the drain of the pmos transistor qp 1 and the source thereof is connected to an output terminal t 2 . the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 2 is higher than that of the nmos transistor qn 1 . as shown in fig8 b , when the switch circuit is set in an off state , for example , voltage v 3 (= vcc ) is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 1 , voltage v 4 (= 0v ) different from the voltage v 3 is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 2 , and voltage v 7 (= 0v ) is applied to the gate of the pmos transistor qp 1 . at this time , since the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 1 is low , there occurs a possibility that the voltage of a circuit ( not shown ) connected to the output terminal t 2 may leak into the terminal t 1 side . therefore , in order to prevent extra voltage from leaking into the terminal t 1 side by use of the nmos transistor qn 2 having higher threshold voltage than that of the nmos transistor qn 1 , the nmos transistor qn 2 is set into the cut - off state . as shown in fig8 c , when the switch circuit is set in an on state , high voltage v 1 is applied to the terminal t 1 . voltage v 5 which turns on the nmos transistor qn 1 is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 1 with the high voltage v 1 applied to the terminal t 1 . voltage v 6 which turns on the nmos transistor qn 2 is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 2 while voltage v 2 is being output to the output terminal t 2 . voltage v 8 which turns on the pmos transistor qp 1 when the high voltage v 1 is applied to the source side thereof and turns off the pmos transistor qp 1 when voltage on the drain side thereof is set to the voltage v 2 is applied to the gate of the pmos transistor qp 1 . by thus setting the voltages v 5 , v 6 , v 8 supplied to the respective gates in the above - described manner , the output voltage v 2 of the switch circuit is controlled to attain the relation of v 2 & lt ; v 1 . therefore , it becomes possible to lower the high voltage supplied from the exterior and stably supply the voltage to the transistors in the chip . fig9 shows the configurations of the vddh generator and the vddp generator according to the first embodiment and containing the switch circuit shown in fig8 a , 8 b , 8 c . for example , if a high voltage vpp of approximately 12v is applied to a vpp pad 21 in a case where it is required to program data at high speed at the time of shipment from the factory , a detector circuit 22 detects the high voltage vpp and a write enable signal we is set at the “ h ” level so that a signal exvpp =“ h ” and a signal exvppb =“ l ” may be output . while the signal exvppb =“ l ” is input to a vddh booster circuit 23 and a vddp booster circuit 24 , the vddh booster circuit 23 and the vddp booster circuit 24 are not operated . if the signal exvpp =“ h ” is input to an oscillator circuit ( osc ) 26 in a vddh switch circuit 25 , voltages of approximately 15v are generated from first and second gate pumps 27 and 28 and respectively supplied to the gates of the nmos transistors qn 1 , qn 2 . as a result , the nmos transistors qn 1 , qn 2 are turned on and the voltage vpp supplied to the vpp pad 21 from the exterior is transferred . further , if the signal exvpp =“ h ” is input to a regulator 29 , negative feedback occurs and voltage transferred from the pmos transistor qp 1 to the nmos transistor qn 2 is controlled to be set to approximately 10v . the voltage of 10v is transferred as it is via the nmos transistor qn 2 and output as the voltage vddh of 10v . after this , the output voltage vddh of 10v is input to the regulator 12 shown in fig7 which in turn generates controlled voltage vreg (= approximately 9v ). the voltage vreg is supplied to a word line selected by the row decoder 7 . if the signal exvpp =“ h ” is input to a vddp switch circuit 30 , the voltage vddh of 10v is input to the gate of an nmos transistor qn 11 so that the voltage vpp of 12v supplied from the exterior can be transferred via the nmos transistor qn 11 . then , voltage which is lowered by the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 11 , for example , a voltage vddp of approximately 7v is output to a data line dl . the voltage vddp (= 7v ) supplied to the data line dl is input to a program circuit 31 . the data line dl is controlled based on pulse signals prgpls , prgplsb according to program data prgdata and biased by a signal vswbs which is control voltage to clamp the voltage vddp at optimum program bit line voltage . when the program data prgdata is “ 1 ”, an nmos transistor qn 12 is set into an off state even if the signal vswbs is 0v and the signal prgpls is “ h ”, that is , the signal prgplsb is “ l ”. therefore , the data line dl is set into an electrically floating state and data is not programmed into the memory cell mc . on the other hand , when the program data prgdata is “ 0 ”, the nmos transistor qn 12 is set into an on state in a period in which the signal vswbs is set at approximately 7v and the signal prgpls is “ h ”, that is , the signal prgplsb is “ l ”. therefore , the data line dl is biased to approximately 5v . after this , the voltage of 5v is supplied to the bit line bl via a column gate 32 and data is programmed into the memory cell mc . generally , in the case of the program operation , low voltage , for example , a power supply voltage of approximately 2v is supplied to the vpp pad 21 . at this time , the signal exvpp =“ l ” and signal exvppb =“ h ” are output from the detector circuit 22 . if the signal exvppb =“ h ” is input to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 3 , the source - drain path of the pmos transistor qp 1 is short - circuited and the pmos transistor qp 1 cannot permit a current to flow therethrough and cannot transfer voltage . therefore , the vddh switch circuit 25 is not operated in a period in which the signal exvppb is “ h ”. if the signal exvppb =“ h ” is input to the vddh booster circuit 23 , the operation of a vddh charge pump 33 is started and word line power supply voltage vddh (= 10v ) boosted by the operation of the charge pump is output to the regulator 12 . the regulator 12 receives the word line power supply voltage vddh (= 10v ) and outputs a voltage vreg of 9v . after this , the voltage vreg (= 9v ) is supplied to a word line selected by the row decoder 7 . if the signal exvppb =“ h ” is input to the vddp booster circuit 24 , the operation of a vddp charge pump 34 is started and bit line power supply voltage vddp (= 5v ) is output to the data line dl . after this , the bit line power supply voltage vddp (= 5v ) is supplied to a bit line bl via the program circuit 31 and column gate 32 and data is programmed into the memory cell mc . thus , when it is required to program data at high speed at the time of shipment from the factory , high voltage is applied via the vpp pad 21 from the exterior and voltage which is controlled by the p - type transistor qp 1 whose current path is sandwiched between the n - type transistors qn 1 and qn 2 is supplied . in the case of the normal program operation , the transistors in the chip can always be operated in a stable region by supplying voltage which is boosted by use of the booster circuit 23 in the internal portion . further , since high voltage supplied from the exterior is used when it is desired to perform the program operation at high speed , it does not take a long time to boost the voltage of the word line in comparison with a case wherein the voltage is internally boosted and program time can be shortened . fig1 shows the detail configuration of the vddh switch circuit . internally boosted voltage or an externally supplied voltage vddr of approximately 5v is previously applied to an initializer 42 . as a result , the initializer 42 performs the output operation of outputting the power supply voltage vcc , for example , a voltage of approximately 2v , thereby to initialize the first and second gate pumps 27 , 28 and sets the vddh switch circuit 25 into an initialization state . at this time , the gate voltage vg 1 of the nmos transistor qn 1 is set equal to the power supply voltage vcc and the gate voltage vg 2 of the nmos transistor qn 2 is set at 0v . if a high voltage vpp of approximately 12v is applied to a vpp pad 41 and the detector circuit 22 detects the high voltage and outputs the signal exvpp =“ h ” and signal exvppb =“ l ”, a pulse signal with amplitude from 0v to the power supply voltage vcc output from the oscillator circuit ( osc ) 26 is input to the clock input terminals of clock signals clk , clkb of first and second pump circuits 43 , 44 via a clock signal generator shown in fig1 as a pulse signal with amplitude from 0v to 5v . as shown in fig1 , the clock signal generator uses the word line power supply voltage vddh as a power supply source . it generates clock signals clk , clkb by inputting a pulse signal p 1 with amplitude from 0v to the power supply voltage vcc to a level shifter 47 and obtaining a pulse signal with amplitude of the voltage vddr of approximately 5v , for example , by using a voltage of approximately 3v to 6v which is normally generated in the internal portion . the gate voltages vg 1 , vg 2 of the nmos transistors qn 1 , qn 2 of the vddh switch circuit 25 are set to approximately 15v at the time of the operation of the vddh switch circuit . therefore , the potential difference between two terminals of each of capacitors in the first and second pump circuits 43 , 44 is set to approximately 10v by setting the clock signals clk , clkb to clock signals with an amplitude of 5v . generally , the capacitor is formed of the same material as the gate oxide film of a transistor with high withstand voltage . the withstand voltage of the element in the chip is approximately 10v . therefore , there occurs a problem in the withstand voltage of the element since the potential difference between two terminals of the capacitor becomes 13v if the pulse signal with vcc amplitude which is output from the oscillator circuit 26 is supplied to the first and second pump circuits 43 , 44 as the clock signals clk , clkb . however , like the present embodiment , by using the clock signal generator , the first and second pump circuits 43 , 44 can be operated without causing any problem of the withstand voltage of the element . further , when the clock signals clk , clkb are generated , current consumption can be more reduced by supplying the voltage vddh as the power supply source than by boosting and supplying the power supply voltage vcc . the clock signals clk , clkb are input to the capacitors of the first and second pump circuits 43 , 44 and the voltages vg 1 , vg 2 of approximately 15v obtained by boosting the word line power supply voltage vddh are respectively input to the gates of the nmos transistors qn 1 , qn 2 . since the gate voltage of the nmos transistor qn 1 is set equal to the power supply voltage vcc in the initial condition and the threshold voltage thereof is approximately 0v to 0 . 2v , the switching operation is started when a state in which voltage supplied to a source connected to the vpp pad 41 has been changed from the power supply voltage vcc to ( vcc - 0 . 2v ) is set . as a result , as shown by the vd - id characteristic of the n - type transistor with a withstand voltage of 10v in fig1 , it is operated on voltage which is lowered by the power supply voltage vcc . therefore , the transistor will not be operated in the snap back region and can be stably operated by enhancing the surface breakdown withstand voltage which depends on the drain voltage with respect to the gate . since the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 1 is low , there is a possibility that the word line power supply voltage vddh which is internally boosted without using the vddh switch circuit will leak into the vpp pad side when the normal program operation using the voltage vddh is performed . therefore , the nmos transistor qn 2 is provided and it is set into a cut - off state in order to prevent the voltage vddh boosted by the vddh booster circuit 23 at the normal program operation time from leaking into the vpp pad side . the pmos transistor qp 1 is subjected to negative feedback via the regulator 45 and the gate thereof is controlled to set the output voltage thereof to approximately 10v . the regulator 45 includes two comparators 48 , 49 , pmos transistor qp 2 , nmos transistors qn 4 , qn 5 and voltage dividing resistors r 1 , r 2 . the comparators 48 , 49 are controlled and activated according to a regulator activation signal rege . the source of the pmos transistor qp 2 is connected to the source of the pmos transistor qp 1 , the gate thereof is connected to the gate of the pmos transistor qp 1 , and the drain thereof is connected to its own gate . thus , the pmos transistor qp 2 is combined with the pmos transistor qp 1 to configure a current mirror circuit . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 4 is connected to a supply node 50 of the word line power supply voltage vddh , the source thereof is connected to a ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with an output signal of the comparator 49 . the resistors r 1 , r 2 are serially connected between the voltage vddh supply node and the ground voltage node . in the regulator 45 , the comparators 48 , 49 each compare divided voltage of the serial connection node of the resistors r 1 and r 2 with reference voltage vref . then , the nmos transistors qn 4 , qn 5 are turned on / off based on the comparison results so that the gate voltage of the pmos transistor qp 1 can be controlled and the output voltage of the pmos transistor qp 1 will be controlled to be set equal to approximately 10v . the nmos transistor qn 3 is provided for the purpose of short - circuiting the source - drain path of the pmos transistor qp 1 so as not to apply voltage between the source and drain of the pmos transistor qp 1 at the normal program operation time . when the program operation and program verify operation are terminated , the gate voltages vg 1 , vg 2 of 15v which are respectively applied to the gates of the nmos transistor qn 1 and qn 2 are discharged by use of a discharger 46 . after this , an initializing operation is performed by an initializer 42 to set an initialization state . in this case , it is possible for the initializer 42 to perform the discharging operation . next , a program circuit which is connected to a data line dl supplied with the bit line power supply voltage vddp of 10v and supplies program voltage to a corresponding drain in the memory cell array via a bit line is explained with reference to fig1 , 14 a , 14 b . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a program circuit and fig1 a , 14 b are waveform diagrams showing the operation waveforms of the program circuit . a bit line bl in the memory cell array is connected to a data line dl via an nmos transistor qn 13 of the column gate according to a selected column address . the data line dl is biased by a voltage value of the voltage vswbs at timing of a signal prgplsb according to program data prgdata in the program circuit . when data is programmed , the power supply voltage is lowered and the supply current of the vddp charge pump 34 is reduced in the normal program operation in which the voltage is internally boosted by use of the vddp charge pump 34 . therefore , the number of bits which can be simultaneously programmed is so determined that one word will be equal to four bits . as shown in fig1 , when 16 bits are programmed , program data items prgdata 1 to prgdata 16 are divided into four groups . then , an inverted signal prgplsb 1 of the program pulse is assigned to the program data items prgdata 1 to prgdata 4 , an inverted signal prgplsb 2 of the program pulse is assigned to the program data items prgdata 5 to prgdata 8 , an inverted signal prgplsb 3 of the program pulse is assigned to the program data items prgdata 9 to prgdata 12 , and an inverted signal prgplsb 4 of the program pulse is assigned to the program data items prgdata 13 to prgdata 16 . as shown in fig1 a , 16 bits are programmed for every four bits in four different program operations by sequentially setting the program pulses prgplsb 1 to prgplsb 4 to “ l ”, that is , sequentially setting the pulses prgpls 1 to prgpls 4 to “ h ”. in a case where the voltage vpp is supplied from the exterior in order to perform the high - speed program operation , the ability of supplying voltage from the vpp pad is higher than the voltage supply ability from the vddp charge pump and the rise time of the word line power supply voltage vddh applied to the word line becomes shorter . therefore , the number of bits which can be simultaneously programmed can be increased . thus , as shown in fig1 b , one word = 16 bits can be programmed at the same time by simultaneously setting the program pulses prgplsb 1 to prgplsb 4 to “ l ”, that is , simultaneously setting the pulses prgpls 1 to prgpls 4 to “ h ”. therefore , the program pulse application time can be reduced to ¼ times that of the former case . as a result , the total program time can be extremely reduced . fig1 shows the concrete configuration of the regulator 12 shown in fig7 which is used in the flash memory according to the embodiment of the present invention and generates the control voltage vreg which causes the voltage vddh generated from the vddh generator 13 to be supplied to a word line selected by the row decoder . the regulator 12 includes two comparators 51 , 52 , pmos transistor qp 21 , pmos transistor qp 22 , nmos transistors qn 21 , qn 22 , qn 23 , qn 24 and voltage dividing resistors r 21 , r 22 , r 23 . the comparators 51 , 52 are controlled and activated according to a regulator activation signal rege . the source of the pmos transistor qp 21 is connected to a supply node 53 of the word line power supply voltage vddh and the gate thereof is connected to its own drain . the source of the pmos transistor qp 22 is connected to a supply node 54 of the word line power supply voltage vddh , the gate thereof is connected to the gate of the pmos transistor qp 21 , and the drain thereof is connected to a control voltage vreg output node . thus , the pmos transistor qp 22 is combined with the pmos transistor qp 21 to configure a current mirror circuit . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 21 is connected to the drain of the pmos transistor qp 21 , the source thereof is connected to a ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with an output signal of the comparator 51 . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 22 is connected to the drain of the pmos transistor qp 22 , the source thereof is connected to the ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with an output signal of the comparator 52 . the resistors r 21 , r 22 , r 23 are serially connected between the control voltage vreg output node and the ground voltage node . the source - drain path of the nmos transistor qn 23 is connected between the ground voltage node and the resistor r 23 , that is , one of the three resistors r 21 , r 22 , r 23 which is arranged in the nearest position to the ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with a verify signal . the source - drain path of the nmos transistor qn 24 is connected between the ground voltage node and a serial connection node 55 of the resistors r 22 and r 23 and the gate thereof is supplied with a program signal prog . the comparators 51 , 52 each compare divided voltage of the serial connection node of the resistors r 21 and r 22 with reference voltage vref . then , the nmos transistors qn 21 , qn 22 are controlled to be turned on / off based on the comparison results to charge or discharge the voltage vreg node which is the output node . therefore , the output voltage vreg is always controlled to be set equal to the program voltage vg = 9v . as a result , the program voltage vg = 9v is supplied to the word line wl of the memory cell array via the row decoder . fig1 shows the configuration of a vswbs regulator which generates control voltage vswbs to clamp the voltage vddp to optimum program bit line voltage . the vswbs regulator includes two comparators 61 , 62 , pmos transistor qp 31 , pmos transistor qp 32 , nmos transistors qn 31 , qn 32 , qn 33 , qn 34 and voltage dividing resistors r 31 , r 32 . the comparators 61 , 62 are controlled and activated according to a write enable signal we . the source of the pmos transistor qp 31 is connected to a supply node 63 of the word line power supply voltage vddh and the gate thereof is connected to its own drain . the source of the pmos transistor qp 32 is connected to a supply node 64 of the word line power supply voltage vddh , the gate thereof is connected to the gate of the pmos transistor qp 31 , and the drain thereof is connected to an output node of the output voltage vswbs . thus , the pmos transistor qp 32 is combined with the pmos transistor qp 31 to configure a current mirror circuit . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 31 is connected to the drain of the pmos transistor qp 31 , the source thereof is connected to a ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with an output signal of the comparator 61 . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 32 is connected to the drain of the pmos transistor qp 32 , the source thereof is connected to the ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with an output signal of the comparator 62 . the gate and drain of the nmos transistor qn 34 are connected to the output voltage vswbs output node . the resistors r 31 , r 32 are serially connected between the source of the nmos transistor qn 34 and the drain of the nmos transistor qn 33 . the source of the nmos transistor qn 33 is connected to the ground voltage node and the gate thereof is supplied with the write enable signal we . the comparators 61 , 62 each compare divided voltage of the serial connection node of the resistors r 31 and r 32 with reference voltage vref . then , the nmos transistors qn 31 , qn 32 are controlled to be turned on / off based on the comparison results to charge or discharge the voltage vswbs node which is the output node . therefore , the output voltage vswbs is controlled to attain the voltage vswbs = approximately 7v . as a result , the data line dl is biased and the program operation with respect to the memory cell can be performed . fig1 shows operation waveforms when the vddh switch circuit according to the present embodiment is used . in this case , a signal s 1 is used to control the program operation and verify operation . a signal s 2 is used to control the initialization operation . a signal s 3 is used to control the discharging operation and a signal s 4 is input to the program circuit and used to control timing at which voltage is applied to the bit line bl . first , for example , a high voltage of approximately 12 . 6v is applied to the vpp pad 21 . then , if application of the high voltage is detected by the detector circuit 22 , the signal exvpp is set to “ h ”. if exvpp =“ h ” is input to the vddh switch circuit 25 and vddp switch circuit 30 , the discharging and initialization operations are terminated . then , after the signals s 2 and s 3 are set to “ l ”, the voltages vg 1 and vg 2 respectively applied to the gates of the nmos transistors qn 1 , qn 2 are raised to approximately 15v . at this time , vddh = 10v is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 11 . if the voltages vg 1 , vg 2 are set equal to approximately 15v , the voltage vddh is raised to 9v or 10v and the voltage vddp is raised to approximately 10v , then the voltage vreg = 9v controlled by the regulator 12 is applied to the word line wl . further , the voltage vddh = 10v is supplied as the power supply voltage of the vddp switch circuit 30 or the like and the voltage vddp = 10v is supplied to the program circuit 31 . therefore , a voltage of 5v is applied to the bit line bl via the column gate . as a result , the operation of simultaneously programming 16 bits is started at the timing of the program pulse signal prgpls . after this , the voltage of the word line wl is set to approximately 6 . 5v , the voltage of the bit line bl is set to approximately 1v and the program verify operation to detect whether the program operation is terminated or not is performed . thus , the program operation and the program verify operation are terminated . if the program operation and the program verify operation are terminated , the signal s 3 is set on to start the discharging operation . after this , the signal s 2 is set on to start the initialization operation . fig1 shows operation waveforms at the time of the normal program operation . since the voltage vpp is boosted by use of the internal vddh booster circuit 23 and vddp booster circuit 24 , the vpp pad 21 is set at 0v and the output signal exvpp of the detector circuit 22 is set at “ l ”= 0v . when the voltages vddh and vddp are set to sufficiently high levels , a voltage of 9v is applied to the word line wl . further , a voltage of 5v is sequentially applied to the bit lines bl for every four bits at timings of the program pulse signals prgplsb 1 to prgplsb 4 and the program operation is performed for every four bits . next , a switch circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention is explained with reference to fig1 a , 19 b , 19 c . as shown in fig1 a , the switch circuit includes nmos transistors qn 41 , qn 42 . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 41 is connected to a terminal t 1 connected to an external terminal ( not shown ) which is supplied with voltage from the exterior . the drain of the nmos transistor qn 42 is connected to the source of the nmos transistor qn 41 and the source thereof is connected to an output terminal t 2 . the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 42 is higher than that of the nmos transistor qn 41 . as shown in fig1 b , when the switch circuit is set in the off state , for example , voltage v 3 = vcc is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 41 and a voltage v 4 of 0v which is different from the voltage v 3 is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 42 . in this case , since the threshold voltage of the nmos transistor qn 41 is low , there occurs a possibility that the voltage of a circuit ( not shown ) connected to the output terminal t 2 may leak into the terminal t 1 side . therefore , in order to prevent extra voltage from leaking into the terminal t 1 side by use of the nmos transistor qn 42 having higher threshold voltage than the nmos transistor qn 41 , the nmos transistor qn 42 is set in the cut - off state . as shown in fig1 c , when the switch circuit is set in an on state , high voltage v 1 is applied to the terminal t 1 . at this time , voltage v 5 which turns on the nmos transistor qn 41 is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 41 with the high voltage v 1 kept applied to the terminal t 1 . further , voltage v 6 which is higher than voltage v 2 of the output terminal t 2 by the threshold voltage is applied to the gate of the nmos transistor qn 42 . by thus setting the voltages v 5 , v 6 supplied to the respective gates in the above - described manner , the output voltage v 2 of the switch circuit is controlled to attain the relation of v 2 & lt ; v 1 . therefore , like the first embodiment , it becomes possible to lower the high voltage supplied from the exterior and stably supply the voltage to the transistors in the chip . since the switch circuit can be configured without using a pmos transistor , the circuit area can be reduced . next , a semiconductor device according to the second embodiment of this invention and containing the switch circuit of fig1 a is explained with reference to fig2 . the other configuration of the semiconductor device is the same as that of the first embodiment . fig2 is a circuit diagram showing a vddh switch circuit according to the second embodiment of this invention . the vddh switch circuit according to the second embodiment of this invention includes oscillator circuits ( osc ) 72 , first and second gate pumps 73 , 74 , and nmos transistors qn 41 , qn 42 , qn 43 . the operation of the oscillator circuit ( osc ) 72 is started in response to an output signal exvpp of a detector circuit . each of the first and second gate pumps 73 , 74 outputs a voltage of approximately 15v in response to an output of the oscillator 72 . the gate of the nmos transistor qn 41 is connected to the output terminal of the first gate pump 73 and the drain thereof is connected to a vpp pad 71 . the nmos transistor qn 42 is connected in series with the nmos transistor qn 41 and the gate thereof is connected to the output terminal of the second gate pump 74 . the gate and drain of the nmos transistor qn 43 are connected to the output terminal of the second gate pump 74 . gate voltage vg 41 of the nmos transistor qn 41 or one of the two nmos transistors qn 41 and qn 42 connected between the vpp pad 71 and the output node which is disposed nearer to the vpp pad 71 is set to vcc at the normal program operation time . further , the gate voltage vg 41 is set to a voltage of approximately 15v when the high - speed program operation is performed by use of the vpph switch circuit 25 . therefore , a voltage vpp of approximately 12v is transferred to the nmos transistor qn 42 . gate voltage vg 42 of the nmos transistor qn 42 is set at 0v at the normal program operation time and the nmos transistor qn 42 is set into the cut - off state so as to prevent voltage vddh boosted by the vddh booster circuit from leaking into the vpp pad 71 side at the normal program operation time . further , at the high - speed program operation time , the voltage value of the gate voltage vg 42 is controlled by performing the feedback operation to set voltage between the source and drain of the nmos transistor qn 43 which has the same configuration as the nmos transistor qn 42 to the voltage vddh of 10v . as a result , the nmos transistor qn 43 outputs the voltage vddh of 10v . thus , the voltage vddh of 10v can be attained based on the voltage vpp of 12v without using a pmos transistor . as a result , the speed of the program operation can be further enhanced and the circuit area can be reduced . next , a switch circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention is explained with reference to fig2 a , 21 b . the other configuration of the semiconductor device is the same as that of the first embodiment . fig2 a , 21 b are circuit diagrams showing a vddp switch circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 a , the vddp switch circuit according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes two transistors tr 1 , tr 2 which are serially connected to a vpp pad 81 and whose gates are connected together , and a transistor tr 3 connected between the transistor tr 2 and a voltage vddp output node . when a voltage vpp of 12v is supplied to the vpp pad 81 from the exterior , a word line power supply voltage vddh of 10v is input to the gates of the transistors tr 1 , tr 2 via inverters 82 , 83 according to a signal s 1 which controls the program operation and verify operation . therefore , the transistors tr 1 , tr 2 , tr 3 transfer voltage obtained by lowering the voltage vpp of 12v to the voltage vddp output node and a voltage vddp of approximately 7v is output from the voltage vddp output node . at this time , the transistor tr 3 is used to be set into the cut - off state so as to prevent the voltage vddp boosted by the vddp booster circuit 24 from leaking into the vpp pad 81 side at the normal program operation time . fig2 b shows a modification of the vddp switch circuit according to the third embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 b , the vddp switch circuit includes a transistor tr 4 used instead of the transistors tr 1 , tr 2 shown in fig2 a and a voltage vddh of 10v is directly input to the gate of the transistor tr 4 . in the vddp switch circuits shown in fig2 a , 21 b , the voltage vddp can be generated without using a pump circuit which internally boosts the voltage by applying the voltage vddh to the gate of the transistor which transfers the high voltage supplied from the vpp pad 81 . therefore , voltage transfer time can be shortened and program operation time can be shortened . a semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be attained by adequately combining the vddh switch circuit and the vddp switch circuit according to the first to third embodiments . therefore , for example , it is possible to arrange the vddh switch circuit according to the first embodiment and the vddp switch circuit according to the third embodiment in the same chip and use a combination of the vddh switch circuit according to the second embodiment and the vddp switch circuit according to the third embodiment . further , the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied not only to a nor type flash memory but also to a dinor type flash memory . in addition , this invention is not limited to the above embodiments and the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a switch circuit which lowers voltage input from the exterior and supplies the lowered voltage to the chip . according to the embodiment of the present invention , the transistors in the chip can be operated in a stable region by controlling voltage supplied from the exterior and transferring the same to the chip when it is desired to program data at high speed . further , since the voltage is supplied from the exterior , the operation of boosting the word line voltage can be performed at high speed and program operation time can be shortened . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents .	6
as would be well known to those skilled in the art , a photodiode is a transducer that converts incident optical energy into electrical energy . the electrical and optical properties of a p - n junction and the depletion region are of prime importance in the operation of a photodiode . a simple p - n junction is formed when a p - type material comes in contact with an n - type material during monolithic fabrication process and a depletion region is created at the p - n junction due to recombination of electrons and holes , which annihilate each other during their random motion around the junction . this leaves excess fixed charges : positive donor ions at the n - type region and negative acceptor ions at the p - type area . these charges create a field at the p - n junction that consequently blocks further transport of the charge carriers . therefore photodiodes are typically used in the reverse - bias configuration , as shown in fig1 . similar to rectifying diodes , only the leakage current flows in the reverse bias region of the photodiode , in the absence of any illuminating optical energy . however electron - hole pairs are generated as a function of the intensity of light absorbed by the material , provided a photo detector is exposed to a light source with frequencies that correspond to energies greater than the band gap of the detector material . hence the reverse current of the photodiode increases in proportion to the incident light intensity , in the presence of an applied electric field . the standard cmos technology , as would be well known to those skilled in the art , offers three different types of p - n junctions : implementation of photodiodes using these p - n junctions in the standard cmos technology , are known to those skilled in the art . disclosed is a system and method for concentric photodiodes , according to the disclosed inventive principles . the concentric photodiodes is shown for a preferred embodiment , in cmos technology and may be fabricated in other suitable technology . according to the disclosed inventive principles , concentric photo detectors based on all three types of p - n junctions could be made in the standard cmos process . according to the disclosed inventive principles , shown and disclosed are two different variations of concentric photodiodes for each of the p - n junctions . each variant structure employs the disclosed isolation techniques to minimize the cross influence of adjacent concentric devices , one on the other . technologies with multiple wells offer more robust inter - diode isolation options that could be employed for additional refinement . the photocurrent has three main components where id is photocurrent due to carrier generation in depletion layer , i n is photocurrent due to diffusion of excess electrons in p - type region and ip is the photocurrent due to diffusion of excess holes in n - type region , q is electron charge ( 1 . 6 × 10 − 19 c ), aj is the area of the p - n junction , gn is the number of electron - hole pairs generated in a unit of the depletion - layer volume per second , l n is depletion length of electrons and lp is depletion length of the holes . adding the three components together , the total photocurrent becomes : analysis of the photo current equation reveals that amount of photocurrent generated by a photodiode is directly proportional to the four parameters , the area of the p - n junction , the width of the depletion region , depletion length of the electrons and the depletion length of the holes . the schematic diagram of a concentric photodiodes in an array of p and n semiconductor material , is given in the fig3 . the array , as shown and described in fig3 , is a plurality of concentric semiconductor materials , with each concentric semiconductor material joined to , and in contact with , or with an interface with , the next respective inner and outer , concentric semiconductor in the array and arranged in a junction with the next respective inner and outer concentric semiconductor . as would be known to those skilled in the art , a p - n junctions is at the interface or contact between the p and n semiconductors , shown schematically by the photodiodes , as shown in fig1 , between the contacts or terminals do , d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , in fig3 . as would be known to those skilled in the art , the contacts or terminals for each photodiode do , di , d 2 , d 3 , may be connected to an electrical source for biasing the p - n junctions and to a means for measuring the as would be known to those skilled in the art , light on the photodiodes , for example as shown in fig1 or in fig3 , produce a current i d , as shown in fig1 or i photo , as shown in fig6 . this unique geometry of concentric photodiode structure provides an interface or contact area for the junction of the alternate p and n semiconductor material and a corresponding depletion region compared to other structural implementations . for example , the ring structure shown for the concentric semiconductor array , for example in fig4 , shown for a polygon , has a continuous pn junction throughout the perimeter of the polygon . where the polygon is made annular , or circular , as shown in fig3 , the p n contact area and the p n junction depletion region may be coextensive with the annular circumference . this results in increased photocurrent per unit area for this type of concentric photodiodes , over conventional or prior art photodiodes . as shown in fig3 , the array of semiconductor photodiodes may be annular or circular . modulated light in an annular of circular projection or beam , for example as shown in disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 174 , 006 , may be made incident on respective p - n junction photodiodes to produce separate respective signals for separate respective modulated light projections . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , the concentric semiconductor photodiode array , is or has , the electrical property of an inductance . this unique characteristic of the concentric structure or array , is an inductance and is inductive and produces an inductive effect , shown in fig6 by inductance l s . the inductance is from the separate concentric semiconductors joined in a respective p - n junction . this unique inductive effect which increases with high frequency modulation of an optical carrier , may be used , for example in connection with the depletion area capacitance c dep in an inductive capacitive ( lc ) circuit for fine tuning of the photodiodes for high frequency applications . a preferred embodiment , according to the disclosed inventive principles , for a n - well / p - substrate p - n junction based photodiode structure is shown in fig4 . this polygon shown as a preferred embodiment is not limiting of the inventive principles , disclosed in an annular or circular concentric photodiode array , for example in fig3 . where a is the cross sectional area , εo and εr are the absolute and relative permittivity of the material , and w is the width of the depletion layer . to allow photo - detection at high modulation frequencies , the junction or depletion layer capacitance needs to be made small enough to allow that high frequency detection . this may be achieved by reducing the cross sectional area or by increasing the width w fig5 shows cross - sectional view of the three channels n - well / p - substrate based concentric photodiode structure whose top view is shown in fig4 . the concentricity of the structures is highlighted in top view , the photodiode active areas are concentric circles , the space and area dimensions of the active regions are guided by two factors first is the process technology design rules and second is the intended application . any of the pn - junctions , for example as offered by the cmos technology could be used to implement these structures . cmos structure used in the disclosed invention include two separate layout schemes of 3 - channel n - well / p - substrate photodiodes , a 3 - channel n +/ p - substrate photodiode and a 4 - channel n +/ p - substrate photodiode with a different isolation scheme , and two separate implementations of 3 - channel and 4 - channel p +/ n - well concentric photodiodes . the equivalent circuit of a single concentric photodiode is shown in the fig6 . the following is the list of process parameters extracted from the foundry data : referring to fig6 , iphoto represents the current generated by the incident light , cji is the bottom junction capacitance , is is the saturation current , cd is the linear capacitance , isw is the side wall saturation current , cjsw is the sidewall junction capacitance , rs is the series resistance and ls is the built in inductance effect . according to the disclosed inventive principles , the results of dark current for four concentric photodiodes of a nppw concentric photodiode structure versus temperature are shown are fig7 . the dark current is a small amount of current that flows when a reverse bias is applied to a photodiode without any incident light . the fig7 shows that ambient temperature variations affect photodiode dark current . the increase in temperature increases the excitation of the valence band electrons , pulling them in the conduction band and results in increase in dark current . however the generation - recombination current and the diffusion current are dominant and determine the temperature dependence of the dark current . according to the disclosed inventive principles , and as shown for a preferred embodiment , in fig4 , the concentric semiconductor may be fabricated with a have a plurality of photodiode structures and a plurality of p - n junctions . a preferred embodiment may be fabricated using the standard 0 . 25 um cmos process and packaged in ocp_qfn — 7 × 7 — 44a . in a commercially available package , forty pins provide access to the anodes and cathodes of each of the twenty concentric photodiodes on the chip . for a preferred embodiment , as shown in the best mode , the electro - optical parameters are derived using if - e96 low - cost , high - speed , visible red led based optical transmitter modulated at 1 . 25 khz . the output spectrum of if - e96 peaks at 660 nm . the optical power output of our optical transmitter , as measured by a photometer is approximately 0 . 11 mw . the measure of effectiveness of a photodiode in converting optical energy into electrical energy is called the responsivity of the photodiode . it is defined as the ratio of photocurrent ip to the incident light power p at a particular wavelength : the responsivity depends on the wavelength . responsivity is also known by those skilled in the art as spectral responsivity or radiant sensitivity . r vs . λ characteristics represents the spectral response of a photodiode . the responsivity curves for concentric photodiodes at 660 nm , as shown disclosed according to the inventive principles , in a preferred embodiment , and for a best mode , are shown in fig8 a to 8 c . the expected responsivity for a silicon photodiode at 660 nm is around 0 . 45 a / w . it can be seen from fig9 a that the responsivities of central octagonal photodiodes for most nwpw and nppw structures fall close to the expected value . similarly , as shown for a preferred embodiment , disclosed in a best mope , the concentric octagonal photodiode ring 1 and ring 2 values for the same two structures fall within 10 % of the expected silicon responsivity at this wavelength . in a preferred embodiment , as shown for the best mode , fig9 a through 9 c depict the leakage current values for photodiode structures at reverse bias voltage of 9v . the quantum efficiency is the number of electrons or holes that can be detected as photocurrent divided by the number of the incident photons . the ratio of actual responsivity to ideal responsivity is called quantum efficiency : where h = 6 . 63 × 10 − 34 j − s , is the plank &# 39 ; s constant , c = 3 × 10 8 m / s , is the speed of light , q = 1 . 6 × 10 − 19 c , is electron charge , r is the responsivity in a / w and λ is the wavelength in nm . the fig1 a through 10 c show the quantum efficiency values for our photodiode structures at 660 nm . the invention shown , according to its disclosed inventive principles , and in a preferred embodiment , are photodiode structures in cmos technology functioning as integrated de - multiplexers for sdm based communications systems . the structures are designed to extract maximum photo current for a given diode area . the structure of these photodiodes include an inductance effect ; useful , according to the inventive principles , for high frequency applications . the fundamental concept of these concentric photo - detectors can be extended to other fabrication technologies and materials to build devices suitable for wavelengths beyond cmos technologies and beyond the spectral range of silicon . a concentric semiconductor , comprising , a center semiconductor material ; a concentric semiconductor material in contact with the center semiconductor material and arranged in a semiconductor junction ; and wherein the center semiconductor material and the concentric semiconductor junction is a p - n junction . disclosed is plurality of concentric semiconductors materials arranged with the center semiconductor material , in an array of concentric semiconductor materials in an array of p - n junctions . disclosed is wherein the concentric semiconductor materials are in contact with respective inner and outer concentric semiconductors , and are arranged in a plurality of separate p - n junctions . disclosed is wherein the separate p - n junctions are p + diffusion to n - well junctions , or n + diffusion to p - substrate , junctions . disclosed is wherein the p - n junction is a capacitance and the inductance and the capacitance is an inductive capacitive circuit . disclosed is a system for detecting spatial domain multiplex signals in a light beam , comprising , a plurality of semiconductor materials arranged in an concentric array with concentric semiconductor materials joined in respective semiconductor junctions ; and wherein the respective concentric semiconductor junctions are p - n junctions . disclosed is wherein , the array of separate p - n junctions are photodiodes . disclosed is wherein the separate p - n junctions include respective terminals connected to an electrical source for applying a bias to the separate p - n junctions . disclosed is wherein , the array of separate p - n junctions are annular or circular . disclosed is wherein the annular or circular p - n junctions are photo diodes and the photodiodes produce separate currents in response to separate annular or circular , light sources incident on respective annular or circular photodiodes . disclosed is wherein respective concentric semiconductors joined in respective p - n junctions in the array , is an inductance and the p - n junction capacitance and the inductance is an inductive capacitive circuit . disclosed is a concentric semiconductor , comprising , a plurality of concentric semiconductor materials joined in an array of respective semiconductor junctions ; and wherein the respective semiconductor junctions are respective p - n junctions . disclosed is wherein the respective p - n junctions are a capacitance and wherein respective semiconductor materials joined in a the respective p - n junctions is an inductance and the capacitance and the inductance is an inductive capacitive circuit . disclosed is a concentric semiconductor of wherein the p - n junctions are photodiodes . disclosed is wherein the concentric semiconductor materials are annular or circular .	7
referring now to the drawings , and more particularly to fig1 a - 1d , various views are shown of the muzzle end 10 and a rigid bayonet lug 12 of an m - 16 rifle . identical reference numbers will be used for the same elements in the various views . owing to its widespread use in a variety of military applications , the m - 16 rifle will be described by way of example as the point of attachment for an accessory or an accessory mounting rail . however , as will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art , the present invention can be adapted to work with any firearm having a bayonet lug located near its muzzle . muzzle end 10 is cylindrical as would be the case for most firearms . bayonet lug 12 is mounted or attached to the underside of the rifle and rearward of muzzle end 10 . along its length , bayonet lug 12 is substantially an inverted t - shape except for opposing slots 12 a formed on either side thereof in a central portion of bayonet lug 12 . forward of slots 12 a , the lower portion of the t - shape of bayonet lug 12 is swept angularly rearward from the front 12 b and at the left and right sides 12 c and 12 d , respectively . rearward of slots 12 a , the inverted t - shape is continued at 12 e . the bayonet lug clamp of the present invention will now be explained with the aid of fig2 - 5 where fig2 - 4 depict various views of the bayonet lug clamp in isolation and fig5 depicts the bayonet lug clamp attached to bayonet lug 12 of an m - 16 rifle . once again , identical reference numbers will be used for the same elements in the various views . by way of example , the bayonet lug clamp of the present invention will be shown and described for its use in coupling an accessory mounting rail to an m - 16 &# 39 ; s bayonet lug . specifically , fig2 illustrates an accessory mounting rail 110 coupled to a bayonet lug clamp 130 . however , it is to be understood that bayonet lug clamp 130 could also be coupled to a particular accessory ( not shown ) that is to be mounted to the bayonet lug . accessory mounting rail 110 can be any rail on which rifle or other mission - specific accessories ( e . g ., light ( s ), laser sighting device , scope ( s ), bayonet , etc .) are easily mounted . for example , accessory mounting rail 110 can be made in accordance with military standard 1913 ( mil - std - 1913 ) which defines the dimensions and specifications for the most widely used accessory mounting rail . details related to accessory mounting rail 110 are not a limitation of the present invention and , therefore , will not be described further herein . mounted to ( or integrated with ) accessory mounting rail 110 ( or directly to a particular accessory ) is bayonet clamp 130 . more specifically , bayonet clamp 130 has a rigid housing 131 that is opened on its aft end and shaped like a split , inverted “ u ” ( fig3 ) so that it can slide fully on bayonet lug 12 as best seen in fig5 . housing 131 is free to slide along bayonet lug 12 until an interior wall 131 a thereof abuts front 12 b of bayonet lug 12 . mounted within housing 131 is a rigid clamping plate 132 positioned such that a portion of plate 132 is adjacent bayonet lug 12 when housing 131 is slid onto bayonet lug 12 . specifically , teeth 133 extending from plate 132 are aligned with slots 12 a when interior wall 131 a abuts front 12 b . in this way , teeth 133 are positioned to engage slots 12 a of bayonet lug 12 when plate 132 is drawn towards bayonet lug 12 . controlling the position of plate 132 is a positioning screw 134 hiving a thumb - wheel or knob 135 . screw 134 passes through housing 131 and knob 135 extends from either side of housing 131 to allow rotation thereof from either side of housing 131 . to lock screw 134 in its selected position , a detent can be provided to cooperate therewith . in the illustrated embodiment , the detent cooperates with knob 135 which resides and rotates in housing 131 . specifically , knob 135 is provided with evenly - distributed indentations 136 about its periphery . a spring - pin 137 installed in housing 131 is biased to spring into one of indentations 136 as knob 135 is rotated . spring - pin 137 can be rounded at its tip to facilitate rotation of knob 135 . in operation , housing 131 is slid into engagement with bayonet lug 12 until interior wall 131 a abuts front 12 b of bayonet lug 12 . knob 135 is then rotated until plate 132 is snugly seated against bayonet lug 12 with teeth 133 engaging slots 12 a . the detent provided by spring - pin 137 restrains knob 135 from unwanted movement and , therefore , keeps bayonet lug clamp 130 securely in place before and after rifle firing . the advantages of the present invention are numerous . the bayonet lug clamp attaches quickly and easily to the bayonet lug and muzzle of the m - 16 rifle without any requiring any modification of the rifle . the system can be installed and locked in place using only one &# 39 ; s left or right hand . attachment at the bayonet lug provides an accessible and optimal mounting location for a variety of rifle accessories . the bayonet lug clamp is locked in its engaged position so that the accessory or accessory mounting rail will not have its position affected by the rifle &# 39 ; s firing . although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof , there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings . for example , plate 132 and the shape / position of teeth 133 can be adjusted to work with any type of bayonet lug . the detent could cooperate with indentations provided on the bottom of knob 135 or with indentations provided directly on screw 134 . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described .	5
as shown in fig1 , a biochip 1 includes a flat carrier 2 , on one side of which a spot array 3 is applied . a spot 4 contains immobilized catcher molecules , for example oligonucleotides . if an analyte solution with unknown target molecules is applied to a spot , then the target molecule is coupled to the catcher molecule in the event of corresponding matching in the base sequence . the property change brought about by such a binding event , e . g ., changes in the resistivity or the dielectric constant , is detected preferably impedance - spectroscopically by way of an electrode arrangement 5 . however , it is also possible to detect such binding events electrically by means of the electrode arrangement 5 in any other manner directly or indirectly , e . g ., via a redox reaction or agent or the like . a 2 - pole electrode arrangement is present in the case of the example embodiment of fig2 . this arrangement is applied to the flat carrier 2 for example with the aid of a photolithographic method . the electrode arrangement 5 includes two electrodes 6 , 7 designed in the form of an inter - digital structure . that is to say that each electrode includes a plurality of strip - type partial electrodes 6 a , 7 a which run parallel to one another and in each case extend into the interspace between two partial electrodes of the respective other electrodes . the partial electrodes 6 a , 7 a are connected to one another by a likewise strip - type connecting conductor 6 b , 7 b extending transversely with respect to the partial electrodes 6 a , 7 a . an ac voltage , e . g ., in the megahertz range is applied to the electrodes 6 , 7 . the width 8 of the partial electrodes 6 a , 7 a is approximately 1 μm , their height 9 is approximately 100 to 500 nm . a spacing 10 of likewise approximately 1 μm is present between the partial electrodes 6 a , 7 a . the flat carrier 2 includes a silicon layer 12 and an insulating layer 13 , e . g ., made of silicon dioxide or silicon nitride that is arranged between said silicon layer and the electrodes 6 , 7 . the electrical interconnections and components required for the impedance - spectroscopic measurement of binding events are realized in a conventional manner by means of a corresponding patterning of the silicon layer ( not illustrated ). a reaction layer 14 made of a hydrogel is applied on the insulating layer 13 , which hydrogel is described in more detail further below . catcher molecules 15 are embedded and homogeneously distributed in the reaction layer 14 or the hydrogel , said catcher molecules being illustrated symbolically and in over - dimensioned fashion in fig2 . a catcher molecule with 300 bases has approximately a length of 100 nm . accordingly , a monomolecular layer of catcher molecules in the case of conventional biochips has at most approximately a thickness corresponding to the line 16 in fig2 . it is readily apparent that such a layer can take up relatively few catcher molecules 15 and , correspondingly , can influence the electric field only to a small extent in the case of binding events . by contrast , in the case of a biochip according to an embodiment of the invention , the reaction region that contains catcher molecules and is pervaded by field lines is substantially extended and offers space for a number of target molecules 15 that is greater by a plurality of powers of ten . if an analyte solution 18 is applied to a spot array 3 configured in such a way or to a spot 4 , then the target molecules 19 contained in it , which is likewise illustrated only symbolically and with exaggerated size in f . 2 , find a substantially larger number of possible binding partners in the form of the catcher molecules 15 . the reaction layer 14 is preferably dimensioned , or has a thickness , such that the impedance - spectroscopic detection range is practically fully utilized , which is achieved in any event given a thickness of the reaction layer of approximately 2 to 100 μm and is the case in practice already at 2 - 10 μm . consequently , the binding - specific measuring effect of the biochip can be substantially increased given a corresponding concentration of catcher molecules 15 in this region . the reaction layer 14 is configured such that it provides an aqueous reaction medium . furthermore , it is configured such that target molecules 19 or else other substances required for a reaction , for example , polymerase , can infuse or diffuse into it without its activity being impaired in the process . as already mentioned above , according to an embodiment of the invention a hydrogel is used as the reaction layer 14 . a hydrogel represents an aqueous milieu in a mechanically stable form whilst at the same time ensuring the substance exchange in a predominantly aqueous environment . through the choice of chemical composition , which relates to the components and the ratio thereof among one another , the properties of the hydrogels such as water content , swelling behavior , mechanical stability etc . can be varied over wide ranges . a hydrogel that can be produced easily and has a good adhesion both with respect to the electrode arrangement 5 and with respect to the insulating layer 13 is an acrylamide - based radical - crosslinkable hydrogel containing a comonomer enabling a covalent coupling of correspondingly modified catcher molecules via linker groups . the hydrogel includes , in addition to the monomer precursor of polyacrylamide , a crosslinking agent , at least one radical initiator , at least one comonomer with reactive linker groups and , if appropriate , at least one plasticizer . after layer production and subsequent thermal crosslinking or photocrosslinking , a water - swellable hydrogel is obtained containing reactive linker groups for the immobilization of catcher molecules . methylene bisacrylamide and / or dimethylacrylates , for example tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate , are used as crosslinking agents . the hydrogel mesh size can be set by varying the concentrations of the crosslinking agent . the comonomer used contains maleic anhydride and / or glycidyl ( meth ) acrylate . mono -, di - and / or triethylene glycol is suitable as plasticizer . the starting substances mentioned are mixed with a polar , water - miscible solvent , preferably with dimethylformamide . the processing viscosity can be set by varying the proportion of solvent . the adhesion to the flat carrier surface and also to the electrode arrangement 5 can be reinforced by admixture of customary adhesion promoters , for example silane - based adhesion promoters . fig4 and 5 illustrate an exemplary embodiment with a 4 - pole electrode arrangement 20 . the electrode arrangement 20 is composed of two current electrodes 22 , 23 and two voltage or probe electrodes 24 , 25 . the current electrodes 22 , 23 are arranged and configured in accordance with the electrode arrangement 5 of the exemplary embodiment according to fig2 . the probe electrodes 24 , 25 are likewise strip - type and extend as a meandering double strand through the interspaces present between the partial electrodes 22 a and 23 a . a high - frequency ac current is applied to the current electrodes 22 , 23 . a voltmeter 26 is connected to the probe electrodes 24 , 25 and can be used to detect an alteration in the alternating electric field on account of binding events . the measurement can thus be effected independently of the current electrodes , so that , e . g ., their polarization that increases the electrode impedance cannot affect the measurement . by contrast , in the case of a 2 - pole electrode arrangement , the electrode impedance has to be kept low by means of a correspondingly high measurement frequency that is unfavorable in terms of measurement technology , in order to be able to determine the resistance of the analyte solution or of the reaction layer , which resistance is crucial for the measurement . a 2 - pole electrode arrangement in combination with very high measurement frequencies (& gt ; 1 mhz ) is advantageous for detecting changes in capacitance within the reaction layer that are caused by binding events . the present 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 present invention , and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention . generally , it is also possible to apply or use an dc voltage or current instead of an ac voltage in order to detect binding events by means of the at least one electrode arrangement 5 . the dc voltage or current can also vary or be interrupted during and / or between any measurement cycle ( s ).	6
referring now to the drawings , the cutting machine illustrated in fig1 comprises a fixed table 10 , disposed on a frame ( not shown ) and adapted to receive a stack of materials in sheet form , or mattress 12 , with a view to cutting it along a predetermined line . above the table is disposed a beam 14 , mounted for longitudinal displacement over table 10 and driven by means ( not shown ) in a right - left direction in fig1 symbolized by arrow l . on beam 14 is mounted a carriage 16 which moves along the beam , with the aid of means ( not shown ), in transverse direction with respect to the table , in the forward - rearward direction in fig1 or right - left direction in fig2 symbolized by arrow t . a blade - holder unit 18 is mounted laterally on the carriage 16 , via vertical displacement means 20 , in order to be able to move vertically on the carriage , therefore with respect to table 10 , as illustrated by arrow h in the figure , by any drive means 19 as is well known in the art . the blade - holder unit contains a member 21 for gripping a vertical cutting blade 22 , means for imparting to the blade a vibrating movement in the vertical sense symbolized by double arrow w , and means for imparting to the blade a movement of rotation about a vertical axis as symbolized by arrow r . the object of such rotation of the blade is to maintain the sharp edge of the blade constantly oriented along the tangent to the path imposed by the longitudinal and transverse drive members associated with the beam 14 and with carriage 16 respectively . the upper face of the table is covered with a layer 24 of supple , penetrable material , for example a coir mat , that the tip of the blade 22 may penetrate in order to enable the whole thickness of the stack of sheet material 12 to be cut . beneath carriage 16 is disposed a presser foot 26 mobile vertically between a raised position , illustrated in broken lines , at a certain distance from the table 10 to allow the material 12 to be positioned on or removed from table 10 , and a lowered position in contact with the material placed on the table . the presser foot 26 has a double function . the first function is to press the stack of material 12 around the blade 22 to prevent the stack from following the movements of vertical vibration of the blade . the second function is to correctly guide the blade 22 as close as possible to the stack 12 so as to avoid bending of the blade 22 due to the horizontal cutting efforts . displacement of the presser foot 26 between its raised and lowered positions is ensured by guides 28 and a drive member ( not shown ). to allow simple and rapid sharpening of the blade without notably interrupting the cutting process , it is provided according to the invention to mount on the carriage 16 a sharpening device 30 constituted as follows : a plate 32 is fixed to the carriage 16 on one side of the blade 22 . a grinding wheel 34 for sharpening is mounted for horizontal movement opposite blade 22 and may be moved away or nearer it by a drive member , for example a jack 36 as shown . in this embodiment , two grinding wheels 34 , 35 for sharpening the blade are provided , disposed one above the other and mounted idly on a bifurcated support 38 at the end of the rod of jack 36 in order to ensure that the grinding wheels 34 , 35 are both correctly in contact with blade 22 . the structure and arrangement of the grinding wheels will be described in detail hereinafter . as illustrated in fig3 blade 22 is sharpened at regular intervals in the following manner : the longitudinal and transverse displacements of beam 14 and of carriage 16 are stopped , the blade 22 is pivoted ( r ) until the sharp edge 23 thereof is opposite the grinding wheels 34 , 35 for sharpening . this operation is all the more difficult as the material is hard and thick . the grinding wheels 34 , 35 are brought into contact with the sharp edge 23 of blade 22 , blade 22 is caused to effect at least one vertical rising stroke ( h ) of desired amplitude , by raising the blade - holder unit 18 with respect to carriage 16 , in order to sharpen blade 22 over a desired length from its tip 21 , the grinding wheels 34 , 35 are moved away from blade 22 , blade 22 is re - lowered in the material 12 to be cut , the longitudinal and transverse displacements of beam 14 and of carriage 16 are resumed . as illustrated in fig4 it may be provided in a variant embodiment that blade 22 remains fixed during sharpening and that grinding wheels 34 , 35 move vertically . to that end , plate 32 and jack 36 for displacement of grinding wheels 34 , 35 are mounted for movement along vertical guides 40 of carriage 16 , under control of a drive member , for example another jack 42 . when blades 22 are relatively fine and capable of bending considerably upon contact with grinding wheels 34 , 35 , it will advantageously be provided to dispose against the blade and opposite the grinding wheels , a rear stop 44 against which the blade abuts , which prevents the blade from bending . as illustrated in fig2 the rear stop may be a simple stop with flat bearing surface made of wear - resistant material , against which the edge of blade 22 opposite the sharp edge 23 slides during sharpening . according to a variant embodiment ( not shown ), this stop may be in the form of a roller . in the case of the variant embodiment of fig4 the rear stop 44 should be mounted on a support moveable vertically jointly with the plate 32 and the jack 36 holding the grinding wheels . as illustrated schematically in fig5 each grinding wheel 34 , 35 is in the form of a flattened cylinder and comprises a v - shaped groove 46 on its periphery . it is mounted so that its axis tt is inclined with respect to the horizontal . in this way , when the grinding wheel approaches blade 22 , it comes into contact with the opposite sides 48 , 50 on either side of the sharp edge 23 of the blade at two points b , b &# 39 ; spaced apart vertically from the lateral edges of the groove . the grinding wheel 34 , 35 is made to comprise abrasive grains at least on the surface at the outer edges of the groove 46 . to that end , either a grinding wheel may be made of a material containing abrasive grains in a binding agent , or a coating containing abrasive grains may be fixed by any appropriate method on the surface of a blank made of non - abrasive material . by relative vertical movement of blade 22 and of grinding wheel 34 , 35 , the latter is driven in rotation and the abrasive grains exert on the blade a machining at the zones of contact along inclined paths with respect to edge 23 , which effects sharpening . the method of calculating allowing optimum dimensioning of the grinding wheel 34 , 35 for a blade 22 of given dimensions , will now be set forth . if reference is made to the schematic perspective view of fig7 point c corresponds to the center of the grinding wheel ; axis cx is the horizontal axis which intersects the circle of the bottom of groove 46 and the sharp edge 23 of the blade at a point d , axis cy is the horizontal axis perpendicular to the preceding one ; axis cz is the vertical axis passing through center c ; the plane cxz therefore representing the median plane of blade 22 . axis tt of the grinding wheel 34 is contained in plane cyz and makes an angle p with axis cy . the v - groove defines a circle 51 of groove bottom of radius ri and two circular edges 54 , 56 of radius r and distant by a distance a , the sharp edge 23 of blade 22 making contact with one and the other of the edges at two points b and b &# 39 ; vertically distant by a distance e . point b projects on axis cz at a point a distant from the center c by a distance e / 2 and on axis tt at a point g distant from the center c by a distance a / 2 . the frustum of the cone defining the groove wall on which lies point b has for its apex a point e on axis tt , at a distance b from center c . this point e projects in a horizontal plane containing the straight line ab at a point f . point h is located at the intersection of the generatrix eb and of the circle 51 of groove bottom and point j is the projection of point h on segment bf . let q designate the half - angle of aperture of the groove 46 , xt the horizontal distance between axis ca and the sharp edge 23 of the blade ; ri the radius of the circle 51 of the groove bottom ; qa the apparent half - angle of the groove 46 of the grinding wheel , seen vertically by blade 22 ; and n the half - angle of the cut of blade 22 . and , replacing a by e sin p according to relation ( 2 ): and ## equ2 ## hence , by carrying the expression of b given by relation ( 3 ): 1 ) the half angle of the cut of the blade must be less than the apparent angle of the groove : 2 ) the sharp edge of the blade must not be in contact with the bottom of the groove , numerical values corresponding to a concrete case will be taken here . dimensions of the grinding wheels which are compatible with the available environment are firstly arbitrarily fixed . thereafter , all the calculations are made with these values : as a function of the results obtained , certain values may be slightly amended and the calculation re - made until satisfactory values are obtained . in order to have a maximum duration of use of the blade , the difference ( xt - ri ) should be as large as possible , which comes back to choosing q closer to 21 ° than 34 °. during sharpening , blade 22 penetrates slightly in the groove 46 but the sharp edge 23 theoretically remains at distance xt from axis cz . in fact , as the edges of the groove 46 undergo slight wear , a slight decrease in this distance xt is in practice observed as use proceeds , but this is not detrimental since values are chosen such that xt - ri is as large as possible . the advantage of disposing two or more grinding wheels in the sense of the sharp edge is that of allowing sharpening over a sufficient length while reducing the amplitude of the relative displacement of the blade . these grinding wheels will be borne by an appropriate number of bifurcated supports . fig8 to 10 show another embodiment of the invention , in which the blade 22 is mounted for movement relative to the grinding wheel 34 . fig1 shows this embodiment with a bifurcated set of grinding wheels . to that end , the grinding wheel 34 ( or the grinding wheels mounted in series on the bifurcated support 38 ) is fixed on a guide plate 52 via a vertical support 54 and a horizontal spindle 62 ; in addition , this guide plate 52 presents a device for guiding the blade 22 and bears the presser foot 26 which may be actuated by means of a jack 58 . the guide plate 52 is preferably rotatably mounted to the carriage 16 for free rotation about the axis of the cutting blade . during cutting , the guide plate 52 is animated by the same movement of rotation as the one imposed by means in the blade - holder unit 18 on the blade 22 and thus takes the sharpening system along in this movement . the groove of the grinding wheel 34 is therefore constantly opposite the sharp edge of the blade . in fig9 just before sharpening , the jack 58 raises the presser foot 26 toward the guide plate 52 , which forces the cam 60 to compress a return spring ( not shown ) located on or in the guide plate biasing the horizontal spindle 62 away from the blade , to force the horizontal spindle 62 and grinding wheel toward the cutting edge of the blade . in this way , the sharpening system is positioned correctly opposite the cutting edge of the blade . sharpening may then take place in the position shown in fig1 . as is illustrated in fig1 , in one preferred embodiment , the guide plate 52 includes a central aperture 64 formed in a rectangular shape , with dimensions closely conforming to those of the blade 22 to provide guidance for the blade with a minimum clearance . since guide plate 52 is freely rotatable , rotation of the blade causes the guide plate to rotate correspondingly , so that the grinding wheel assembly follows the edge of the blade to be sharpened . as is illustrated in fig1 , in order to avoid the effects of friction between the blade 22 and the guide plate 52 , four wheels or rollers 70abcd may also be mounted to the guide plate 52 in a rectangular configuration , spaced apart from the blade with a minimum clearance corresponding to the shape and dimensioning of the guide plate aperture 64 . according to the embodiments shown in fig8 - 12 , the sharpening process is as follows : blade 22 is placed in high position with its cutting edge facing the groove of the grinding wheel . grinding wheel 34 is automatically disposed by servo - control of the rotation of the grinding wheel by that of the blade as shown in fig9 . blade 22 is then vibrated exactly in the same manner as during cutting ; grinding wheel 34 is then brought , in a horizontal movement , in contact with the blade , and is maintained in this arrangement for a very short time . finally , after having released the grinding wheel 34 , the cutting process may be resumed without it being necessary to stop the vibration of the blade 22 . since sharpening is effected according to this method with the blade in a high position , advantage may therefore be taken of the idle times of cutting ( for example during the displacement between two pieces ), where the blade is necessarily in a high position to effect sharpening . sharpening is thus in &# 34 ; masked time &# 34 ;, which avoids losses of time and optimalizes the speed of the machine . the relative displacement of the blade 22 and of the grinding wheel 34 is , according to this method , directly connected with the amplitude of longitudinal vibration of the blade ; this datum must therefore be taken into account in the calculation of the optimum dimensioning of the system . the other operational parameters set forth in the general presentation naturally remain applicable . let w be the amplitude of longitudinal vibration of the blade . each point of contact ( b and b &# 39 ;) sharpens on either side of the blade a length equal to w . as an &# 34 ; overlapping &# 34 ; of the two sharpened zones is desired , the following condition must be respected : it will suffice to take for example an &# 34 ; overlapping &# 34 ; of 1 mm : in that case , e = 24 mm ( the value used previously during the numerical application made within the framework of the general method ). another parameter intervening in the dimensioning and configuration of the system is the length of the sharpened blade . let l be the length of sharpened blade . since there is an &# 34 ; overlapping &# 34 ;, knowing that e depends only on the dimensions and inclination of the grinding wheel which may be chosen , e may be adjusted as a function of the blade length which it is desired to sharpen , as long as this length remains less than 2 w , since e must not exceed w . if , on the other hand , l exceeds 2 w , it is provided to place in series a number n of grinding wheels with the result that the length of the sharpened blade reaches the desired value . the distance between two successive grinding wheels is such that the &# 34 ; overlapping &# 34 ; of two zones sharpened by different grinding wheels is equal to the &# 34 ; overlapping &# 34 ; of two zones sharpened by the same grinding wheel . the total length of sharpened blade is then given by the formula : again , the parameter e may be adapted so as to obtain the desired length of the sharpened blade . it will be apparent from the foregoing that while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described , various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the invention be limited , except as by the appended claims .	1
the belt mower 10 as shown in fig1 is comprised of an elongated housing open at the bottom and having an endless belt entrained about a pair of pulleys in the housing with a plurality of spaced apart transversely extending curved blades mounted on the belt for cutting grass in a direction transverse to the movement of the mower which would be perpendicular to the paper as viewed in fig1 . in fig1 however , the top and front shrouds have been removed to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of the belt and blades within the housing . the mower is comprised of three rear support plates 12 , 14 and 16 which are pivotally connected by means of pivot pins 18 and 20 . three front support plates 11 , 13 and 15 of narrower width than the rear support plates are connected to the rear support plates 12 , 14 and 16 , respectively , by brackets 17 , 19 and 21 , respectively by welding or any other suitable arrangement depending on the materials used . the front plates are pivotally connected by the same pins 18 and 20 which pivotally connect the rear plates . a drive pulley 22 and a driven pulley 24 are rotatably mounted by means of shafts 26 and 28 , respectively which extend through the support plates 12 and 16 , respectively and are supported for rotation in bearing assemblies 30 and 32 , respectively . an endless belt 40 is entrained about the pulleys 22 and 24 and a plurality of cutting blades 42 are secured in spaced apart relation on the outer surface of the belt 40 . the bearing assembly 30 is fixedly secured to the rear surface of the support plate 12 and the shaft 26 is rotatably supported in bearings 34 and 36 within the bearing assembly 30 . the end of the shaft 26 , opposite the end carrying the pulley 22 , carries a pulley 38 . the bearing assembly 32 is substantially identical to the bearing assembly 30 but is mounted on a plate 44 which is slidably mounted on the rear surface of the support plate 16 by means of a pair of gibbs 47 as shown in fig2 and 3 . thus the bearing assembly 32 and the shaft 28 upon which the pulley 24 is mounted , are movable as a unit in order to tension the endless belt . the shaft 28 extends through an elongated slot 45 in the support plate 16 since the pulley 24 can shift as much as 2 1 / 8 &# 34 ; upon pivotal movement of the support plates 12 and 16 relative to support plate 14 . an abutment 46 is mounted on the rear surface of the support plate 16 and carries a guide bolt 48 . a spring 50 is mounted on the guide bolt 48 and extends between the abutment 46 and the slidable plate 44 for normally biasing the bearing assembly 32 toward the end of the housing for tensioning the belt at all times during relative pivotal movement of the support plates . a third bearing assembly 52 is fixedly mounted on the rear surface of the support plate 14 . a shaft 54 is rotatably mounted by means of bearings 56 and 58 . the shaft 54 is in axial alignment with the pivot pin 18 and one end of the shaft 54 extends rearwardly of the bearing assembly 52 and carries a pulley 60 . a drive belt 62 is entrained about the pulley 60 and pulley 38 . a smaller pulley 64 is also mounted on the end of the shaft 54 and carries a drive belt 66 which may be connected to a suitable power source . a belt tensioner is provided for the belt 62 in the form of a lever 68 pivotally mounted on the end of the bearing assembly 30 . a roller or pulley 70 is rotatably mounted on one end of the lever and maintained in engagement with the outer surface of the belt 62 . a spring 72 is connected between the opposite end of the lever 68 and a fixed abutment 74 on the bearing assembly for normally biasing the roller 70 into tensioning engagement with the belt 62 . a support assembly 76 is also fixedly mounted on the rear surface of the support plate 14 in alignment with the pivot shaft 20 . support blocks 76 , 78 , 80 and 82 are mounted in the three bearing assemblies 30 , 32 and 52 and the support assembly 76 . each of the support blocks is provided with a vertically extending aperture through which the shank 84 of a wheel assembly is slidably mounted . the shank 84 is connected to a u - shaped housing 86 and wheel 88 is rotatably supported within the u - shaped housing by means of a shaft ( not shown ). a bearing sleeve 90 is slidably mounted in each support block and surrounds each shank 84 . as seen in fig7 a pair of holes 92 and 93 extends through the sleeve above and below the support block and a plurality of holes 94 extend through the shank 84 . pins 96 and 97 extend through the holes 92 and 93 and the selected aligned holes 94 to restrain the sleeve in the support block and adjustably support the wheel at the desired height . thus the wheel can swivel freely relative to the support block . the mower unit 10 as shown in fig5 is provided with a top and front shroud comprised of three pieces 100 , 102 and 104 which are detachably secured to the front support plates 11 , 13 and 15 , respectively by means of nuts and bolts ( not shown ). the combs 121 , 123 and 125 are also detachably secured to the front support plates 11 , 13 and 15 , respectively . the two end units comprised of the support plates 12 and 16 and the components attached thereto may be pivoted relative to the center unit comprised of the support plate 14 and the components attached thereto at an angle up to approximately 30 degrees as shown in fig5 . a pair of lugs 101 and 103 are secured to the rear support plate 16 and engage the end surfaces 105 and 107 of the rear support plate 14 to limit the pivotal movement of the plate 16 relative to the plate 14 in opposite directions . similar lugs 109 and 111 are mounted on the rear support plate 12 for engagement with the end surfaces 113 and 115 of the rear support plate 14 for the same purpose . a pair of wide straps 106 having a width substantially equal to the width of the housing are secured to the housings in overlapping relationship to the joints between the center unit and the end units as viewed in fig5 . this will provide coverage for any opening which might occur due to the pivoting of one unit relative to the other . in order to properly guide the belt 40 during the pivotal movement of one unit relative to the other , a pair of belt guides 108 and 110 are mounted on the center support plate 14 adjacent each pivot pin 18 and 20 , respectively . each belt guide is provided with pivot slots 112 and 114 for guiding one edge of the belt 40 . a pair of opposed belt guides 116 and 118 are mounted on a plate 13 and are provided with grooves ( not shown ) identical to the grooves 112 and 114 provided in the brackets 108 and 110 . thus the opposite edges of the belt 40 will be guided in the slots in the brackets 108 , 100 , 116 and 118 . since the ends of the slots are disposed in substantial alignment with the center of the pivot pins 18 and 20 , the reaches of the belt 40 between the brackets and the end pulleys will be maintained in parallel relationship to each other without contacting any other structural elements and the cutting blades will be maintained in proper spaced relation relative to the housing or shroud . by way of example , the mower 10 is shown in fig6 as being mounted on the front end of a conventional lawn tractor 120 . a first bracket 122 may be mounted on the front of the tractor 120 and a second bracket 124 may be mounted on the mower 10 . the two brackets may be pivotally interconnected by a plurality of rods 126 to form a parallelogram and a conventional hydraulic cylinder 128 may be used to raise and lower the rods 126 and the mower attached thereto . a power take - off unit shown schematically at 130 may be provided for powering the mower from the engine of the lawn tractor . although it is not shown , it is obvious that the mower 10 could also be mounted on the front end of a self - propelled power source . typical drive means could be provided between the power source and the mower . as shown in fig3 a belt drive 66 has been provided for connecting a source of power ( not shown ) to the drive pulleys 64 and 38 to drive the belt 40 . however , any conventional direct drive could be substituted for the belt drive 66 . the construction of a blade 42 is shown in greater detail in fig9 - 11 inclusive . the blade is shown in side elevation in fig9 and is provided with a bracket 140 for attachment to the belt by means of nuts and bolts . it is also feasible to use any other types of detachable fastener arrangement whereby the blades can readily be replaced on the belt 40 . the blade 42 has a substantially c - shaped configuration as best seen in fig9 with the cutting edge 142 being disposed at the opposite end of the blade from the bracket 140 . the bight of the blade is angled relative to the cutting edge 142 and when mounted on the belt , will be angled to provide a rear discharge of grass clippings from the curved blade . the bight of the blade 42 is provided with a horizontal slot 144 which allows the passage of a limited amount of grass clippings for engagement and additional cutting by the next blade on the belt , thereby providing a mulching action . the blades are preferably made of steel but can be made of any other metal or plastic material depending upon the type of cutting being done . the belt upon which the blades are mounted may be of reinforced rubber but also could be made of any other suitable material conventionally used in belt constructions . the various components of the mower , including the support plates , brackets , pulleys and the like are all preferably made of a metal material , but plastic or any other type of material which provides sufficient strength for the purpose can be used . in lieu of the curved blades as shown , the blades could be flat and secured on bosses which could be integrally molded with the belt or secured on the outer surface of the belt . the flat blades would extend parallel to the surface of the belt in the direction of travel . although the mower has been shown and described as being comprised of three articulated housings , the number could be larger or smaller . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	8
the following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out at least one embodiment of the invention . this description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention . the scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims . fig1 shows an embodiment of the invention that comprises a small , integrated display screen , multiple hdmi ports , and internal electronics to decode video ( and possibly audio ) signals and to check cable continuity . device 110 has an external housing 120 . in one or more embodiments the housing may be configured to be shock resistant and water resistant . for example , it may be made of an elastomeric material . the device may be hand held by an operator ; therefore , the housing may be configured to be easy to hold , for example with a single hand . the device has a display screen 130 , which may for example be an lcd screen , an oled screen , or more generally any display . it has a speaker 175 ; one or more embodiments may have multiple speakers , for example in stereo configurations . one or more embodiments may have a display with no speaker . for example , to reduce manufacturing cost , one or more embodiments may not perform audio signal testing , or may provide a visual output on the display for the audio signal rather than playing audio through a speaker . in one or more embodiments , device 110 has three hdmi ports , each with a connector configured to connect to an hdmi cable connector : the first hdmi input port 150 is configured to receive video signals that will be displayed on the display 130 ; the hdmi output port 170 may be connected via an hdmi loopback cable to secondary hdmi input port 160 to test continuity and / or proper digital transmission on the hdmi cable . this configuration is illustrative ; one or more embodiments may arrange hdmi ports in different numbers and configurations . for example , in one or more embodiments the primary input port 150 may be utilized in lieu of the secondary input port 160 , with the two functions ( video display vs . continuity testing ) selectable via hardware switches or software controls . thus secondary input port 160 is optional and in some embodiments , one output port and one input port may be utilized to perform both continuity testing and to accept video to display . embodiments having two input ports may test continuity of a given hdmi cable coupled with the second input port 170 and display video from the first input port 150 simultaneously in a split view mode on display 130 , or in a switched manner on display 130 . device 110 also has a micro usb port 190 , which may be used for example for charging the device . one or more embodiments may use any type of charging mechanism , including usb or other power cables , or inductive charging . one or more embodiments may have no charging mechanism , but instead may use replaceable or externally rechargeable batteries . one or more embodiments may use ac power or dc power connections instead of or in addition to internal batteries . device 110 may also have one or more control buttons ( not shown ) or other input controls , for example arranged along edge 127 , or more generally located in any convenient area of the device . one or more embodiments may use software input controls for example if display 130 includes a touchscreen capability . input controls may be provided for functions that may include for example power on and power off , display control , speaker control , and function control for the video checking and cable continuity checking functions . fig2 shows a side view of the embodiment of fig1 , with a view of hdmi output port 170 , secondary hdmi input port 160 , and speaker 175 . as shown , with display decoupled , the interior 401 of the apparatus may hold the various electronic components , pcb , battery and connectors for example . fig3 shows a block diagram of the electronic components of an embodiment of device 110 . microcontroller 140 is connected to the hdmi ports including first input port 150 , optional second input port 160 , and output port 170 ; to display 130 ; and to speaker 175 . one or more embodiments may have multiple microcontrollers or coprocessors in addition to main microcontroller 140 . microcontroller 140 also receives input from input controls 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , and 125 . these specific input controls are illustrative ; one or more embodiments may use any number and configuration of input controls . the input controls may for example be simple switches or buttons . device 110 also has a battery 185 that is connected to micro usb port 190 for charging . power button 125 may be used to power up or power down the device 110 . to check a video source , a technician attaches hdmi cable 181 a to connector 151 of primary hdmi input port 150 , and also attaches the cable 181 a to external device 180 that provides hdmi signals . device 180 may be for example a set - top box for cable or satellite television . the hdmi signal is sent from port 150 to microcontroller 140 , which decodes the video and displays it on display 130 . the microcontroller may also decode the audio signal from port 150 and send the audio to speaker 175 for output . video and audio may be controlled for example using input controls 122 , 123 , and 124 . for example , menu button 124 may cycle between several control modes , such as increase / decrease brightness , increase / decrease contrast , and increase / decrease audio volume ; buttons 122 and 123 may then be used to increase or decrease the selected control . to check an hdmi cable , a technician attaches hdmi cable 181 b ( which for example may be cable 181 a ) to connector 171 of hdmi output port 170 , and to either connector 151 of first input port 150 , or optionally to connector 161 of secondary hdmi input port 160 . having two input ports allows for testing two cables simultaneously for example to show video and continuity simultaneously if desired . the microcontroller 140 generates transmits a test signal to port 170 , and checks the signal received on port 150 or optionally 160 . by comparing the received signal to the transmitted signal the microcontroller 140 can determine if the cable 181 b wires have continuity between the connectors on a wire - by - wire basis and / or otherwise determine that the hdmi signals are transmitted and received properly . in one or more embodiments the microcontroller may operate in at least two modes : in video display mode the microcontroller decodes video ( and optionally audio ) received on port 150 , and displays the video on display 130 ( and may play audio on speaker 175 ); in cable continuity test mode the microcontroller sends an hdmi test signal to output port 170 and compares this signal to the received signal on secondary hdmi input port 160 . in one or more embodiments the microcontroller may automatically determine which mode to operate in based on detecting which ports have attached cables . for example , a technician may press the detect button 121 to cause the microcontroller to detect which input port ( 150 or 160 ) has an attached hdmi cable , and to set its operating mode accordingly . in one or more embodiments the detection may be automated , and may occur without requiring an input such as the detect button 121 , by for example defaulting to display video , or defaulting to display the continuity diagram , or default to displaying which ever display corresponds to a signal received on the first or second input , or default to a split screen mode to display both the continuity diagram and the video . in one or more embodiments the mode may be selected manually by an operator , for example using the menu button 124 or by using another input control . fig4 shows a testing procedure flowchart that may be used by a technician to test video sources and hdmi cables using one or more embodiments of the invention . this flowchart is illustrative ; embodiments of the invention may be used in various ways to test equipment in any desired manner and in any desired order . in step 401 , the technician connects an hdmi cable to the primary input port 150 and to the external device 180 that provides the hdmi video source . in step 402 , the technician powers up the device 110 using for example the power button 125 . in step 403 , the technician adjusts the display brightness or contrast , if needed , and may adjust other parameters like audio output volume ; these adjustments may be made for example using buttons 122 , 123 , and 124 . in step 404 , the technician determines whether video ( and possibly audio ) are displayed correctly . if so , the testing is done 405 and the system ( video source and cable ) is working properly . if not , the technician may proceed to determine whether the fault lies with the video source or with the hdmi cable . in step 406 the technician takes the hdmi cable that was connected in step 401 , and connects it to the hdmi output port 170 and to the secondary hdmi input port 160 . in step 407 the technician presses the detect button 121 ; this causes the device to switch to cable continuity testing mode . the technician observes the continuity test output display , and in step 408 determines whether there is continuity on all signal lines of the hdmi cable . if so , the test determines 410 that the cable works correctly , and that the problem lies with the video source . if not , the test determines 409 that the hdmi cable is defective . fig5 through 7 show illustrative outputs on the device display for the video source test and the cable continuity test . fig5 shows device 110 in video source test mode . hdmi cable 181 a is connected to primary hdmi input port 150 , and to an external video source ( not shown ). video 501 is displayed on display 130 , indicating that the source and the cable are functioning correctly . power cable 501 is shown coupled with micro usb port 190 , which may be implemented in any type of input port that may couple with a power source . fig6 shows device 110 in cable continuity test mode . hdmi cable 181 b is connected to hdmi output port 170 and is looped back to secondary hdmi input port 160 . diagnostic output 601 and 602 is shown on display 130 . this output shows whether continuity is detected on each of the 19 signal lines of the hdmi cable . in this illustrative output , continuity is detected on each signal line , so the cable is functioning correctly . in contrast , fig7 shows an illustrative output 701 and 702 for a defective cable . lines 13 , 16 and 18 appear to have transmission problems , as indicated through the absence of continuity lines , or through use of the graphic symbols that differ from continuity symbols used , showing lack of continuity for these lines in output 702 . the graphics shown for the outputs 601 , 602 , 701 , and 702 of the continuity test are illustrative ; one or more embodiments may use any symbols , text , graphics , colors , or audio signals , or for example any other indicators that vary over time for colorblind individuals , to indicate the results of the continuity test . for example , one or more embodiments may combine the graphical outputs with an audio signal , with different tones to indicate successful continuity test results and unsuccessful continuity test results . 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 .	7
fig1 shows a telephone network 12 connected to the internet 10 , e . g . the deutsche telekom ag telephone network . fig1 shows two parts 14 and 16 of the telephone network 12 . the part 14 is located for example in south germany and the part 16 in north germany . a terminal switching center 18 is shown in the part 14 , to which a data transmission computer da of a subscriber tlna is connected via a transmission line 20 , e . g . via an isdn connection ( integrated services digital network ). the terminal switching center 18 is connected via an inter - exchange line 22 to a transit switching center 24 . the transit switching center 24 is for example a conventional ewsd - type ( digital electronic switching system ) switching center from siemens ag . a transmission route 26 goes from the transit switching center 24 to a gateway 28 . the transmission route 26 is for example a channel of a pcm - 30 system ( pulse code modulation ), as used for the transmission of voice data between different switching centers . the pcm method uses the itu - t codec g . 711 . the connections between different switching centers are also referred to as trunks . the function of the gateway 28 is described in more detail below . the part 16 of the telephone network 12 includes a transit switching center 34 , e . g . of the ewsd type . the transit switching center 34 is connected via an inter - exchange line 36 to a terminal switching center 38 , to which the data transmission computer db of a subscriber tlnb is connected . a transmission route 40 goes from the transit switching center 34 to a gateway 42 . the transmission route 40 is for example a pcm channel as is usually used to transmit voice data between switching centers . the function of the gateway 42 is described in more detail below . the telephone network 12 also includes two switching centers 48 and 50 , which are developments of the ewsd - type switching centers . in addition to the functions of an ewsd - type switching center , the switching centers 48 and 50 also carry out the functions of service provision computers 52 and 54 . these additional functions are also described in more detail below using fig1 . a signaling connection 56 can be set up between the switching center 58 and the transit switching center 24 and this is used to transmit signaling messages according to the iusp ( isdn user part ) protocol . examples of messages of this protocol are described below using fig1 . a signaling connection 58 can be set up between the switching centers 48 and 50 . signaling messages via this signaling connection are also transmitted according to the isup protocol . information elements are transmitted as a component of the signaling messages in an app ( application association parameter ) container according to standard q . 765 add . 1 ( 06 / 00 ). these information elements are described below using fig2 and 3 . a signaling connection 60 can be set up between the switching center 50 and the transit switching center 34 and this is used to transmit signaling messages according to the isup protocol . both the telephone network 12 and the internet 10 are used to transmit voice data between the subscriber tlna and the subscriber tlnb or computer data between the computers da and db . voice data or computer data is transmitted circuit - switched in voice channels within the telephone network 12 . however voice data or computer data is transmitted in data packets within the internet 10 . in the gateways 28 and 42 voice data or computer data received in each of the voice channels is divided into data packets and forwarded into the internet 10 . data packets with voice data or computer data coming from the internet 10 are unpacked in the gateways 28 and 42 and forwarded in voice channels into the telephone network 12 . the gateway 28 or 42 is connected via a transmission route 64 or 66 to the internet 10 . this means that data packets can be exchanged via the internet 10 between the gateways 28 and 42 . the service provision computers 52 and 54 are also connected to the internet 10 . data packets can therefore also be exchanged between the service provision computers 52 or 54 and the gateways 28 and 42 , see signaling path 72 between the service provision computer 52 and the gateway 28 or signaling path 74 between the service provision computer 54 and the gateway 42 . the gateways 28 and 42 and the service provision computers 52 and 54 each have at least one internet address , at which they are accessible in the internet 10 . signaling messages for setting up a connection for transmitting computer data or voice data between the subscriber tlna and the subscriber tlnb are described below . when a call connection is being set up between the subscriber tlna and the subscriber tlnb or a data transmission connection is being set up between the computers da and db , the transit switching center 24 generates a connection set - up message 100 , also referred to as an iam message ( initial address message ) at time t 1 according to the isup protocol . this message includes , among other things for example , the full call number of the subscriber tlnb in the telephone network 12 and the number of a time slot on the transmission route 26 to be used for the transmission . the type of connection and therefore also the type of application is indicated in a parameter of the connection set - up message 100 referred to as a tmr . a value for “ voice connection ” is indicated for voice data . a value for “ 64 kbit / s unrestricted ” is indicated for data transmission between computers , see standard q . 764 , clause 2 . 1 . 1 . 1a . the connection set - up message 100 is transmitted via the signaling connection 56 . when the connection set - up message 100 has been received , a program is executed in the switching center 48 , during the execution of which it is ascertained that the internet 10 can be used for the transmission of the computer data or voice data . it is determined that the gateway 28 has to be used as the interface between the telephone network 12 and the internet 10 on the side of the subscriber tlna . the service provision computer 52 is prompted by a control unit in the switching center 48 to execute the necessary stages for this . the value of the parameter tmr is forwarded according to protocol to the service provision computer 52 . at a time t 2 after the time t 1 the service provision computer 52 sends a connection set - up message 102 according to defacto standard rfc 2705 to the gateway 28 via the signaling path 72 . the connection set - up message 102 is also referred to as a crcx message ( create connection ). the time slot to be used for the useful data transmission is indicated in the connection set - up message 102 . also the method according to itu - t standard g . 723 . 1 for the transmission of voice data is indicated based on the value in the parameter tmr as a codec ( coding / decoding ) for the transmission of voice data , so that the voice data is compressed in the gateway 28 . where necessary voice pause suppression and echo suppression can be enabled for the transmission of voice data . however the codec according to itu - t standard g . 711 is used for the transmission of computer data , i . e . compression is not used . voice pause suppression and echo suppression are disabled for the transmission of computer data . a value for a waiting time t is also indicated in a data field “ x - majibu ” of the connection set - up message 102 and this is described below using fig5 . 30 ms waiting time is selected for the transmission of voice data and 200 ms for the transmission of computer data . the data field “ x - majibu ” was stipulated in what is referred to as an “ experimental parameter ”, see rfc 2705 , clause 3 . 2 . 2 “ parameter lines ”, example “ x - floweroftheday : daisy ”. when the parameter “ x - majibu ” is indicated , the automatic setting of the size of what is referred to as a jitter buffer is disabled , as this would influence the waiting time t . automatic setting is only enabled if the parameter “ x - majibu ” is not indicated in a connection set - up message . the gateway 28 processes the connection set - up message 102 , sets the necessary settings and generates a response message 104 in response at a time t 3 . the response message 104 on the one hand confirms receipt of the connection set - up message 102 and contains among other things an internet address and a port number , which can be used for the receipt of useful data for an rtp ( real time protocol , see rfc 1889 and rfc 1890 ) connection to be set up between the gateway 28 and the gateway 42 and which is now assigned to the time slot which is used on the transmission route 26 for the connection to be set up . the rtp connection is suitable for transmitting voice data or computer data . the service provision computer 52 receives the response message 104 and forwards the received internet address and the port number to the control unit of the switching center 48 . the control unit of the switching center 48 processes the connection set - up message 100 according to the isup protocol and generates a connection set - up message 106 at a time t 4 . the connection set - up message 106 is also referred to as an iam message ( initial address message ) according to the isup protocol . the connection set - up message 106 contains two information elements described in more detail below using fig2 and 3 , in which the internet address and port number are forwarded , see points 107 . these information elements are not stipulated in the isup standard but are transmitted via the signaling connection 58 in compliance with the isup standard . the connection message 106 also contains the parameter tmr , with the same value as in the connection set - up message 100 . the switching center 50 receives the connection set - up message 106 and also processes the information elements included in it . it is identified from the content of these information elements or from the code ( cic — circuit identification code ) for designating the call instance that a telephone connection using the internet 10 is to be set up , not a standard telephone connection . the gateway 42 is identified by the switching center 50 as the gateway to be used on the side of the subscriber tlnb . the switching center 50 also determines a time slot , to be used for the circuit - switched transmission of useful data between the switching centers 50 and 34 . this time slot designates a transmission channel of the transmission route 40 . the switching center 50 also analyzes the parameter tmr and reports this value to the service provision computer 54 . the service provision computer 54 is prompted by the control unit of the switching center 50 to set up an internet connection via the signaling path 74 . at a time t 5 the service provision computer 54 sends a connection set - up message 108 to the gateway 42 . the connection set - up message 108 corresponds to the defacto standard rfc 2705 referred to above and is also referred to as a crcx message ( create connection ). the message 108 includes the internet address and port number sent from the gateway 28 via the switching center 48 , which are to be used for the rtp connection to be set up . the time slot identified by the switching center 50 is also included in the connection set - up message 108 as is the codec based on the value of the parameter tmr , in the case of voice connections the codec g . 723 . 1 and in the case of data transmission connections the codec g . 711 . in the case of voice connections voice pause suppression and echo suppression are automatically enabled in the gateway 42 using the connection set - up message 108 . data fields for signaling these settings are stipulated according to defacto standard rfc 2705 for the message crcx . in the case of data transmission connections voice pause suppression and echo suppression are however disabled . the connection set - up message 108 also includes a value for a waiting time t in a data field “ x - majibu ”. the data field “ x - majibu ” is , as stated above , a proprietary extension of the defacto standard rfc 2705 . a value for 30 ms waiting time is indicated for the transmission of voice data . a value of 200 ms is selected for the transmission of computer data . during the processing of the connection set - up message 108 in the gateway 42 , an internet address and an as yet unused port number of the gateway 42 are identified in the indicated time slot and these can be used for receipt of the useful data packets from the gateway 28 . echo suppression and voice pause suppression are enabled or disabled . the value for the waiting time t is recorded . automatic setting of what is known as the jitter buffer , which would influence the waiting time t , is disabled . the gateway 42 then sends a response message 110 at a time t 6 to confirm receipt of the connection set - up message 108 . the response message 110 also includes the identified internet address of the gateway 42 and the identified port number . the remainder of the connection set - up message 106 is processed in the switching center 50 according to the isup protocol . in this process a connection set - up message 112 is generated , which is transmitted via the signaling connection 60 to the transit switching center 34 . the connection set - up message 112 is also referred to as an iam message ( initial address message ). the connection set - up message 112 includes among other things the call number of the subscriber tlnb and the time slot predetermined by the switching center 50 . the connection set - up message 112 is processed according to protocol in the transit switching center 34 and forwarded to the terminal switching center 38 . the terminal switching center 38 calls the subscriber tlnb or the computer db . during processing of the connection set - up message 106 after receipt of the response message 110 a transport message 114 is generated in the switching center 50 and this is also referred to according to the isup protocol as an apm message ( application transport message ). the transport message 114 includes one information element with the internet address of the gateway 42 and one information element with the port number communicated by the gateway 42 , see points 115 . these information elements have the same structure as the information elements described below using fig2 and 3 . the transport message 114 is transmitted to the switching center 48 at a time t 8 . the control unit of the switching center 48 extracts the internet address and port number from the transport message 114 and prompts the service provision computer 52 to forward these connection parameters to the gateway 28 . the service provision computer 52 also sends a change message 116 according to defacto standard rfc 2705 at a time t 9 . the change message 116 is also referred to as an mdcx message ( modify connection ). the change message 116 contains the internet address of the gateway 42 and the port number of the gateway 42 to be used for the rtp connection to be set up . the change message 116 is processed in the gateway 28 so that a direct transmission path 118 can be used for transmitting useful data according to protocol rtp and codec g . 711 or g . 723 . 1 between the gateways 28 and 42 . a response message generated by the gateway 28 in response to the change message 116 is not shown in fig1 . at a subsequent time t 10 the transit switching center 34 generates a message 120 according to protocol , the message also being referred to as an acm message ( address complete message ), and signals that the dial numbers have been transmitted to connect subscribers tlna and tlnb or computers da and db . the message 120 is processed according to protocol by the control unit of the switching center 50 . at a time t 11 the switching center 50 sends an acm message 122 to the switching center 48 according to the isup protocol . the switching center 48 processes the acm message 122 and in turn sends an acm message 124 to the transit switching center 24 . let it be assumed that the parameter tmr has the value “ 64 kbit / s unrestricted ”. if the computer db of the subscriber tlnb logs on , this is signaled according to the isup protocol to the transit switching center 34 . the transit switching center 34 generates a response message 126 at a time t 13 and this is transmitted via the signaling connection 60 to the switching center 50 . the response message 126 is also referred to as an anm message ( answer message ). charging starts on the basis of this message . the response message 126 is processed according to protocol in the switching center 50 . during this process a response message 128 is sent to the switching center 48 . the switching center 48 generates a response message 130 to the transit switching center 24 based on the response message 128 at a time t 15 . the data coming from the computer da of the subscriber tlna is transmitted in the parts 14 and 16 of the telephone network 12 and via the transmission routes 26 and 40 in time slots and according to codec g . 711 . echo suppression , voice pause suppression and compression are not executed . the data is transmitted in data packets in the internet 10 . processes in the gateway 42 are described below using fig5 . fig2 shows the structure of an information element 150 for transmitting an internet address . in a first embodiment the information element 150 contains nine successive data fields 152 to 168 , each of which has a length of 8 bits , i . e . one byte . bit positions 0 to 7 are in this sequence from right to left . an identifier is transmitted in the data field 152 to identify the information element 150 . the identifier has the value 3 , which is used in the standard q . 765 . 5 to refer to what is known as an “ interworking function address ” and which here shows that the information element 150 is used to transmit an internet address . in a data field 154 the length of the information element 150 is specified minus the data fields 152 and 154 . in the embodiment the value seven in stored in binary mode in the data field 154 , see also standard q . 765 . 5 , clause 11 . 1 . 1 . compatibility information is transmitted in the data field 156 , the value of which shows the recipient what should be done if it is not possible to process the information element 150 fully , see also standard q . 765 . 5 , clause 11 . 1 . 1 . in the data field 158 an authorization and format identifier is transmitted , which has the value “ 35 ” in hexadecimal notation . this value is used according to itu standard x . 213 annex a as reference to the internet protocol . in the data field 160 an identifier with the value one is stored , when an internet address is transmitted according to internet protocol version 4 . the four bytes of the internet address are then transmitted in the adjacent data fields 162 to 168 according to version 4 of the internet protocol . if , on the other hand , an internet address is to be transmitted according to internet protocol version 6 using the information element 150 , there is a difference in the length details , see data field 154 and a difference in the data field 160 . in the data field 160 the value zero is transmitted during transmission of internet addresses according to internet protocol version 6 . in this case , sixteen data fields 162 to 170 are adjacent to the data field 160 , with the 16 bytes of the internet address stored in these according to internet protocol version 6 , see also points 172 . fig3 shows the structure of an information element 180 for transmitting a port number . the information element 180 includes four data fields 182 to 188 , each with a length of one byte . the significance of the data fields 182 to 186 corresponds in this sequence to the significance of the data fields 152 to 156 of the information element 150 . the value two is transmitted in the data field 182 to identify the information element 180 as the information element for transmitting a port number . the identifier transmitted in the data field 182 is referred to as a “ backbone network connection identifier ” contrary to the function provided here in the standard q . 765 . 5 . the value two is transmitted in a data field 184 as the length of the information element 180 minus the data fields 182 and 184 . information on compatibility is transmitted in the data field 186 . the port number to be transmitted is then transmitted in the data field 188 , for example the port number to be used for the rtp connection in the gateway 28 or in the gateway 42 , see fig1 . fig4 shows the structure of a code element 200 , which is used to designate call instances between the switching centers 48 and 50 . the structure of the code element 200 is stipulated in the standard q . 763 , clause 1 . 2 . the code element 200 includes two data fields 202 and 204 , each of which has a length of one byte . the number of the instance is transmitted starting with the lowest value bit in the data field 202 , see bit position 0 , to bit position 7 of the data field 202 and then onwards between bit positions 0 to 3 of the data field 204 . bit positions 4 to 7 of the data field 204 are not used to designate the instance . the code element 200 has no further data fields . fig5 shows three data packets 250 , 252 and 254 , which are sent in this sequence from the gateway 28 to the internet 10 , to transmit computer data to the computer db of the subscriber tlnb . the data packet 250 contains a sequence number sn with the value one . a sequence number sn with the value 2 or 3 is indicated in the data packet 252 or the data packet 254 . the sequence number is stipulated in the defacto standard rfc 1889 . the value in the data field “ x - majibu ” in the connection set - up message 108 means that a waiting time t of 200 milliseconds has been selected in the parameter tmr based on the value “ 64 kbit / s unrestricted ” characterizing a data transmission . the data packet 250 is received in the gateway 42 at a time t 0 a . starting from this time t 0 a the system waits 200 milliseconds for the arrival of the data packet 252 . let it be assumed that the data packet 252 does not arrive within this time period , see brackets 256 . after expiry of the waiting time t of 200 milliseconds the gateway 42 requests the repeat transmission of the data packet 252 . if the data packet 252 a then arrives at a time t 1 a , the gateway 42 resets the sequence according to the sequence number sn . the forwarding of the useful data then continues in the time channel of the transmission route 40 . at a time t 2 a the data packet 254 arrives in the gateway 42 . the waiting time t until the arrival of the fourth data packet is again 200 milliseconds . if voice data is transmitted from the subscriber tlna to the subscriber tlnb , the value “ voice data ” in the parameter tmr means that 30 milliseconds is selected as the waiting time t . if the currently awaited data packet of the sequence does not arrive after this time , filler data is forwarded for example via the transmission route . the next data packet is then processed according to the sequence . similar processes to those described using fig5 take place in the gateway 28 for the counter direction . a waiting time t of 200 milliseconds is also deployed during the transfer of the computer data received via the internet 10 to the time channel of the transmission route 26 . in another , embodiment signaling messages according to the bicc standard are used to signal between the switching centers 48 and 50 . otherwise the processes described using fig1 to 5 remain unchanged . in a further embodiment the value of the parameter “ x - majibu ” directly determines the size of a buffer for storing the data packets in the gateways . this indirectly determines the waiting time , as processing has to continue when the buffer overflows . the components specified in the embodiments are for example components of the siemens ag surpass system , see the website www . siemens . com / data & amp ; voice . the service provision computers are therefore components of the hiq component of the surpass system .	7
turning now to the various drawing figures , in which like numerals reference like parts , a detailed description of the preferred embodiment will be provided . the improvements recited herein relate to the preferred embodiment of the invention described in patent application ser . no . 028 , 973 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 788 , 572 by palm et al ., entitled &# 34 ; belt controls for a print engine for color electrophotography &# 34 ;, filed mar . 23 , 1987 , which specification is incorporated herein by reference . the preferred embodiment of the invention generally relates to a dual - belt electrostatic transfer system for use in a laser printer or a color electrophotographic copier print engine . the preferred embodiment particularly relates to a device which allows endless photoreceptor or transfer belts to be maintained in desired tension , and also readily removed and replaced . from the following description of the preferred embodiment , it will be appreciated that other alternative embodiments suggest themselves to those skilled in the art . fig1 shows a perspective view of the color electrophotographic color print engine in which the invention is used . side panel 1 is lowered , and an upper portion 4 of the machine is raised . the upper portion 4 of the machine is hinged about an axis shown as 2 and is supported by a pair of spring - loaded telescoping rods 3a and 3b . the machine depicted can either be a laser printer or an electrophotographic table top copier . the lower part of the machine is the paper handling assembly , generally indicated at 5 . the upper portion of the machine includes an image developing portion 6 . in a copier , the machine includes an optical bench 7 joined to the image developing portion 6 at 10 . the image developing portion 6 contains endless photoreceptor belt 11 and endless transfer belt 12 . photoreceptor belt 11 is driven around rollers 14 and 15 by a motor ( not shown ). transfer belt 12 is driven around idler rollers 56 and 57 , and is driven by drive roller 58 itself driven by a motor ( not shown ). a conventional expose station of photoreceptor belt 11 is shown at 16 . this includes exposure corona devices 19 and 22 of a type well known to those skilled in the art . corona devices 19 and 22 are used for providing an electrostatic charge to photoreceptor belt 11 . expose station 16 also includes discharging scorotron 17 to define an electrostatic image on photoreceptor belt 11 . transfer belt 12 wraps around photoreceptor belt 11 where belt 11 wraps around roller 15 . transfer of the developed image from photoreceptor belt 11 to transfer belt 12 occurs in the wrap of belts 11 and 12 . in the preferred embodiment , photoreceptor belt 11 rotates in a counterclockwise direction ( when looking through lowered side panel 1 ), as indicated by arrow 18 , and transfer belt 12 rotates in a clockwise direction indicated by arrow 20 . a corona device is located at position 21 to assist in the transfer of the image from photoreceptor belt 11 to transfer belt 12 . after an image formed on transfer belt 12 is transferred to an image receptor , a transfer belt cleaner blade ( not shown ) is activated to remove the residual toner from transfer belt 12 . the toner is collected in a conventional manner . the image receptor passes into a fuser ( see fig1 ) where the toner is affixed to the image receptor . located above photoreceptor belt 11 is an open space 25 for housing toner modules . in the preferred embodiment , space 26 has room for housing toner modules . in fig1 three toner modules 26a through 26c are shown installed within space 25 . a pair of tensioning and belt release devices 27 maintain tension on photoreceptor belt 11 with one device 27 being positioned on each side of the photoreceptor belt path . likewise , a similar device 29 keeps tension on transfer belt 12 . in viewing fig1 only one of each of the devices 27 and 29 may be seen , with the other devices 27 , 29 being obscured by the upper portion 4 of the the electrophotographic color print engine . in the preferred embodiment of the electrophotographic color print engine , photoreceptor belt 11 is approximately 38 inches long and transfer belt 12 is approximately 19 inches long , nominally an integer submultiple of 38 inches . it will now be appreciated from an inspection of fig1 that the use of flexible belts in the preferred embodiment allows a full color print engine to be constructed so that he size approximates that of a conventional convenience monochrome table top copying machine . fig2 is a more isolated and perspective view of the tensioning and belt release device 27 . it should be understood that description of device 27 is similar to description of device 29 . therefore , for the sake of brevity , only description of one device 27 will be undertaken . referring now to fig2 and 3 , idler shaft 46 is the center axis of idler roller 14 around which photoreceptor belt 11 travels . shaft 70 does not support a belt roller , shaft 70 is free to rotate about its longitudinal axis , but is restricted from moving along its longitudinal axis or from moving radially . the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft 46 . a substantially length of shaft 70 is circular in transverse cross section , but at each of its end , it has been machined by means known in the art to assume a substantially square transverse cross section . as will be discussed later in this application , various elements which are attached to each ends of shaft 70 , which have correspondingly - square shaped holes which allow these elements to be fixed to shaft 70 without being allowed to rotate about shaft 70 . the elements so attached to each end of shaft 70 are pegged release cam 65 , collar 64 and knob 68 . the relative positioning of elements onto one end of shaft 70 may be understood by reference to fig3 . a flat washer 80 is positioned against shoulder 78 of shaft 70 , and is allowed to freely rotate about the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 . a spring washer 81 is positioned against flat washer 80 , and is likewise free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 . a pegged release cam 65 is positioned against spring washer 81 , and has a square aperture which mates with the square longitudinal cross section of shaft 70 , and is thus restricted from rotating about shaft 70 . pegged release cam 65 includes a peg 75 which extends away from the belt path along an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 . as will be discussed later in this application , peg 75 fits within curved slot 72 defined by retracting cam 66 . retracting plate 67 , retracting cam 66 , and collar 64 are attached to shaft 70 in the following manner -- circular aperture 98 accepts circular boss 63 extending from retracting cam 66 , such that boss 63 is captured and is free to rotate within circular aperture 98 . shoulder 62 ( see fig2 ) of retracting cam 66 is positioned against the outer primary planer surface of retracting plate 67 . collar 64 has an outer peripheral surface rotatably fitting within a circular aperture 61 of retracting cam 66 , and itself defines a square aperture which accepts the previously - discussed square transverse cross section of shaft 70 . retracting cam 66 is free to rotate relative to collar 64 about the longitudinal ( and rotational ) axis of shaft 70 , but is restricted to move along the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 relative to collar 64 by means known in the art . therefore , it may be seen that collar 64 is not free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 , but retracting cam 66 is free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 , as retracting cam may rotate relative to collar 64 . knob 68 is fixed to end of shaft 70 , as it defines a square aperture which accepts the square transverse cross section of shaft 70 . by manually rotating knob 68 , it may be seen that shaft 70 , and all the previously - discussed elements rotationally locked to it , are likewise rotated . retracting plate 67 has two apertures , 98 and 99 , through which shafts 70 , 46 , respectively , pass . aperture 99 includes a guide slot 69 in which shaft 46 can slidably move in a left or right direction only , when viewed as in fig4 a - 4c . aperture 98 is circular and accepts a circular boss 63 which extends from retracting cam 66 , such that retracting cam 66 may rotate relative to retracting plate 67 about an axis passing through the center of aperture 98 , this axis being substantially normal to the primary planar surface of the retracting plate 67 , and substantially parallel but not common , to the rotational axis of shaft 70 . linkages 51 and 53 are slidably linked together to form an expandable bar between shaft 70 and shaft 46 with a spring between the linkages . compressive force from spring 50 , through linkage 53 , forces shaft 46 to the right ( as viewed in fig4 a - 4c ) and away from shaft 70 . tensioning cam 43 is affixed relative to the frame of the electrophotographic machine by screw 47 , such that tensioning cam 43 may rotate around the axis of the center of screw 47 . tensioning cam 43 defines a cam surface 74 which is in contact with shaft 46 . the cam surface 74 may contact a smoother surface of shaft 46 , or may contact the shaft in a slot , if desired . operation of the tension maintaining feature of the preferred embodiment is now discussed . as belt 11 expands from age , wear , heat , or other factors , spring 50 pushes out on linkage 53 thereby pushing shaft 46 , and consequently roller 14 out to accommodate the expansion of belt 11 . tensioning cam 43 drops by gravity and prevents shaft 46 from retracting due to the force of belt 11 . this is especially important should belt 11 subject to occasional or periodic shock . thus , spring 50 and tensioning cam 43 combine together to form the tension mechanism to keep belt 11 maintained under proper ( or desired ) tension . the cam surface 74 of tensioning cam 43 is machined such that when the cam is installed , a line drawn from the center of shaft 46 to the contact point between shaft 46 and the cam surface 74 of cam 43 will always be approximately 8 °) above a line drawn from the same center of shaft 46 to the center of screw 47 . both shaft 46 and cam 43 are made of steel in the preferred embodiment . although other angular configurations are contemplated under the present invention , it should be understood that the vertical component of the friction force between steel cam 43 and steel shaft 46 should exceed the vertical force component of the compression of the belt , such that after gravity has caused cam 43 to drop into a new position , cam 43 cannot be forced upward by shaft 46 . a nose 48 extends from cam 43 above the cam surface 74 . after the belt has expanded so far that the nose 48 of the cam is resting on the shaft , the registration will become blurry and unclear due to the fact that the cam can no longer keep proper tension upon the belt . the loss of quality in the resulting copies indicates to the operator it is time to replace the belt or make other necessary adjustments . referring to fig4 a , 4b , and 4c , and also fig5 a , 5b , and 5c , the operation of the release feature of the preferred embodiment is now discussed . in fig4 a , the tensioning mechanism is in normal operating position . spring 50 ( not shown ) is pushing on shaft 46 and cam 43 takes up any slack afforded by belt 11 . to release the belt , knob 68 ( shown in fig2 ) is rotated in a clockwise direction for approximately 90 degrees until the position shown in fig4 b . for purposes of clarity , knob 68 is not shown , but is should be understood that knob 68 is rigidly affixed relative to shaft 70 . it should also be understood that as knob 68 turns shaft 70 , so also must pegged release cam 65 and collar 64 turn . retracting cam 66 does not have to turn as collar 64 is free to rotate within and relative to it . during approximately the first 90 degrees of rotation of the shaft 70 , cam surface 71 of pegged release cam 65 comes into contact with the end 73 of cam 43 , end 73 being opposite the cam surface 74 of cam 43 contacting shaft 46 . as end 73 is pushed down , it may be that as cam 43 pivots about screw 47 , the cam surface 74 is disengaged from its position against shaft 46 . after cam 43 is disengaged from shaft 46 , shaft 46 may be drawn back against the compressive force of spring 50 , to allow slack to develop in belt 11 in order that it may ultimately be removed . this is accomplished by pulling back on shaft 46 by plate 67 , which itself may be retracted by further rotation of shaft 70 , due to the offset nature of retracting cam 66 . fig4 c shows the orientation of the various components after knob 68 has been rotated from 90 degrees to 270 degrees from its starting position . after approximately the first 90 degrees of rotation , peg 75 &# 34 ; bottoms out &# 34 ; in curved slot 72 of retracting cam 66 , and begins rotating retracting cam 66 about shaft 70 . as the boss 63 has its center to the right of the center of shaft 70 , it may be seen that as the retracting cam 66 is rotated , the center of the boss moves from right to left ( and also down and then up somewhat ). this is illustrating shown in fig5 a - c , which correspond to fig4 a - c . as the boss slidably rotates within aperture 98 of plate 67 , it may therefore be seen that plate 67 is drawn from right to left , toward shaft 70 . as plate 67 moves to the left , shaft 46 bottoms out in retract slot 69 thus drawing shaft 46 to the left , and toward shaft 70 . since cam 43 has previously been moved out of the way , shaft 46 can be moved against the compressive force of spring 50 to release the tension upon the belt . as the shaft 70 is rotated to the position shown in fig4 c , it may be seen that shaft 46 is drawn toward shaft 70 to a point where preferably the belt 11 or roller 14 may be withdrawn . as previously discussed , tensioning and belt release device 27 operates in conjunction with a similar device situated on the other side of the belt path . it should be understood that such devices operate independently when performing their tensioning functions , but operate simultaneously when performing their quick release functions . this is due to the fact that the tensioning cams 43 operate only under the influence of gravity , whereas the pegged release cams 65 operate responsive to the rotation of shaft 70 . as both pegged release cams 65 are attached to the same shaft 70 , as one rotates , so will the other . from the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment , and alternate embodiments , it will be appreciated that the present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and meets the objects of the invention cited here and above . in view of the teachings of the specification , other alternative embodiments will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and therefore the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the claims below .	6
this application claims priority to provisional application serial no . 60 / 402037 filed aug . 9 , 2003 (“ apparatus , materials , and methods for fabrication and catalysis ”; inventor : linette demers ), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . direct - write technologies can be carried out by methods describe in , for example , direct - write technologies for rapid prototyping applications : sensors , electronics , and integrated power sources , ed . by a . pique and d . b . chrisey , academic press , 2002 . chapter 10 by mirkin , demers , and hong , for example , describes nanolithographic printing at the sub - 100 nanometer length scale , and is hereby incorporated by reference ( pages 303 - 312 ). pages 311 - 312 provide additional references on scanning probe lithography and direct - write methods using patterning compounds delivered to substrates from nanoscopic tips which can guide one skilled in the art in the practice of the present invention . direct - write nanolithography , in addition , has been described in the following documents which are each hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and form part of the present disclosure . ( 1 ) piner et al . science , 29 jan . 1999 , vol . 283 pgs . 661 - 663 . ( 4 ) u . s . regular patent application ser . no . 09 / 477 , 997 filed jan . 5 , 2000 . ( 7 ) u . s . regular application ser . no . 09 / 866 , 533 filed may 24 , 2001 . ( 8 ) u . s . patent publication no . 2002 / 0063212 a1 published may 30 , 2002 . ( 10 ) u . s . regular application ser . no . 10 / 320 , 721 filed dec . 17 , 2002 . ( 11 ) m . su et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., vol . 124 , no . 8 , pages 1560 - 1561 , 2002 . ( 12 ) demers et al . angew chem . int . ed . engl . 2001 , 40 ( 16 ), 3069 - 3071 . ( 13 ) demers et al . angew chem . int . ed . engl . 2001 , 40 ( 16 ), 3071 - 3073 . ( 14 ) liu et al . adv . mater . 2002 , 14 , no . 3 , feb . 5 , 231 - 234 . ( 15 ) b . w . maynor et al ., langmuir , 2001 , 17 , 2575 - 2578 . ( 16 ) li , y . et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 2001 , vol . 123 , 2105 - 2106 . ( 17 ) maynor et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., vol . 124 , no . 4 , 522 - 523 , 2002 . ( 18 ) l . a . porter et al ., nanoletters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 12 , 1369 - 1372 ( au , pd , and pt nanoparticles from metal salt coated afm tips ) ( 19 ) m . zhang et al ., nanotechnology , 13 ( 2002 ), 212 - 217 ( parallel dpn printing with array of microfabricated probes ). ( 20 ) a . ivanisevic et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 2001 , 123 , 12424 - 12425 ( particle assembly with opposite charged species ). ( 21 ) u . s . patent publication 2003 / 0022470 published jan . 30 , 2003 to liu et al . (“ parallel , individually addressable probes for nanolithography ”) ( 22 ) u . s . patent publication no . 2003 / 00668446 (“ protein and peptide nanoarrays ”) published apr . 10 , 2003 to mirkin et al . dpn ™ and dip pen nanolithography ™ are trademarks of nanoink , inc . and are used accordingly herein . in the dpn ™ printing process , an ink is transferred to a substrate from a tip . the transferred ink , if desired , can be used as a template for further fabrication . the advantages and applications for dpn ™ printing are numerous and described in these references . dpn ™ printing is an enabling nanofabrication / nanolithographic technology which allows one to practice fabrication and lithography at the nanometer level with exceptional control and versatility . the present invention enables the preparation of surfaces patterned with discrete catalyst materials at nanometer scale and nanometer resolution with facile control . dpn ™ printing provides for fine control of the patterning which is not provided by other methods . however , dpn ™ printing can also be automated which provides rapid production . moreover , the structures produced by dpn ™ printing are generally stable , as dpn ™ printing allows for the catalysts to be covalently bonded or chemically adsorbed to the substrate rather than merely physically adsorbed or mechanically locked in . dpn ™ printing does not require that the substrate surface be made porous to accept the catalyst in a mechanical lock . rather , the strategically patterned catalyst materials , chemically bound at predefined locations by dpn ™ printing , are then used for growing desired materials such as , for example , carbon nanotubes at the predefined locations on the substrate . u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0063212 , published may 30 , 2002 to mirkin et al ., discloses many useful embodiments which are hereby incorporated by reference including , for example , use of tips ( paragraphs 0052 - 0054 ); substrates ( 0055 ); patterning compounds ( 0056 - 0078 ); tip coating methods ( 0079 - 82 ); patterning ( 0083 - 88 ); alignment ( 0089 ); nanoplotter format ( 0090 - 0092 ); multiple patterning compounds ( 0093 ); other methods ( 0094 - 0095 ); resolution parameters ( 0096 - 0100 ); uses including arrays and detection methods ( 0101 - 0106 ); software ( 0107 - 0128 ); kits ( 0129 ); instruments ( 0130 ); and imaging methods ( 0130 - 0136 ). seven working examples are provided ( 0137 - 0211 ), which are incorporated by reference in their entirety . an appendix related to computer software is also provided and incorporated by reference ( 0212 - 0264 ). in addition , the demers articles noted above as references 10 and 11 describe use of nanolithographically generated templates to control building structures with nanoparticles . particle organizational strategies are also disclosed , and are incorporated by references for specific teachings concerning these topics . the su article noted above also describes production of nanolithographic patterns using sol - gel chemistry to form , for example , metal oxide structures . this type of nanofabrication and nanolithography in particular can be difficult to achieve with many technologies that are more suitable for micron scale work . carbon nanotubes are described in marc j . madou &# 39 ; s fundamentals of microfabrication , the science of miniaturization , 2 nd ed ., pages 454 - 455 , including carbon nanotube preparation by cvd from patterned catalysts . this madou text also describes microlithography and nanolithography , and the use of carbon nanotubes at tips of afm and stm probes . carbon nanotubes are also described in the text , carbon nanotubes , by dresselhaus et al ., springer - verlag , 2000 . see also , special - section , “ carbon nanotubes ” physics world , vol . 13 , pp . 29 - 53 , 2000 . carbon nanotubes can be single - walled carbon nanotubes ( swnts ), multi - walled carbon nanotubes ( mwnts ), nanohorns , nanofibers , or nanotubes . they can be conducting or semiconducting depending on the form of the nanotube . they can be open , closed , and have different kinds of spiral structure . uses include storing fuels such as hydrogen or methanol for use in fuel cells and as supports for catalysts . they can be in zigzag and armchair form and have varying steepness which alters the chiral form . chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) is one method for carbon nanotube production . in the cvd method , a catalyst for carbon nanotube growth is disposed on a surface and exposed to a carbon source and reaction conditions which promote carbon nanotube growth at the catalyst site . if the catalyst is patterned onto the surface , the carbon nanotube growth can result in a pattern of carbon nanotubes reflected the catalyst pattern . although carbon nanotubes can be considered a part of nanotechnology , generally they have been prepared using micron level patterning . a number of references are noted herein which can be used by one skilled in the art to practice the present invention and , for example , grow carbon nanotubes from a catalyst site . for example , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 346 , 189 to dai et al ., which is incorporated by reference , discloses micron technology , wherein nanotube structures are grown on catalyst islands . there is , however , no expressed or implicit suggestion that these islands can be at a nanometer scale , on the order of less than one micron . hence , this technology is limited in its ability to connect nanotube technology with nanotechnology . in another example , the publication by kind et al . ( adv . mater . sci . 1999 , 11 , 15 , 1285 - 1289 ; incorporated herein by reference ) also discloses nanotube production with use of microcontact printing at micron scale , not at nanometer scale . again , these methods are not enabling for nanolithography or nanofabrication , particularly nanofabrication done at dimensions of 100 nm or less . in addition , attempts to do nanofabrication and nanolithography can be cumbersome as reflected in the paper by wang et al . ( appl . surf . sci ., 181 ( 2001 ), 248 - 254 . here , micropatterns , not nanopatterns , were formed by three methods including : ( 1 ) physical mask patterning using tem grids , ( 2 ) electron beam lithography coupled with lift - off techniques , and ( 3 ) photolithography . lines produced by electron beam lithography had a width of 10 microns , and at page 251 , this paper states that the smallest width and space of self - oriented nanotube lines synthesized by our method are 2 microns . in sum , the goal of nanotechnology is miniaturization at the nanometer level , not the micron level , and dpn ™ printing provides that miniaturization . an important application of cvd preparation of nanotubes is the preparation of scanning probe microscopic tips , including afm tips ( see , for example , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 346 , 189 to dai et al . ), and the present invention also enables the efficient fabrication of carbon nanotube scanning probe microscopic ( spm ) tips including atomic force microscope ( afm ) tips . it is very difficult and expensive presently to fabricate carbon nanotube spm tips , including afm tips , without a precise method of positioning catalysts or nanotubes . other advantages of the present invention are many and include , for example : ( 1 ) flexibility in terms of length scale of pattern and the substrate for catalyst immobilization , ( 2 ) multiple types of catalyst particles can be patterned on the same substrate in high registration , and ( 3 ) patterning can be done in serial or in parallel with patterning probe arrays . these features provide an improved method of fabricating , for instance multiple spm nanotube tip probes at once , instead of one - at - a - time . computer simulation can be used to understand and control the fabrication process according to the present invention . the present invention is illustrated by a series of embodiments illustrated in fig1 - 5 . in fig1 for example , an ink - coated afm tip is used to pattern a substrate surface by dip pen nanolithographic printing . this patterned surface is then converted to a surface with a corresponding nanoscale catalyst pattern . the catalyst pattern is then exposed to conditions for growth of a solid material such as a nanotube or a nanowire . in fig2 a more detailed illustration is provided . first , a template pattern is generated on a surface by dpn printing . in forming a template , any patterning compound can be used provided it is capable of modifying the substrate to form stable surface structures . the template pattern can be formed on the substrate by dip pen nanolithographic printing methods , as described in the documents above . for example , arrays and patterns can be generated including those in the form of dots and / or lines . the patterns produced have lateral dimensions as large as many microns and as small as 10 nm . in an optional step , after pattern formation , the unpatterned part of the surface is passivated with another material . in the next step , the patterned surface is exposed to catalyst particles which results in the binding of catalyst particles to the template pattern to form a catalyst pattern . binding of the particle to the substrate can be covalent or electrostatic . from this catalyst pattern , additional structures can be formed , depending on the catalyst material composition and subsequent reaction conditions . for example , in one particular embodiment single - walled carbon nanotubes may be formed at the patterned regions , when the catalyst particles comprising the pattern are composed of a mixture of iron and molybdenum and the reaction conditions are cvd with a carbon - containing feedgas such as co . in fig3 a more general embodiment is illustrated wherein catalyst particles are applied to a patterned surface . a surface of nanoscale patterns is produced using a molecular glue . a catalyst material is applied . from the patterned catalyst , a three dimensional structure is formed such as , for example , a nanotube or nanowire . in another form of this invention , a catalyst precursor material may be applied to the template pattern . the precursor can be converted to an active catalyst in a separate step , for example by application of energy in the form of heat . in an alternative embodiment , preformed catalyst molecules or nanoscale catalyst particles are applied to a substrate directly via dpn printing or another such positive patterning technique . in this case , the catalyst material is in the form of an “ ink ” which is transferred to the substrate surface as part of the dpn printing process . this direct catalyst deposition is illustrated in fig4 . additionally , surfaces can be patterned in positive and negative modes . in a negative mode , for example , a surface can be patterned to resist deposition of the catalyst ink . in this mode , the catalyst would be preferentially bound to the remainder of the surface as illustrated in fig5 . in the present invention , a wide variety of substrates can be used . dpn printing substrates are disclosed in the above - cited dpn printing references . substrates can be any material which can be modified by a patterning compound to form stable surface structures . in other words , the dpn printed substrate can be tailored to be chemically bound to the ink transferred to the substrate during dpn printing . the substrate can be , for example , relatively hard , inorganic materials including elemental materials , oxides of the elements , ceramics , metals semiconductors , magnetic materials , polymer or polymer - coated materials , and superconductor materials . these include , for example , silicon , silicon oxide , alumina , quartz , and silicon nitride . the substrate can be flat , non - flat , or curved , although in general a flat substrate is preferred . the substrate can be porous . the substrate can be , for example , a conductor , a semi - conductor , or an insulator . the substrate can be surface treated to improve performance by , for example , improving adhesion . in addition , the substrate can be , for example , materials and shapes of interest for production of one or more scanning probe microscopic tips , including atomic force microscope tips and electrostatic force microscopy probe tips . the materials can be , for example , silicon and silicon nitride , microfabricated in the shapes of cantilevers with integrated pyramidal tips . such tips are disclosed , for example , in the paper by cheung et al . ( proc . nat &# 39 ; l acad . sci ., apr . 11 , 2000 , vol . 97 , no . 8 , 3809 - 3813 ), which is incorporated by reference . also , u . s . patent publication 20020046953 to lee et al ., published apr . 25 , 2002 , discloses tips and related methods of fabricating tips , and is incorporated by reference . another class of suitable substrates can be , for example , surfaces containing microfabricated structures of interest for production of sensors , field emission sources , or other optical or electronic devices . specific examples of preformed catalyst or catalyst precursor materials include nanoparticles having dimensions ranging from several microns to several nanometers . the particles can be polymeric , metals , semiconductors or insulators . the catalyst can be transition metal catalysts including , for example , fe , ni , mo , and co , or other metals such as , for example , titanium , platinum , and palladium . catalysts can also be mixtures of metals , such as fe / mo . composite nanostructures can be , for example , aluminum oxide , silicon oxide , tin oxide , and iron oxide . in preferred embodiments , the catalyst can be , for example , iron oxide ( fe 2 o 3 ), iron , molybdenum , cobalt , nickel , ruthenium , or zinc , and oxides thereof . the catalytic regions or islands can be also formed from thermal decomposition of metallic salts . for example , iron ( iii ) nitrate can be oxidatively decomposed into iron ( iii ) oxide . catalysts with magnetic properties can be used including , for example , magnetic iron oxide . in addition , supported catalysts can also be used such as , for example , alumina - supported iron . specific examples include inactive particles ( such as polystyrene , titanium dioxide , alumina , silica ) which act as supports for the catalytic particles . catalysts are described in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 346 , 189 including supported and unsupported catalyst particles . an advantage of the dpn process is the ability to form closely spaced nanometer level structures . the distance between separated catalyst regions can be on the many micron scale or as small as 5 nm , or can be the minimum inter - feature distance achieved with dpn printing . thus , multiple catalyst materials can be patterned using this method , including two or more catalyst components , with each component in discrete patterns . thus , combinatorial arrays of catalyst materials can be produced . the catalyst region can have a length or width dimension , other than height , which is less than about one micron in size , more particularly less than about 500 nm in size , more particularly less than about 250 nm in size , more particularly less than about 100 nm in size , more particularly less than about 50 nm in size , and more particularly less than about 25 nm in size . the catalyst region can have a length or width dimension , other than height , which is at least about 1 nm in size , more particularly , which is at least about 5 nm in size . the dpn printing can be carried out with a reactive transfer of ink to the substrate , or with non - reactive transfer of ink to the substrate . the catalyst pattern can be a series of patterned catalyst dots , or can be a series of patterned catalyst lines . once patterned , the catalyst regions or islands can be used to grow electrically conductive , semiconducting , or insulating structures from the catalyst . the resulting structures can be , for example , nanotubes , nanowires , or mixtures thereof , and may include carbon nanotubes , si or ge crystalline nanowires , cobalt nanowires , various sulfides , oxides , and nitrides , for example silicon nitride , copper sulfite , silicon oxide . in one embodiment , carbon structures can be fabricated from the patterned catalysts including fullerenes , nanohorns , and carbon nanotubes . the carbon structures can be conductive or semi - conductive doped nanotubes , or mixtures thereof . the nanotubes can be single - walled , double walled , or multi - walled nanotubes . the nanotubes can be in the form of fibrils and ropes . carbon nanotubes can be generated by methods known in the art with use of carbon sources such as , for example , methane , carbon monoxide , acetylene , or ethylene . instrumentation is available from , for example , nanodevices ( santa barbara ), for growing carbon nanotubes by catalyzed chemical vapor deposition ( easytube ™ nanofurnace ). documents which are incorporated by reference , and which relate to nanotube technology , including cvd fabrication and catalysis , applications of carbon nanotubes in devices , purification of nanotubes once formed , and which can be used to in practicing the present invention include : ( 1 ) hannes kind et al . advanced materials , 1999 , 11 , 1285 . ( 2 ) y . y . wei et al . j . vac . sci . technol . b , 2000 , 18 ( 6 ), 3586 ( 3 ) h . wang et al . applied surface science , 2001 , 181 , 248 - 254 . ( 5 ) j . h . hafner , j . am . chem . soc ., 1999 , 21 , 9750 - 9751 . ( 6 ) cao et al . applied surface science , 2001 , 181 , 234 - 238 . ( 7 ) dai et al ., “ growth and characterization of carbon nanotubes ,” book chapter in “ topics in applied physics ”, vol . 80 , ed . m . dresselhaus , springer verlag ( 2000 ). ( 9 ) dai et al . j . am . chem . soc ., 121 7975 - 7976 ( 1999 ). ( 14 ) m . s . dresselhaus et al ., science of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes , academic press , san diego , 1996 . ( 16 ) u . s . patent publication , 2003 / 0148577 (“ controlled alignment of catalytically grown nanostructures in a large scale synthesis process ”) by merkulov et al ., published aug . 7 , 2003 . ( 17 ) u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0127336 , published aug . 1 , 2002 to richard smalley et al . ( 18 ) u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0113714 , published aug . 1 , 2002 to richard smalley et al . ( 19 ) u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0102203 , published aug . 1 , 2002 to richard smalley et al . ( 20 ) u . s . pat . no . 6 , 183 , 714 (“ method of making ropes of single - wall carbon nanotubes ”) to richard smalley et al ., issued feb . 6 , 2001 . ( 21 ) u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0088938 to colbert et al ., published jul . 11 , 2002 (“ methods for forming an array of single - wall carbon nanotubes and compositions thereof ”). ( 22 ) u . s . patent publication 2003 / 0143327 , published jul . 31 , 2003 to rudiger et al . ( 23 ) u . s . pat . no . 6 , 146 , 227 to mancevski issued nov . 14 , 2000 ( method for manufacturing carbon nanotubes as functional elements of mems devices ”). ( 24 ) u . s . pat . no . 6 , 277 , 318 to bower et al ., issued aug . 21 , 2001 (“ method for fabrication of patterned carbon nanotube films ”). ( 25 ) u . s . pat . no . 6 , 333 , 016 to resasco et al . issued dec . 25 , 2001 (“ method of producing carbon nanotubes ”). ( 26 ) u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0130353 to lieber et al ., published sep . 19 , 2002 ( nanoscopic wire - based devices , arrays , and methods of their manufacture ”). nanotubes and nanowires , which are preferred embodiments of the present invention , are important materials because of their unique mechanical and electrical properties . in this invention , nanotubes and nanowires can be positioned on substrates with high resolution , on the order of many microns to several nanometers . growth can extend in a direction perpendicular to the substrate , or can extend more laterally . in lateral growth , the possibility exists for connection between different catalyst regions , or between a catalyst and a non - catalytic region . in this embodiment , circuits can be formed . the circuits may act as components in sensors , biosensors , and other nanoelectronic devices . other applications of such structures are in field emission sources and photonics , as well as others noted in the above - cited references . the carbon nanotube length can vary greatly depending on how they are made , and can be nanoscopic or microscopic . the aspect ratio can be , for example , about 100 to about 100 , 000 , more particularly , 100 to 10 , 000 . a . an example of a fabrication method for nanostructures described above . method used for generating gold surfaces with nanoscale carbon nanotube patterns via dip pen nanolithographic printing . 1 . monodispersed fe / mo particles ( 14 nm ) are prepared by thermal decomposition of fe ( co ) 5 and mo ( co ) 6 by refluxing in octyl ether solvent in the presence of surfactants octanoic acid and / or bis - 2 - ethylhexylamine ( as described by li et al chem . mater ., 2001 , 13 , 1008 - 1014 .) 2 . patterns of 16 - mercaptohexadecanoic acid are generated via dip pen nanolithography on a polycrystalline gold substrate ( 60 nm of au thermally evaporated onto a 5 nm thick ti adhesion layer ). typically , patterns of dots and lines are generated with lateral feature dimensions on the order of microns down to 50 nm . after patterning the template molecule , the unpatterned gold surface is protected by exposure to a 1 mm solution of 1 - octadecanethiol in ethanol for 10 min ., then rinsed with ethanol . 3 . after generation of the template pattern , the substrate is exposed to a solution of the fe / mo nanoparticles in n - heptane for 0 . 5 h . the substrate is then rinsed carefully with n - heptane to remove any particles that are not bound to the template pattern . 4 . the catalyst patterned substrate is then heated to 700 ° c . in air to remove organic coatings on the particles . 5 . single - walled carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions via cvd using a high temperature furnace setup with h 2 / co feedgas ( described by zheng et al , nano letters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 8 , 895 - 898 .) b . an example of a fabrication method for nanostructures described above . method used for generating insulator or semiconductor ( silicon or silicon oxide ) with nanoscale carbon nanotube patterns via dip pen nanolithography . 1 . monodispersed fe / mo particles ( 3 nm ) are prepared by thermal decomposition of fe ( co ) 5 and mo ( co ) 6 by refluxing in octyl ether solvent in the presence of surfactants octanoic acid and / or bis - 2 - ethylhexylamine ( as described by li et al chem . mater ., 2001 , 13 , 1008 - 1014 .) 2 . patterns of 3 - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane are generated via dip pen nanolithography on a silicon / silicon oxide substrate ( 500 nm of thermally grown oxide on silicon ). typically , patterns of dots and lines are generated with lateral feature dimensions on the order of microns down to 10 nm . 3 . after generation of the template pattern , the substrate is exposed to a solution of the fe / mo nanoparticles in n - heptane for 0 . 5 h . the substrate is then rinsed carefully with n - heptane to remove any particles that are not bound to the template pattern . 4 . carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions as described above . c . an example of a fabrication method for nanostructures described above . method used for generating insulator or semiconductor ( silicon or silicon oxide ) with nanoscale carbon nanotube patterns via dip pen nanolithography . 1 . monodispersed fe / mo particles ( 3 nm ) are prepared by thermal decomposition of fe ( co ) 5 and mo ( co ) 6 by refluxing in octyl ether solvent in the presence of surfactants octanoic acid and / or bis - 2 - ethylhexylamine ( as described by li et al chem . mater ., 2001 , 13 , 1008 - 1014 .) 2 . patterns of catalyst particles are generated via dip pen nanolithography on a silicon / silicon oxide substrate ( 500 nm of thermally grown oxide on silicon ). typically , patterns of dots and lines are generated with lateral feature dimensions on the order of microns down to 10 nm . 3 . carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions as described above . d . an example of a fabrication method for nanostructures described above . method used for generating gold surfaces with nanoscale carbon nanotube patterns via dip pen nanolithographic printing . 1 . monodispersed fe / mo particles ( 14 nm ) are prepared by thermal decomposition of fe ( co ) 5 and mo ( co ) 6 by refluxing in octyl ether solvent in the presence of surfactants octanoic acid and / or bis - 2 - ethylhexylamine ( as described by li et al chem . mater ., 2001 , 13 , 1008 - 1014 .) 2 . patterns of 1 - octadecanethiol are generated via dip pen nanolithography on a polycrystalline gold substrate ( 60 nm of au thermally evaporated onto a 5 nm thick ti adhesion layer ). typically , patterns of dots and lines are generated with lateral feature dimensions on the order of microns down to 50 nm . after patterning the resist molecule , the unpatterned gold surface is modified with 16 - mercaptohexadecanoic acid by exposure to a 1 mm solution in ethanol for 10 min ., then rinsed with ethanol . 3 . after generation of the negative pattern , the substrate is exposed to a solution of the fe / mo nanoparticles in n - heptane for 0 . 5 h . the particles bind selectively to the regions consisting of 16 - mercaptohexadecanoic acid , and do not bind to the regions containing 1 - octadecanethiol . the substrate is then rinsed carefully with n - heptane to remove any particles that are not bound to the 16 - mercaptohexadecanoic acid regions . 4 . the catalyst patterned substrate is then heated to 700 ° c . in air to remove organic coatings on the particles . 5 . single - walled carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions via cvd using a high temperature furnace setup with h 2 / co feedgas ( described by zheng et al , nano letters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 8 , 895 - 898 .) the useful properties of single - walled carbon nanotubes are generally understood to be a function of their diameter and chirality . it is generally understood , for example , that the diameter of swnts produced from metal oxide catalyst particles can be related to the diameter of the catalyst nanoparticle . therefore , a need exists to control the size of the deposited catalyst particles . the following embodiments of dpn printing can be used to pattern discreet packages of catalyst material using a carrier . a carrier can be used to closely control the diameter of the resulting particle , and thus the diameter of the swnt produced . a carrier can be , for example , a synthetic or biological polymer including a dendrimer or a protein carrier such as , for example , ferritin . dendrimer carriers are described in , for example , h . c . choi et al ., j . phys . chem . b ., vol . 106 , no . 48 , dec . 5 , 2002 , pages 12361 - 12365 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . dpn printing of dendrimers is described in , for example , r . mckendry et al ., nanoletters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 7 , pages 713 - 716 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . proteins having cores and metal carrier ability can be used . for example , use of cores of the iron - storage protein ferritin is described in , for example , y . li et al ., j . phys . chem . b ., 2001 , 105 , 11424 - 11431 . in this embodiment , small iron particles of about 1 nm to about 5 nm in diameter can be used to prepare single tubes . e1 . artificial protein carriers for iron deposition via the dpn printing process . method used for generating silicon oxide surfaces with swnts with well defined diameters via dip pen nanolithographic printing . 1 . apoferritin molecules ( available from sigma - aldrich ) are reconstituted with fe ( iii ) using standard procedures ( see li et al j . phys . chem . b 2001 reference , for example , cited above ). 2 . different sizes of final catalyst particles can be made by controlling the amount of iron in the ferritin . the loading of ferritin with controllable amount of iron yields iron oxide particles with well defined diameters and narrow size distributions , for example , ˜ 200 iron atoms yield about 1 . 9 nm diameter particles , while 1100 iron atoms yield about 3 . 7 nm diameter particles . 3 . the iron - loaded protein , dissolved in distilled water is used as ink for patterning nanoscale features on a substrate via the dpn printing process . protein printing is described in , for example , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 442 , 189 filed may 21 , 2003 to mirkin et al . which is hereby incorporated by reference . 4 . following patterning , the substrate is heated to 800 ° c . in air to remove the organic layer and to obtain fully oxidized iron catalyst particles . 5 . single - walled carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions via cvd using a high temperature furnace setup with h 2 / co feedgas ( described by zheng et al , nano letters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 8 , 895 - 898 .) e2 . dendrimer carriers for iron deposition via the dpn printing process . method used for generating silicon oxide surfaces with swnts with well defined diameters via dip pen nanolithographic printing . 1 . dendrimer molecules ( hydroxyl terminated pamam g6 available from dendritech ) are loaded with fe ( iii ) using standard procedures ( li et al j . phys . chem . b 2001 , cited above ). 2 . the iron - containing dendrimers dissolved in an aqueous solution are used as the ink to form nanoscale patterns on a substrate via the dpn printing process . 3 . following patterning , the substrate is heated to 800 ° c . in air to remove the organic dendrimer and yield fully oxidized iron catalyst particles . 4 . single - walled carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions via cvd using a high temperature furnace setup with h 2 / co feedgas ( described by zheng et al , nano letters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 8 , 895 - 898 .) method used for generating silicon oxide surfaces with swnts with well defined diameters via dip pen nanolithographic printing . 1 . dendrimers ( hydroxyl terminated pamam g6 available from dendritech ) dissolved in an aqueous solution are used as the ink to form nanoscale patterns on a substrate via the dpn printing process . 2 . following patterning , the substrate is exposed to an aqueous solution of fecl 3 ( 6h 2 o ) for several seconds to fully load the dendrimers with fe ( iii ). the substrate is briefly rinsed to remove uncomplexed iron . 3 . following patterning , the substrate is heated to 800 ° c . in air to remove the organic dendrimer and yield fully oxidized iron catalyst particles . 4 . single - walled carbon nanotubes are grown from the catalyst regions via cvd using a high temperature furnace setup with h 2 / co feedgas ( described by zheng et al , nano letters , 2002 , vol . 2 , no . 8 , 895 - 898 .) while the invention has been described above with particularity , other embodiments will be known to those skilled in the art which are not expressly disclosed herein but nevertheless form part of the invention . in the present invention , what can be claimed is :	3
the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter , in which some , but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown . indeed , the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements . unlike pmr - based chemistries wherein , after being coated on a reinforcing material , all monomeric reactants are reacted simultaneously , volatiles are removed , and resin is cured to form a polyimide prepreg or composite , embodiments of the present invention comprise the sequential reaction of monomers such that the monomers are pre - imidized prior to the making of a composite . accordingly , the pre - imidized resin system exhibits only one reaction mechanism , namely the single step of endcap - to - endcap reactions , during the curing and crosslinking of the resin to form a composite . below temperatures for initiating the endcap - to - endcap reactions , the polyimide compositions are easily processable , unreactive and otherwise latent . in one of its aspects , the present invention is directed to a process for synthesizing polyimide oligomers suitable for high - temperature polymeric composites , wherein all reactions except for chain - extension reactions have been performed prior to composite fabrication . in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention , monomeric reactants are imidized prior to composite manufacturing and subsequently the remaining single step of endcap - to - endcap reactions is initiated during composite manufacturing for the following : wherein l is — ch 2 —, —( ch 3 ) 2 c —, —( ch 3 ) 2 c —, — o —, — s —, — so 2 — or — co —; wherein y is — so 2 —, — s —, —( cf 3 ) 2 c —, — o —, or —( ch 3 ) 2 c —; and in certain embodiments n is selected such that the molecular weight ranges from about 1000 to about 5000 . in yet another embodiment , monomeric reactants are imidized prior to composite manufacturing and subsequently the single remaining step of endcap - to - endcap reactions is initiated during composite manufacturing for the following : wherein l is — ch 2 —, —( ch 3 ) 2 c —, —( ch 3 ) 2 c —, — o —, — s —, — so 2 — or — co —; wherein y is — so 2 —, — s —, —( cf 3 ) 2 c —, — o —, or —( ch 3 ) 2 c —; and in certain embodiments n is selected such that the molecular weight ranges from about 1000 to about 5000 . in various alternative embodiments , the following monomers are reacted prior to composite manufacturing : the resulting resin system is subsequently cured upon manufacturing of the composite by heating the resin system to initiate the remaining single step of endcap - to - endcap reactions . in various embodiments x , y and z are each selected such that the molecular weight of the resulting pre - imidized material ranges from about 1000 to about 5000 . in various embodiments , r is selected from the group previously described . as previously stated , embodiments of the present invention comprise a process for synthesizing polyimide oligomers comprises the sequential reaction of monomers such that the monomers are pre - imidized prior to the making of a composite resulting in a pre - imidized resin system exhibiting only one reaction mechanism , namely endcap - to - endcap reactions , during the curing and crosslinking of the resin to form a composite . a list of exemplary monomers suitable as chemical backbones include , but are not limited to : a dialkyl ester of an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid ; 4 , 4 methylene dianiline ( mda ); a dialkyl , trialkyl or tetraalkylester of biphenyltetracarboxylic acid ; phenylenediamine ; 3 , 4 ′- oxydianiline ( 3 , 4 ′- oda ); a dimethyl ester of 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′- benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid ( btde ); 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′- benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride ( btda ), 3 , 4 , 3 ′, 4 ′- biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride ( bpda ), 2 , 2 bis ( 3 ′, 4 ′- dicarboxy phenyl ) hexafluoro propane dianhydride ( 6fda ), 2 -( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenyl )- 1 - phenylacetylene anhydride ( 4 - pepa ); 2 , 3 , 3 ′, 4 ′- biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 -[ 4 - aminopnenoxyl ] phenyl ) propane ( bapp ). in various embodiments , the chemical backbones / precursors that are reacted with at least one endcap comprise a moderate molecular weight between about 1000 and about 5000 . in another embodiment the chemical backbone comprises a molecular weight of about 2500 to about 5000 . in yet another embodiment , the chemical backbones comprises a lower - molecular weight between about 1000 to about 3000 . other embodiments may comprise a chemical backbone from about 1000 to about 2000 , from about 2000 to about 3000 or alternatively from about 1500 to about 2500 . in one alternative embodiment the chemical backbone comprises a molecular weight that does not exceed about 3000 . by using precursors with lower - molecular weights , easier melt - processability is achieved . although numerous endcap monomers are contemplated , various embodiments of the present invention comprise difunctional endcaps . in certain preferred embodiments , the endcaps comprise a dinadic material such as a dinadic acid chloride , a dinadic phenol or a dinadic amine . endcaps suitable for specific embodiments of the present invention include but are not limited to , for example , the following compounds : in one alternative embodiment , suitable endcaps include difunctional imidophenols , which are condensation products of diamino - phenols and anhydrides , as follows : r 1 is a lower alkyl , lower alkoxy , aryl , substituted aryl , or mixtures thereof ; g is — so 2 —, — s —, — o —, or — ch 2 —; and j is 0 , 1 , or 2 . another aspect of the present invention pertains to producing high - temperature composites . resin systems produced in accordance with embodiments of the present invention exhibit densities less than those of metal counterparts . accordingly , composites comprising polyimide resins formed by a single - step process are ideal for replacing metallic structures to reduce weight . where high - temperature strength also drives the design , a material with higher allowable strength at elevated temperatures , such as composite embodiments of the present invention , will reduce overall structural weight . implementation of the cost effective process for synthesizing polyimide oligomers enables a simplified and broader application of polyimide resins into polymer formulations for the production of lighter - weight composite structures to be used in place of metallic structures on aerospace vehicles . thus , reducing the overall weight of aerospace vehicles or the like . also , polymeric composites manufactured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention can be used to replace other high - temperature composites that require a thermal - protection layer . similarly , this too , will reduce the weight of aerospace vehicles by obviating the need for the thermal protection . although advantageous for use with aerospace vehicles , other applications , such as other weight sensitive applications , may also employ polymeric composites according to embodiments of the present invention composites and prepregs comprising polyimide oligomer compositions formulated according to embodiments of the present invention can by prepared by any conventional technique known in the art . for example , in certain embodiments the polyimide oligomers exhibit a melt viscosity such that a composite can be prepared by known liquid - molding techniques such as resin - transfer molding and resin film infusion among others . depending on the application , the reinforcement materials can include , for example , woven fabrics , continuous or discontinuous fibers ( in chopped or whisker form ), ceramics , organics , carbon ( graphite ), or glass . for example , a composite can be manufactured by impregnating reinforcing materials with a pre - imidized composition according to embodiments of the present invention and cured anaerobically and under sufficient pressure to prevent the creation of voids . if the polyimide oligomers are nadic endcapped , the curing process will initially release cyclopentadiene . in such cases , the applied pressure during the curing process should be sufficient to re - dissolve the cyclopentadiene , which will react with the resin itself and become incorporated into the backbone . suitable pressures for composite fabrication range from atmospheric to 1 , 000 psi . depending upon the nature of the polyimide composition . depending on the specific polyimide composition to be cured , the pre - imidized resin systems may be cured at temperatures known in the art . for example , the pre - imidized resin systems by be cured by subjecting them to temperatures ranging from about 200 ° c . to about 350 ° c . many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation .	2
referring now by reference characters to the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention , a designates an artificial breeding instrument designed primarily for use with dogs , but useful with any other animals that effect a &# 34 ; tie &# 34 ; during copulation . instrument a comprises an elongated member 1 , generally simulative of a dog penis , being of circular cross - section but at its distal end 2 being preferably tapered and closed . member 1 is fabricated desirably of a suitable plastic which provides a relative soft , pliability or flexibility and may be of tubular form , having a lengthwise bore 3 which is open at the proximal end 4 thereof . member 1 is of such length and texture so as to be non - injurious to the accepting vaginal and cervical portions of the particular female dog and yet being of such relative proportions as to be sensorily stimulative in the manner of a natural phallus . near the proximal end 4 , and in the order of approximately two - thirds of the distance from distal end 2 , member 1 is surrounded by a thin - walled , inflatable bulb or balloon 5 providing an expansible air chamber 6 . at the opposite ends thereof bulb 5 is provided with aligned openings 7 , 8 and with the edges thereof , as 7 &# 39 ;, 8 &# 39 ;, respectively , turned inwardly for suitable air - proof engagement with the outer face of member 1 , such as by an appropriate adhesive or the like . substantially centrally within the portion of member 1 encircled by bulb 5 , an opening 9 is formed in the wall thereof for extension therethrough of the outer end of a tube 10 ; said tube 10 progressing through member 1 , thence outwardly proximal end 4 for securement to a conventional flexible fitting , generally denoted 11 , for connection to an air bag 12 . provided upon fitting 11 is a clamp 13 by the positioning of which fitting 11 may be closed to prevent air flow therethrough for purposes presently appearing . air bag 12 together with fitting 11 and clamp 13 do not form a part of the present invention but are disclosed for the purpose of demonstrating a convenient source of air for inflating bulb 5 . it is , of course , recognized that there are numerous expedients providing the desired portability for such purpose . as pointed out hereinabove , instrument a is designed for utilization , primarily , with dogs for the purpose of enhancing the probability of fertilization in the practice of artificial insemination . through a condition simulative of a &# 34 ; tie &# 34 ; which dogs uniquely develop during copulation , the female will be caused to experience physical and psychological sensations associated with mating whereby she will be disposed for enhanced receptivity of the artificially provided sperm since she will feel that breeding is in fact taking place . thus , near - reality will be caused , as distinguished from the unnatural procedures used heretofore in depositing sperm artifically within the female after a female dog has been artificially inseminated , as by the injection of sperm through the cervix and into the uterus by means of a conventional tube , instrument a is inserted into the vagina of the female until the bulb 5 is immediately above the constrictor vestibuli muscle of the female . thereupon air bag 12 is compressed so as to force air through tube 10 and into bulb 5 for effecting dilation thereof . clamp 13 is then suitably manipulated to prevent accidental return flow of air from bulb 5 . bulb 5 as thus inflated simulates an engorged penile bulbus glandis and thus excites the female &# 39 ; s constrictor vestibuli muscle to contract the tighten immediately behind the now inflated bulb 5 and thereby bring about a condition simulative of the &# 34 ; tie &# 34 ; which is developed by the copulating dogs , which under natural conditions prevents the male from dismounting for a period of time as in the order of 15 minutes . such excitation of the vaginal musculature causing a contracting or a pulling of the uterus will thus conform to , or closely approximate , the usual conditions developing during copulation and thereby conduce to fertilization . through the utilization of instrument a the female is stimulated into a psychological , as well as a physical state , comparable to that experienced during natural copulation so that she is thus systemically prepared for successful insemination . as stated hereinabove , instrument a through the inflation of bulb 5 successfully closes the vagina as by the so - called &# 34 ; tie knot &# 34 ; development so that semen loss is inhibited . after a period of time corresponding to that normally involved has elapsed , such as 15 minutes , clamp 13 is manipulated so as to appropriately open fitting 11 and thereby allow return of air to bag 12 with consequent deflation of bulb 5 so that instrument a may be then withdrawn . it is evident from the foregoing that if desired member 1 forwardly of opening 9 could be formed of solid material . it is , of course , recognized that instrument a is producible in varying lengths and diameters so as to accommodate each particular breed of dog . although bulb 5 has been disclosed hereinabove as being inflatable by air , it should be recognized that any suitable type of fluid could be used whether gaseous or liquid . with liquids the instrument could easily be adapted for connection to a suitable source of water or the like which might be preferably warmed .	0
with reference to the said figures , the simulation for example of the growth of a limb is obtained with the particular ( 1 ) in thermoplastic in the form of a tube with a restriction of the internal section supporting a spring ( 2 ) at the part ( 1 . 1 ) and supporting the gluing to the remaining part of the limb at the part 1 . 2 , whereas at the other extremity 1 . 3 it is tapered to obtain an aesthetically correct coupling with the particular 3 , which represents the sliding part of the extensible arm , because , at extremity 3 . 1 , it allows the reaction with the spring 2 , which is compressed or released according to whether the cable 4 , connected in 3 . 2 , or fixed with a section of yielding metal cylinder 3 . 2 a , appropriately deformed by squashing , is extended or withdrawn . extension or withdrawal of the cable 4 takes place by action of the pulley 5 , with a fixing hole 5 . 1 for the cable 4 , governed by the motor 6 , controlled by an electronic circuit 7 powered by an accumulator 8 . the particular 3 has a joint 3 . 3 for connection by joint or gluing of the front part of the extensible organ 3 to the rest of the limb . according to this present invention as shown in fig1 in a toy that requires elongation of the limbs or other parts of the body , for example a doll , there is an electronic control circuit ( 7 ) which recognises whether the user has used , touched or moved the toy . this requisite is important , because if the user relates to the toy , the growth that the toy &# 39 ; s mechanisms make available becomes visible almost immediately . the electronic circuit 7 has , as said , a device for recording the number and frequency of the shakes the toy receives . these are the parameters utilised to give consent to growth . that happens because , in the presence of the events described , the electronic circuit 7 sends a command and the necessary energy , taken from the accumulator 8 , to the electric motor 6 connected by the electric wires 6 . 1 — which starts up and drives the reducer 8 a , connected through pulley 5 and the cables 4 to the extremity of the extensible organ 3 , permitting the amount of extension provided for . the electric motor 6 , following consent from the electronic circuit 7 , rotates and draws with it the cams 5 . 1 a positioned on the disc 5 a or the pulley 5 of fig2 which — see fig2 . 1 — slackening the cable 4 . the spring 2 is no longer compressed and expands , moving the particular 3 , providing evidence of the lengthening of the limb . at that point the doll &# 39 ; s clothes have become short and tight and the user has to change them , thus meeting a natural need which will be learned quickly and indelibly . the electronic circuit is calibrated in such a way that if , for example , the toy is not used for 100 hours , the limbs and other parts of the body shrink and retract to the original position of fig1 showing an evident and apparent slovenly aspect , because the clothes have suddenly become too large and too long . [ 0032 ] fig3 shows a preferential section of the bust in which it can be seen that the device of fig2 and 2 . 1 consists of an outer piece 9 and an inner piece 3 which are connected by slotting in to the lower and upper part of the bust respectively and keep the spring 2 compressed thanks to the action described above of the cable 4 . they represent a solution for lengthening and shortening the limbs and other parts of the toy &# 39 ; s body . again in fig3 one sees an alternative solution for extension of the bust by which the lengthening and shortening of this part of the body is obtained by the spring 2 a , which is compressed between the upper and lower parts of the bust thanks to the reaction points 12 . 1 and 15 . 1 , when the lower part is connected directly to the pulley 5 . through the weakly elastic cable 4 a fixed to the support 12 . 2 . this is possible because the two sections of the bust slide over each other like the sections of a telescope , like the particulars indicated in fig2 and 2 . 1 , and also because the distance the thread moves to ensure the functioning is appropriately determined through idler pins and bearings to reduce friction and hence the size of the motor . in fig1 the same extension elements of fig2 — jointed or glued in the points 15 . 2 and 15 . 3 through the cable 4 connected to the pulley 5 — keep the spring 2 compressed or determine an extended position for it , managing to show the extension envisaged for the neck , too . [ 0036 ] fig4 shows the reason why the legs connected with thread 4 lengthen more that the arms . as can be seen , the pulleys differ in their radius and pulley 20 has a greater radius than pulley 21 . for the same number of rotations , therefore , cable 4 is wrapped less around pulley 20 than it is around pulley 21 . when , for the reasons described , the electronics 8 give permission to slacken cable 4 , the pulley moves through an fixed angle , whereas the two cables travel different distances . [ 0037 ] fig5 shows a pulley 5 formed of 3 pulleys 20 , 21 and 22 coupled in such a way as to create different extensions for the arms , legs and neck , or vice versa ; as can be seen this pulley also presents the wedge 24 . [ 0038 ] fig7 . 1 sketches the breast of a doll seen from the side in longitudinal section performed on the outer casing . the same view but from above appears in fig7 . from both the figures one notes that pulley 5 is fitted with wedge 24 . when it rotates in the release stage , the wedge pushes the mobile plate 25 which is held in the retracted position by the action of the spring 26 positioned around the pin 27 solid with the outer casing and held by the locking ring 28 . when the motor 8 has consent to release the cables 4 , these lengthen , because the pulley 5 rotates and in the presence of the wedge 24 it will act on the mobile plate 25 , which overcomes the reaction of the spring 26 , allowing the mobile plate 25 to run , guided by the pins 27 until the wedge 2 and the mobile plate 25 reach the position indicated in fig8 and 8 . 1 , where the breast 29 is shown , connected to the mobile plate 25 it has emerged fully from the aperture 30 . [ 0039 ] fig6 shows a wedge 24 placed radially on the outside of the pulley 5 , because in some cases the motor could work inclined 900 with its axis parallel to the mobile plate 25 as indicated in fig9 and then , to push the mobile plate 25 , only the position of the wedge in relation to the pulley changes . it can be observed from fig2 that when all the components have been mounted , the spring 2 is mounted , with the cable 4 running within it , and then the spring 2 is allowed to run within the piece 9 and then the pieces 9 and 3 are brought into position , connecting the cable to the pulley 5 at point 5 . 1 to make it wrap around the pulley . the operations described are repeated for the two arms , the two legs and the neck and the front halves of the bust are mounted . the accumulator and controlling electronics had been mounted earlier , so that the toy is then ready for use with few and simple operations .	0
embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for a versatile and convenient electronic stamper that overcomes limitations of conventional systems including greater robustness in message transfer as well as disproportionate costs . the following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements . fig4 is a print solution embodiment 400 of the present invention including a fixed printhead 405 printing to a print area 410 without relative motion between printhead 405 and print area 410 . fig5 is a detailed representation of an embodiment of printhead 405 shown in fig4 . printhead 405 includes an array ( shown as a regular matrix of m × n print elements 505 ). in a preferred embodiment , print elements 505 are inkjets , though other implementations may use a different imaging technology . in the preferred embodiments , the desired technologies provide for an image transfer system using few , if any , relatively moving components . a fixed printhead having print elements that directly transfer image elements is preferred , like the inkjet technology . as noted herein , there are thermal systems that transfer “ ink ” of some type or another to a medium in response to selective activation of print elements of the fixed printhead . the technologies may include , in addition to those expressly described herein , dye sublimation , dye thermal transfer , wax melt , gel transfer , and the like . the systems described herein have usefulness in the electronic “ stamper ” field even when employing monochromatic imaging elements . manual stamps often employ just a single color : typically black or red . while useful in this context , the print elements of the preferred embodiments will include multicolor , so the print elements shown herein may , in fact , include two or more sub - pixel elements ( not explicitly shown ) making up any particular picture element . fig6 is a representative view of an embodiment for a stamper system 600 including the present invention . system 600 includes a hand - held housing 605 ( sized for single - handed grip and use ) overlying a print area 610 . housing 605 includes a printhead 615 supporting an array of print elements 620 ( e . g ., inkjets and the like ) that transfer image elements to any location of print area 610 without any relative movement between housing 605 , print area 610 , and print head 615 . system 600 also includes an electronics subsystem 625 including a processing unit , memory , and an energy storage system for controlling the print elements in response to a user - triggered signal from an interface ( not shown ). the interface permits selection of particular images and other operational and monitoring features , as implemented . some embodiments may include a communication mode for sending or receiving data ( e . g ., images , controls , processor executable instructions , and the like ) for storage in the memory . the communication mode may be wired or wireless . fig7 is a representative view of an alternative embodiment for a stamper system 700 including the present invention . system 700 includes a hand - held housing 705 ( sized for single - handed grip and use ) overlying a print area 710 . housing 705 includes a printhead 715 supporting an array of print elements 720 ( e . g ., resistors , heating elements , and the like ) that transfer image elements to any location of print area 720 by use of a thermal ribbon 725 without any relative movement between housing 705 , print area 710 , and print head 715 . system 700 also includes an electronics subsystem 730 including a processing unit , memory , and an energy storage system for controlling the print elements in response to a user - triggered signal from an interface ( not shown ). the interface permits selection of particular images and other operational and monitoring features , as implemented . some embodiments may include a communication mode for sending or receiving data ( e . g ., images , controls , processor executable instructions , and the like ) for storage in the memory . the communication mode may be wired or wireless . in these embodiments , the printhead covers the entire printable print area ( which may be a print area aperture to a larger medium ). there are multiple print elements ( nozzles , heating elements , cartridges , and the like as virtually any print technology may be adapted as described herein ) spread out appropriately over the printhead to define the desired coverage and resolution of the transferred image . individual elements are trigged based upon desired indicia to be transferred . there are no moving parts for the image transfer system — the housing , print area and print head remain relatively fixed . less power is required to activate the particular print elements and there is no movement of a printhead , particularly “ high speed ” movement to improve its function as a stamper embodiment . the slower the conventional print solution moves the printhead , the longer a user is required to maintain the stamper location fixed . movement before completion risks distortion and the longer it takes , the more a user is dissatisfied with the “ stamping ” function . it should be noted that hand - held electronic devices are generally more robust with longer times between failure the fewer the number of moving parts that are associated with the product . embodiments of the present invention desirably have very few moving parts , zero moving parts with respect to the image transfer system itself . density of print elements determines highest resolution which offers an option of activating fewer elements to lower resolution . it is the case that for a stamper implementation , super - fine resolution is not required . part of the advantage of these embodiments is the use of repurposed technology to decrease resolution ( as opposed to increases in resolution for newer printing technologies ). by adapting existing and new technologies to be coarser resolution , it is possible to achieve great results at lower costs . there is often more margin , making manufacturing and use simpler and more efficient ( and less costly ), by decreasing resolution and speed . the preceding describes a preferred electronic stamper that features and arrangements addressing limitations in conventional stampers , mechanical and electronic . manufacturers , based upon their individual decision - making , will offer different sizes and resolutions of these systems , with differing imaging systems , and including a feature set that will likely vary from the feature set described herein , to meet the needs of its customers and clients , all these variations are included within the scope of the present invention . in the description herein , numerous specific details are provided , such as examples of components and / or methods , to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention . one skilled in the relevant art will recognize , however , that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details , or with other apparatus , systems , assemblies , methods , components , materials , parts , and / or the like . in other instances , well - known structures , materials , or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention . reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, or “ a specific embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments . thus , respective appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ”, “ in an embodiment ”, or “ in a specific embodiment ” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . furthermore , the particular features , structures , or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other embodiments . it is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the present invention . it will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings / figures can also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner , or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases , as is useful in accordance with a particular application . additionally , any signal arrows in the drawings / figures should be considered only as exemplary , and not limiting , unless otherwise specifically noted . furthermore , the term “ or ” as used herein is generally intended to mean “ and / or ” unless otherwise indicated . combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted , where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear . as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow , “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . also , as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow , the meaning of “ in ” includes “ in ” and “ on ” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention , including what is described in the abstract , is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein . while specific embodiments of , and examples for , the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only , various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention , as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate . as indicated , these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention . thus , while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof , a latitude of modification , various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures , and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth . therefore , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention . it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and / or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims . thus , the scope of the invention is to be determined solely by the appended claims .	1
the invention will be described with respect to the various embodiments that are shown in the figures but it should be understood that modifications can be made to the invention . for example , it is contemplated and therefore within the scope of the present invention that any one or more feature that is present in any of the embodiments that are shown in the figures can be added to any other embodiment even if that one or more feature is not shown with the other embodiment . fig1 shows a perspective cross - sectional view of the present invention in its installed state . in this embodiment , the drain compartment 10 comprises two parts a top part 7 and a bottom part ( everything else in the figure besides top part 7 , chemical solid 5 , and drain 4 ). the drain compartment 10 is configured to be a drop - in component that is easily removed and can be monitored ( one can see through holes 1 ). the drain compartment 10 also allows for proper flow and drainage . as shown in fig1 , the drain compartment 10 has top holes 1 that allows the passage of water from a shower head or from a tap to pass from a sink , shower , or tub into the drain compartment 10 . drain compartment 10 is designed so as to permit its insertion into pipe 4 . lip 6 prevents the device from dropping down into the plumbing pipe 4 . when water passes through top holes 1 , the water contacts solid chemical 5 , which is at least partially water soluble . solid chemical 5 forms a solution with water that will clean the plumbing and / or remove obstructions in the plumbing . depending on the type of solid chemical 5 used , the resulting aqueous solution may be used to clean dirt and / or grime , and / or prevent and / or treat the build - up or formation of bacteria , mold , mildew , fungi , or lichen , or dissolve materials that may be causing the plumbing to be blocked . in one contemplated embodiment , a series of different chemicals may be used that can address any of a plurality of these problems . as can be seen in fig1 , the top holes 1 and the side holes 3 allow the passage of water or any liquid into compartment 10 and once the water or liquid contacts the solid chemical 5 , the resultant aqueous solution containing the chemical that derives from solid chemical 5 passes through the bottom holes 2 . the shape of the device helps influence the path of the water and directs the water to the walls of the pipe . top part 7 of the compartment can be removed from the bottom part allowing the insertion of the solid chemical 5 into the bottom part and once the solid chemical 5 has been inserted into the bottom part of the compartment , top part 7 can be replaced so as to generate a flush surface with the bottom of the receptacle ( e . g ., a bathtub or shower ). in one embodiment , the solid chemical that may be used include one or more of a solid bleach , and / or one or more chemicals selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide ( lye ), sodium nitrate , sodium chloride ( salt ), sodium hypochlorite , aluminum , chlorine , bromine , iodine , benzoic arid and its salts , imidazoles , triazoles , thiazoles , allylamines , echinocandins , ciclopirox , flucytosine , griseofulvin , haloprogin , tolnaftate , undecylenic acid , crystal violet , balsam of peru , ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid , ion exchange resins , lime softening agents , baking soda , calcium chloride , magnesium sulfate , ph adjusters , and citric acid and / or the salts of any of these chemicals . it is desired that the chemical be present in the solid state , however , chemical modifications may be necessary to make any liquid a solid , including conversion of the chemical to a salt and / or addition of an acid or base to the chemical . as can be seen in fig2 , an embodiment is shown wherein there are different size holes 21 , 23 , 24 in the bottom part of the compartment that allow the passage of water but not the passage of the solid ( that solid is not shown ) that would rest in the compartment . in the embodiment shown in fig2 there are nubs 22 that arise from the rim 25 that allow a top part of the compartment ( not shown ) to snap into place . the to part of the compartment would contain a corresponding number of holes that correspond to each of the nubs 22 positioned so that each of the nubs 22 can accommodate the holes in the top part of the compartment . additionally , the top part of the compartment may have additional holes that allow the passage of water through the to part ( see the top part 7 in fig1 for an example of the holes that may be present that allow the passage of water ). it should be understood that the holes 23 in fig2 may be of different shapes and sizes or alternatively , they may all be uniform . moreover , the compartment may of a different size ( such as having the compartment be longer or shorter ). further , the bottom of the compartment may be flat or alternatively , it may have a convex or a concave shape . fig3 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention . the compartment 30 in this embodiment contains a tapered side 31 , which is designed to fit into a dram . the tapered side 33 is positioned so that the compartment 30 fits so that the highest point on top 31 is designed to sit flush with the receptacle ( e . g . a bathtub or shower ) in which the compartment 30 sits . the compartment 30 contains slits 32 , which allows the passage of water . the compartment 30 also contains a hole 34 at the bottom of the compartment 30 , which is able to accommodate a drain stopper ( not shown in fig3 but a similar drain stopper 42 that could fit in compartment 30 is shown in fig4 , described below ). in one variation and as shown in fig3 , the top 31 of the compartment 30 is designed in a manner similar to a puzzle so that a corresponding top ( not shown ) that would fit like a puzzle can be placed on the top of compartment 30 . the top ( not shown ) in one embodiment can be designed so that it is sits flush with the bottom of the receptacle in which it sits ( e . g . a bathtub or shower ) when it is combined with the compartment 30 . fig4 shows another embodiment of the present invention . the device 40 comprises compartment 45 , which is designed to accommodate a drain stopper 42 . in one variation and as shown in fig4 , drain stopper 42 comprises a flexible stopper 43 that is made of a water impermeable substance ( and is flexible ) such as neoprene . it should be understood that other flexible water impermeable materials are also suitable to be used as flexible stopper 43 . the flexible stopper 43 is designed so as to be able to fit inside the drain and to compress if necessary in the drain to stop the flow of water through the drain when the drain stopper 42 is depressed in a downwardly manner into compartment 45 . the drain stopper 42 also comprises top stopper 44 , which when closed ( i . e ., when drain stopper is depressed in a downwardly manner into compartment 45 ) in one embodiment is designed so as to sit flush with the receptacle ( e . g ., a shower or bathtub ) in which the device 40 sits . in a variation , the top stopper 44 , when closed ( i . e ., when drain stopper is depressed in a downwardly manner into compartment 45 ) in one embodiment is designed so as to sit above the level of the receptacle ( e . g ., a shower or bathtub ) in which the device 40 sits . although not shown in fig4 , the compartment 45 may also contain a hole in the bottom ( similar to hole 34 shown in fig3 ) that is designed to accommodate the drain stopper 42 . drain stopper 42 may comprise a spring , a catch , and a screw at the bottom of drain stopper 42 that is designed so that drain stopper 42 can be screwed into a female nut in the drain that allows the drain stopper 42 to be secured to the drain ( not shown ). the catch is designed so that when the top stopper 44 is depressed in downwardly manner one time , the drain is designed to close and the flexible stopper 43 stops the passage of water . when depressed again ( from the closed , position ) in downwardly manner , the catch releases and the drain toggles into the open position . the spring in drain stopper 42 in the closed position is compressed whereas when the drain stopper 42 is in the open position the spring , is relaxed . accordingly , the spring is designed so that when the drain stopper 42 is in the open position , the flexible stopper 43 is above a level that is flush with the receptacle ( e . g ., the shower or bathtub ), which allows passage of water . it should be noted that the inner diameter of compartment 45 is larger than the outer diameter of drain stopper 42 so as to be able to accommodate a solid chemical ( not shown ) between the inner diameter of compartment 45 and outer diameter of drain stopper 42 . thus , when water passes through the device 40 , the chemical solid dissolves allowing the drain to be cleaned and / or de - clogged ( and / or to prevent clogging ). fig5 shows a perspective view of another device 50 of the invention . the device 50 that is shown in fig5 comprises a top part 51 and a compartment ( or bottom part ) that is designed to fit in drain plumbing 52 . both top part 51 and the bottom part have holes 56 and 55 , respectively that allow the passage of water . top part 51 also comprises a latch 53 that is designed to allow the top part 51 to be secured via latch 53 to the bottom part at catch 54 . in one embodiment , top part 51 can be positioned in the opening in bottom part and when top part 51 is turned a quarter turn (˜ 90 °), the latch 53 is designed to catch and be secured to the bottom part at catch 54 so that the top part 51 cannot be turned any further . turning the top part 51 in the opposite direction allows the latch 53 on top part 51 to be released from catch 54 allowing top part 51 to be removed , to insert a solid , chemical into the compartment . slits 57 allow passage of water and / or other liquids without the passage of the solid chemical . fig6 shows another compartment 60 that is designed to fit into a kitchen sink that may or may not have a garbage disposal . compartment 60 comprises top part 64 and bottom part 65 , wherein top part 64 can be removed from bottom part 65 . bottom part 65 has slits 61 that allow the passage of water and holes 62 that in one embodiment are very small that also allow the passage of water . the compartment 60 is designed in a donut shape with central hole 63 that can allow the passage of food and / or particles that may go to the garbage disposal . to part 64 also comprises holes 66 that allow the passage of water through the top part . as in all of the other embodiments , the compartment 60 is designed to accommodate a solid chemical in the interior of the compartment that slowly dissolves when exposed to water so as to clean the drain and / or plumbing and / or prevents or treats clogs ( depending on the solid chemical used ). in one variation , compartment 60 is designed so that it can be easily removed from the kitchen drain so that larger food particles can go down the drain into the garbage disposal . central hole 63 may facilitate this easy removal as one can easily use central hole as a means of facilitating the removal of the compartment from the drain . fig7 shows a system 70 that comprises plumbing 72 and the compartment 71 . the compartment 71 has a central hole 73 that allows the passage of food and other appropriate articles / particles into the garbage disposal . although fig7 is shown with a slight gap between the outer diameter of compartment 71 and the inner diameter of plumbing 72 , it should be understood that in one embodiment , the outer diameter or compartment 71 is positioned so that there is no gap between the outer diameter of compartment 71 and the inner diameter of plumbing 72 . in this embodiment , food and other appropriate particles / articles can only pass through central hole 73 . central hole 73 also allows a user to easily remove the compartment 71 from the plumbing 72 in the case where larger food particles or other larger articles are desired to be passed down into the garbage disposal . all of the embodiments of the present invention contemplate using the invention as a reservoir to hold a chemical agent that can be used for cleaning and or de - clogging while at the same time will allow for proper drainage and water to flow over the solid chemical to deliver the cleaning agent to the plumbing ( e . g ., the walls of the pipes ). the embodiments of the present invention are designed to be elegant so that there is no additional hardware required to install the device ( e . g ., no screws or other affixing means are required other than the drain stopper 42 screw that is described in fig4 ). the installation is simple and easy for the end user . the existing drain cover in plumbing can be replaced by the embodiments of the present invention and the invention is easy and ready for use . it should be understood that there are a plurality of possibilities for integration into current and future plumbing fixtures as there is a constant need to clean and maintain drains in homes , hotels , hospitals , and many other areas where it is desirable to maintain sanitary drains . accordingly , in an embodiment , the present invention relates to a container ( sometimes referred to as a compartment ) that is designed to fit into to drain in household plumbing , wherein said container is designed so as to allow passage of water and / or other liquids while at the same time is also designed to hold a solid that is placed in the container wherein said solid can be slowly dissolved so as to maintain cleanliness of the household plumbing and / or to prevent and / or treat clogs of the household plumbing . in one variation , the container may have one or more holes that are of as size that allows the passage of the water and / or other liquids while maintaining the solid in the container . in a variation , the container is made of a hard plastic . in other embodiments the container is made of metal or a hard rubber . in one embodiment , the container may comprise as plurality of holes that are present and the holes may be of the same or of different sizes that allow the passage of water and / or other liquids but not the passage of solids . in one variation , the container may comprise two parts , a top part and a bottom part , the to part being designed so as to be able to secure the top part to the bottom part , wherein both the bottom part and the top part comprise one or more holes that allows passage of the water and / or other liquids , wherein the bottom part is designed so as to hold a solid that can be slowly dissolved by the water and / or other liquid so as to maintain the cleanliness of the household plumbing and / or to prevent or treat clogs of the household plumbing . when the container comprises two parts , the container may comprise a hard plastic , a metal , or a hard rubber , or any combination of these . for example , the bottom may be a hard plastic and the top may be comprised of metal . alternatively and / or additionally , the bottom part may be made of metal and plastic and the top part may be made of metal or plastic or metal and plastic . alternatively and / or additionally , any variation of these three materials is contemplated and therefore within the scope of the invention . in one embodiment , the bottom part when combined with the top part is designed so as to prevent pooling of the water and / or other liquid at a drain site when the container is in use . in one variation of the invention , the bottom part comprises one or more nubs and the top part comprises a corresponding number of one or more holes designed to accommodate said one or more nubs , said one or more nubs of the bottom part designed to fit into said one or more holes of the top part allowing the top part to be secured to the bottom part . alternatively , latches and catches may be employed or a puzzle like shape may be used that allows the top part to be secured to the bottom part . in one variation of the invention , the invention contemplates using the containers ( compartments ) of the present invention for methods including methods to clean plumbing , methods of de - clogging drains , or methods of preventing the clogging of drains . although the invention has been described in conjunction with the figures , it should be understood that variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . as discussed above , the present invention incorporates and contemplates that any feature that is present in any of the embodiments can be combined with any other feature of any other embodiment even if that feature is not shown with that embodiment . nevertheless , the present invention is further defined by the below claims .	4
fig3 is a cross sectional view of the primary elements of a stent and stent delivery device in accordance with one particular embodiment of the present invention . it will be understood by those of skill in the art that certain components that are not particularly relevant to the present invention , such as handles and an optional guide wire , are not shown for sake of clarity . the delivery device 200 has a proximal end 200 a and a distal end 200 b . the proximal end is the end that is in the physician &# 39 ; s hand during a medical procedure . the distal end is the end that is inserted into the lumen during a medical procedure . the device 200 includes an inner tube 201 and an outer tube 203 and a stent 205 captured in a radially constricted condition between the outer tube 203 and the inner tube 201 . for exemplary purposes , let us assume that the stent 205 is a bioabsorbable braided self expanding stent . a balloon 207 is located on the inner tube 201 at the distal end of the delivery device 200 and longitudinally aligned with the loaded stent 205 . while , in this particular example , the length of the balloon is shorter than the length of the stent , this is not necessary . the balloon may be longer than the stent or shorter than the stent . in fact , the balloon may comprise multiple , smaller balloons . the balloon may be inflated to a predetermined pressure or volume during manufacture of the delivery device and sealed with no further mechanism for inflating or deflating the balloon . alternately , the balloon may be inflatable and deflatable by the physician . in one such embodiment , an inflation tube runs from the proximal end of the delivery device 200 to the balloon . the inflation tube may or may not be adhered to the inner tube or integrally formed with the inner tube . in other embodiments , the inner tube 201 itself can serve as the inflation tube , without the need for a separate , third tube for inflation . such embodiments are particularly suitable in connection with stent delivery devices that are not used in connection with a guide wire and thus the inner tube may be closed at its distal end . at the proximal end of the delivery device , the inflation tube can be connected to a pump or syringe for pumping fluid into the balloon to inflate it . the inflation fluid may be a gas , such as nitrogen or air , or a liquid , such as saline , silicone solution , oil or contrast medium . alternately , the inflation medium could be a foam . the inflation medium should be biocompatible in case it escapes from the balloon while in the body lumen . the proximal end of the balloon 207 is sealed over the inner tube so as to be air tight , except through the bore in the inflation tube in embodiments in which the balloon is inflatable by the physician . the distal end of the balloon is also sealingly attached to the inner tube , such as by adhesive or a wire tightly wound around each end of the balloon . in one embodiment , the distal end of the balloon is rolled over and bonded to the inner tube . alternately , the distal end of the balloon may instead simply bonded to the inner tube without rolling over . the balloon 207 can be inflated anytime before the outer tube is moved relative to the stent and inner tube . this may be done prior to inserting the delivery apparatus into the lumen or after the delivery apparatus is inserted into the lumen and the stent is in the desired location for deployment , but before the outer tube 203 is withdrawn . the inflation medium may be applied at the proximal end of the inflation tube by syringe or by coupling the inflation tube to another tube coupled to a pump . the balloon 207 is inflated so that it presses the stent 205 against the inner surface of the outer tube 203 . the pressure or volume to which the balloon is inflated should be selected so as to exert sufficient frictional force against the stent as it is pressed against the inner wall of the outer tube , yet low enough that it is not impossible or difficult to slide the outer tube relative to the stationary stent and balloon . in certain embodiments of the invention , the balloon may be formed of a material , such as polyethylene terepthalate ( pet ) or nylon , or combinations thereof , that will expand to a certain nominal size and thereafter have minimal or no further expansion with increasing pressure up to burst pressure . in such embodiments , the balloon nominal radius should be no less than the inner radius of the outer tube minus the wall thickness of the stent . otherwise the inflated balloon would not contact the stent . while the balloon nominal radius may be larger than the inner radius of the outer tube , preferably , it is somewhere between the inner radius of the outer tube , on the one hand , and the inner radius of the outer tube , minus the wall thickness of the stent , on the other hand . in such embodiments , once any portion of the self expanding stent 205 is released from the outer tube 203 , it will expand beyond the diameter of the balloon and engage the wall of the lumen 233 , while the balloon diameter does not substantially further expand upon release from the outer tube . fig4 illustrates a partially deployed stent in accordance with such an embodiment . it can be seen that the released , distal portion of the stent 205 has expanded to contact the lumen 233 , but the released , distal portion of the balloon 207 remains at substantially the same diameter whether within the outer tube 203 or released from it . thus , the balloon 207 exerts no radial force on the stent 205 once the stent is released from the outer tube 203 . this type of embodiment is preferable because it often is undesirable for the balloon to exert expansive pressure on the body lumen . however , in some applications , it may be preferable that the balloon be expandable to a greater diameter upon release from the outer tube . in such cases , the balloon may be formed of a more stretchable or elastomeric material , such as polyurethane or silicone . preferably , however , the balloon pressure still is low enough such that , when the balloon exits the outer tube it expands partially along with the stent , but not sufficiently to contact the body lumen . the proximal end of the balloon should taper down to a diameter less than the inner diameter of the outer tube as that it can be pulled back in the delivery device after the stent has been released . if the balloon is deflatable , than the taper is immaterial . the balloon should be formed of a material that is more compliant than the outer tube so that the balloon will take a greater set against the stent than the outer tube and hold it in place longitudinally with respect to the inner tube when the outer tube is moved longitudinally relative to the balloon and stent . if the outer tube was more compliant than the balloon , the stent would take more of a set on the outer tube and thus move along with the outer tube and slide along the surface of the balloon , rather than stay stationary with the balloon and allow the outer tube to slide relative thereto . the balloon should remain inflated until the stent is fully released from the outer tube and fully engages the wall of the lumen . at any point while the stent and balloon are still partially within the outer tube , the balloon is still holding the stent stationary relative to the inner tube so that the stent can be withdrawn back into the outer tube in case repositioning is necessary after partial release of the stent . fig5 illustrates the stent 205 and stent delivery device 200 in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention after the stent 205 has been fully released from the device 200 , but before the balloon 207 has been deflated . once the stent is fully released , the balloon can be deflated ( for embodiments for which the balloon is not fully sealed in the inflated state ) and the inner tube and balloon withdrawn proximally back into the tube as illustrated in fig6 . the stent delivery device can then be removed from the lumen and the procedure concluded . with respect to embodiments of the invention in which the balloon is fully sealed , the proximal end of the balloon should taper down to a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the outer tube , as shown , so that the proximal end of the balloon will easily fit back into the outer tube . even if the remainder of the inflated balloon has a larger diameter than the outer tube , once the smaller end of the balloon is in the outer tube , the diameter of the remainder of the balloon will shrink when it engages the outer tube as it is pulled proximally relative to the outer tube . the single balloon of about equal length to the stent illustrated in the preceding figures is merely exemplary . fig7 a and 7b illustrate various potential embodiments of the invention with different balloon configurations . for instance , fig7 a shows an embodiment in which two balloons 801 , 803 are used to hold the stent 805 in place . the first balloon 801 is positioned adjacent the distal end of the stent 805 and the second balloon 803 is positioned adjacent the proximal end of the stent 805 . fig7 b shows another embodiment in which there is only one small balloon 812 positioned adjacent the proximal end of the loaded stent 805 . it should be understood that once the balloon 812 exits the outer tube 814 , it no longer serves its primary function of forcing the stent 805 against the outer tube 814 . accordingly , the balloon or at least part of a balloon should be as close to the proximal end of the stent as possible since that is the last part of the stent that can be released from the outer tube . once the proximal end of the stent is released , the balloon &# 39 ; s function is completed since the stent generally cannot be recaptured into the outer tube after that point . while the invention has hereinabove been described in connection with a standard type of self - expanding stent , it is equally applicable to other forms of stents and , in fact , any tubular self - expanding prosthesis that is delivered in the same general manner . for instance , the invention is equally applicable to stent - grafts and covered stents , both of which are stent - based medical prostheses that are well known to those of skill in the related arts . in fact , it is not even necessary that the prosthesis be self expanding . the invention can be useful in connection with any prosthesis that must be inserted into a small opening . having thus described a few particular embodiments of the invention , various alterations , modifications , and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art . such alterations , modifications and improvements as are made obvious by this disclosure are intended to be part of this description though not expressly stated herein , and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the foregoing description is by way of example only , and not limiting . the invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalents thereto .	0
the following description is of the best - contemplated mode of carrying out the invention . this description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense . the scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims . fig2 a is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an fpc . a display device 20 comprises a display panel 21 , a pcb 22 , and fpcs 231 ˜ 23 n electrically connecting display panel 21 and pcb 22 for transmitting control signals from pcb 22 to display panel 21 . display panel 21 and pcb 22 respectively comprise connection lines ( not shown ) for connecting fpcs 231 ˜ 23 n . since the structures of display panel 21 and pcb 22 are well known to those skilled in the art , thus , description thereof is omitted . fpc 231 is given as an example . fpc 231 comprises a substrate 24 , function lines f 1 , f 2 , and dummy lines d 1 ˜ d 8 . substrate 24 comprises periphery areas 241 , 243 and an intermediate area 242 . intermediate area 242 is disposed between periphery areas 241 and 243 and comprises function lines f 1 and f 2 . signals are transmitted between display panel 21 and pcb 22 through function lines f 1 and f 2 . periphery area 241 comprises layout region 251 and 252 , and a rough region 253 . rough region 253 is roughed for increasing an adhesion capability between rough region 253 and the acf , and is disposed between layout regions 251 and 252 . the width of rough region 253 is between 2 cm and 4 cm . in this embodiment , the width of rough region 253 is between 2 . 3 cm and 4 cm or between 2 cm and 2 . 3 cm . layout region 251 comprises dummy lines d 1 and d 2 . layout region 252 comprises dummy lines d 3 and d 4 . dummy lines d 1 ˜ d 4 cannot transmit signals . in this embodiment , the lengths of dummy lines d 1 and d 2 are equal to that of dummy lines d 3 and d 4 . the number of dummy lines within layout region 251 is equal to that of the dummy lines within layout region 252 , but the disclosure is not limited thereto . periphery area 243 comprises layout region 261 and 262 , and a rough region 263 . rough region 263 is roughed and disposed between layout region 261 and 262 . the width of rough region 263 is between 2 cm to 4 cm . in this embodiment , the width of rough region 263 is between 2 . 3 cm to 4 cm or between 2 cm to 2 . 3 cm . layout region 261 comprises dummy lines d 5 and d 6 . layout region 262 comprises dummy lines d 7 and d 8 . dummy lines d 5 ˜ d 8 cannot transmit signals . in this embodiment , the lengths of dummy lines d 5 and d 6 are equal to that of dummy lines d 7 and d 8 . the number of dummy lines within layout region 261 is equal to that of dummy lines within layout region 262 , but the disclosure is not limited thereto . in some embodiments , dummy lines are disposed within layout regions 251 and 261 or within layout regions 252 and 262 . additionally , the lengths of dummy lines d 1 ˜ d 4 are shorter than that of dummy lines d 5 ˜ d 8 . in this embodiment , the lengths of dummy lines d 1 ˜ d 4 are equal to that of dummy lines d 5 ˜ d 8 fig2 b shows a cross section along line b - b of fig2 a . acf 27 is disposed among display panel 21 , pcb 22 , and fpc 231 . when acf 27 is heated , pressure is exerted on display panel 21 , pcb 22 , and fpc 231 such that dummy line d 1 of fpc 231 is connected to connection line c 1 of display panel 21 and dummy line d 3 of fpc 231 is connected to connection line c 2 of pcb 22 . since rough region 253 is roughed , an adhesion capability between acf 27 and fpc 231 is increased for firmly connecting display panel 21 , pcb 22 , and fpc 231 . fig3 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the fpc . fpc 30 comprises a substrate 31 comprising periphery areas 311 and 313 , and an intermediate area 312 . intermediate area 312 is disposed between periphery areas 311 and 313 and comprises function lines f 31 and f 32 . since structures of periphery areas 311 and 313 are the same , periphery area 311 is given as an example . periphery area 311 comprises layout regions 321 ˜ 323 and rough regions 324 and 325 . rough region 324 is disposed between layout regions 321 and 323 and roughed . rough region 325 is disposed between layout regions 323 and 322 and roughed . layout region 321 comprises dummy lines d 31 and d 32 . layout region 322 comprises dummy lines d 33 and d 34 . layout region 323 comprises dummy lines d 35 and d 36 . the length , shape , and number of dummy lines d 31 ˜ d 34 are not limited . in this embodiment , the lengths of dummy lines d 31 ˜ d 34 are the same and shorter than the lengths of dummy lines d 35 and d 36 . fig4 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the fpc . fig4 is similar to the fig2 except that a layout region 421 is disposed on the left side of a rough region 424 , a layout region 422 is disposed on the right side of a rough region 424 , and an intermediate area 412 is disposed between periphery areas 411 and 413 . fig5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the fpc . the fig5 is similar to the fig3 except that a layout region 521 is disposed on the left side of a rough region 524 , a layout region 522 is disposed on the right side of a rough region 524 , a layout region 523 is disposed on the left side of a rough region 525 , a layout region 522 is disposed on the right side of a rough region 524 , and an intermediate area 512 is disposed between periphery areas 511 and 513 . as described , because the rough region is roughed , the adhesion capability between acf and fpc is increased . while the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements ( as would be apparent to those skilled in the art ). therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements .	6
with reference to the drawings , the reference number 10 designates a conveyor device comprised in an automatic packaging machine for paper rolls . the conveyor device 10 comprises a horizontal plane of advance 12 along which the packs to be packaged p ( only one of which is shown in fig1 ) are made to advance in the direction indicated by the arrow . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the conveyor device 10 comprises a stationary support structure 13 which bears two parallel shafts 14 , 16 , at least one of which is motorised . each shaft 15 , 16 bears two pairs of gearwheels 18 , 20 . the first pair of gearwheels 18 co - operates with a first pair of chains 22 . the second pair of gearwheels 20 co - operates with a second pair of chains 24 . the first and the second pair of chains 22 , 24 bear respective series of transverse bars 26 , 28 . the transverse bars 26 , 28 are fastened to the chains 22 , 24 by means of attachment elements 30 . the first and the second series of transverse bars 26 , 28 bear a first and a second series of thruster elements 32 , 34 . with reference to fig1 , the thruster elements facing each other 32 , 34 define a series of compartments 36 able to receive the packs of products p . in the normal operation of the conveyor device 10 , the chains 22 , 24 advance at the same speed so the dimensions of the compartments 36 remain constant . the dimension of the compartments 36 in the longitudinal direction ( i . e ., in a direction parallel to the direction of advance indicated by the arrow in fig1 ) can be varied by changing the phase between the chains 22 , 24 . the present invention specifically relates to a system for adjusting the dimension of the compartments 36 in transverse direction , i . e ., orthogonally to the direction of advance of the products p along the plane of advance 12 . to each transverse bar 26 or 28 are fastened a plurality of thruster elements 32 or 34 . the adjustment in the transverse direction of the dimension of the compartments 36 is effected moving the thruster elements 32 or 34 in a transverse direction along the respective bars 26 or 28 . said movement is effected in a stationary adjustment station 38 . with reference to fig2 , the adjustment station 38 comprises at least one adjustment assembly 50 movable in transverse direction and able to engage and displace in transverse direction the thruster element 32 , 34 , which from time to time is positioned at the adjustment assembly by effect of the motion of the chains 22 , 24 . the transverse displacement of the or of each adjustment assembly 50 can be obtained by means of electrical actuation devices or with fluid actuators ( pneumatic or hydraulic ) operating under the command of a control unit which commands the advance of the chains 22 , 24 and which selectively stops the advance of the chains when an array of thruster elements is situated at the adjustment station . as shall be described more in detail hereafter , during the adjustment operation the chains 22 , 24 advance in steps to bring successive transverse arrays of thruster elements 32 , 34 at the adjustment station 38 . the advance of the chains resumes after the or each adjustment assembly has completed the transverse displacement of the respective thruster element 32 , 34 towards the new position . in the embodiment illustrated by way of example in fig2 , the adjustment station 38 comprises a transverse screw 40 provided with two portions with opposite thread 42 . the screw 40 is actuated in rotation by a motor 44 associated to an encoder . the stationary support structure 13 bears a transverse guide 46 along which are movable two shoes 48 each of which bears an adjustment assembly 50 formed by two parallel grip elements 52 positioned according to a fork configuration . the two grip elements 52 of each adjustment assembly 50 are mutually distanced by a quantity that is slightly greater than the dimension in the transverse direction of a thruster element 34 in such a way as to be able to receive between them a thruster element as illustrated in fig2 . with reference in particular to fig6 , each thruster element 32 or 34 has an attachment portion 54 provided with two seats able to engage two parallel bars 26 or 28 . in fig6 , the two parallel bars engaged by the thruster element 32 are designated by the references 26 a and 26 b . the attachment portion 54 has an elongated seat 56 open on a frontal side and ending with a curved bottom wall . the seat 56 engages the outer surface of the bar 26 a with slight play , such as not to prevent the thruster element 32 from sliding in transverse direction relative to the bar 26 a . the attachment portion 54 of each thruster element 32 or 34 is also provided with an elastically deformable hook portion 58 . the hook portion 58 has an engagement seat 60 which engages the outer surface of the bar 26 b by forcing . when the hook portion 58 of the thruster element 32 engages the bar 26 b , the thruster element 32 is fastened to both bars 26 a , 26 b , and it is held in transverse direction by the friction produced by the force with which the hook portion 58 is pressed against the outer surface of the bar 26 b . the hook portion 58 is elastically deformable thanks to the elastic characteristics of the material constituting the thruster element ( preferably constituted by plastic material , which may be reinforced with fibres ). moreover , to make the hook portion 58 elastically deformable , in the attachment portion 54 is provided a transverse through slit 62 which ends on the engagement seat 60 . the hook portion 58 of each thruster element 32 , 34 is also provided with disengagement elements 64 constituted for example by two rollers mounted rotatable around a transverse axis positioned at the free end of the hook portion 58 . the rollers 64 project laterally relative to the vertical lateral walls of the thruster element 32 , 34 . with reference again to fig6 , the grip elements 52 have at their lower end inclined invitation surfaces 66 which are destined to co - operate with the rollers 64 to deform elastically the hook portion 58 and temporarily disengage the thruster element 32 from the bars 26 a , 26 b in such a way that the thruster element 32 can be moved in transverse direction relative to the bars 26 a , 26 b . the operation of the adjustment station 38 shall now be described with reference to fig3 , 4 and 5 . with reference to fig3 , the adjustment assemblies 50 are positioned in transverse direction in such a way that the free space between the two grip elements 52 is exactly along the trajectory of the respective thruster elements 32 , 34 . the chains 22 , 24 are actuated until the thruster elements 32 , 34 are positioned between the grip elements 52 of the adjustment assemblies 50 ( fig4 ). during the advance of the thruster elements , the inclined surfaces 66 of the grip elements are on the trajectory of the rollers 64 . therefore , when the thruster elements 32 are between the grip elements 52 , the hook portion 58 of the thruster elements 54 is elastically deformed as shown in fig4 . in this position , the thruster elements 32 are free to slide in transverse direction relative to the bars 26 a , 26 b . in this condition , the chains 22 , 24 are stopped and the motor that commands the movement in transverse direction of the adjustment assemblies 50 is operated . the grip elements 52 thus move in transverse direction to the respective thruster elements 32 , 34 . the movement in transverse direction ends when the thruster elements 32 , 34 have reached their final position . at this point , the chains 22 , 24 are operated again making the thruster elements 32 , 34 advance relative to the adjustment assemblies 50 . as soon as the rollers 64 of the thruster elements 32 , 34 disengage from the lower surfaces of the grip elements 52 , the hook portion 58 of each thruster element 32 , 34 elastically returns to the gripping position , blocking the thruster element 32 , 34 relative to the bars 26 a , 26 b . this sequence is repeated for the next array of thruster elements , until all thruster elements are in the position corresponding to the new size of the packages . at this point , the adjustment operation is complete , and the conveyor device 10 can resume its normal operation . the adjustment sequence is executed in fully automatic fashion under the control of a command unit which commands the displacement in the transverse direction of the adjustment assemblies 50 and the stepped advance of the chains 22 , 24 according to pre - set sequences and according to the size of the package to be obtained . with reference to fig7 - 9 , a second embodiment of the present invention shall now be described . the components corresponding to those described above are designated by the same numerical references . with reference to fig8 , the attachment portion 54 of each thruster element 32 or 34 has a frontally open seat 70 , substantially c - shaped , which engages a first transverse bar 26 a and an elastically deformable hook portion 72 with a seat 74 which engages a second transverse bar 26 b . the seat 74 communicates with a groove 76 which renders the hook portion 72 elastically yielding . with reference to fig7 , the stationary support structure 13 of the conveyor device 10 is provided at the adjustment station 38 with a transverse beam 78 whereon are mounted two adjustment assemblies 80 . each adjustment assembly 80 comprises an electric motor 82 which actuates in rotation a respective transverse adjustment screw 84 . with reference to fig9 , each adjustment assembly 80 comprises a transverse guide 86 fastened to the transverse beam 78 . the transverse guide 86 of each adjustment assembly 80 bears a sliding shoe 88 having a threaded hole in which is engaged the respective transverse adjustment screw 84 . on each shoe 88 is fastened a grip element 90 having a general “ l ” configuration . as shown in fig7 , each grip element 90 has a vertically projecting portion 92 which is adapted to bear against a flank of a respective thruster element 32 to displace said element in transverse direction along the bars 26 a and 26 b . in operation , the vertically projecting portion 92 of each grip element 90 bears against the flank of the attachment portion 54 of a respective thruster element 32 or 34 and drives the thruster element 32 or 34 in transverse direction . the thruster elements 32 or 34 can be driven transversely without preventively unlocking the thruster elements 32 or 34 from the bars 26 a or 26 b . in fact , if the retaining force exerted by the hook portion 72 of each thruster element 32 or 34 is not too great , the grip element 90 is able to displace the thruster element 32 or 34 without loosening the grip of the hook portion 72 on the bar 26 b . if instead the friction force to be overcome to displace the thruster elements 32 or 34 should be too great , the grip element 90 could be configured in such a way as to slightly open the seat 74 of each thruster element 32 or 34 during the displacement in the transverse direction . this can be obtained by providing on the front surfaces of the vertically projecting portion 92 some wedge formations which engage the hook portion 72 and elastically spread said hook portion whilst they displace the thruster element 32 in transverse direction .	1
referring to fig1 the numeral 10 identifies a housing having a back panel 11 and a cover 12 which , in the position illustrated , serves as a base or support panel . the back panel has sides 13 having upper ears 14 and lower ears 15 . the sides and the ears extend forwardly . the lower ears 15 provide means by which the base or cover panel 12 is pivotally connected to the back panel 11 by means of hinge pins 16 . a clamp member is pivotally supported on the upper ears 14 whereby it may be pivoted from an erected position normal to the back panel 11 and a retracted or storage position parallel to the back panel 11 and can be concealed behind the base panel when the latter is folded upwardly to enclose the front of the support together with the retracted clamp 20 as illustrated in fig1 . the back panel also has a pair of vertical spring elements 17 mounted on it , the upper and lower ends of which serve to hold the clamp member 20 and the base panel 12 , respectively , in either their open or their closed positions . the spring members are each secured to the back panel by suitable means such as the connector 18 . the back panel is designed to be secured to a vertical supporting surface such as the side of a boat by suitable means such as screws inserted through the openings 19 . all of the structure which has been described up to this point is well - known and has been commercially available for some time . in the commercially available beverage container supports , the clamp 20 is a unitary structure , the container opening 21 of which is fixed and , thus , cannot be adjusted to accommodate containers of varying sizes . it is a solution to the problem , that this arrangement creates , that is provided by this invention . in this invention , the clamp 20 , instead of being a unitary structure consists of a pair of individual arms 22 and 22a . these arms are identical except that one is left and the other is right . each of the arms has a yoke portion 23 ( fig8 ). the yoke at its upper or rearward end is shaped in the general form of an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; providing upper and lower channels 24 and 24a which extend laterally of the support when the clamp member is supported on the base panel . when the clamp member is erected , the channel 24 opens through the top of the yoke and the channel 24a opens through the bottom of the yoke . in the erected position , the arm has a plurality of vertical notches 25 which are spaced apart lengthwise of the yoke . at the outer end of the channels , a thin plate 26 extends rearwardly from the yoke and is designed to move outwardly over the upper ears 14 when the arms are moved to spread or extended position . both yokes are supported on a track element 30 . the track element 30 is an elongated member which , as best seen in fig9 and 10 , consists of a first leg 31 and a pair of second legs 32 . the first leg 31 has a pair of sections which are designed to remain rigidly aligned axially on each side of the center portion 33 which connects the first and second legs . the second legs 32 are designed to be capable of being flexed out of alignment due to the presence of a shallow notch 34 adjacent the center portion 33 . the lateral ends of the legs 31 and 32 have portions which extend toward each other to maintain the legs parallel to each other when the unit is operative and to assure the formation of slot 36 on each side of the center portion 33 which is of uniform width throughout its length . the ends of the legs 31 and 32 have extensions which form pintles 37 extending outwardly at each end . these pintles are split to provide access to the slots 36 as illustrated in fig7 . however , when the legs 32 are aligned parallel with the legs 31 , the portions of each of the pintles form a circular element which seats in the openings 38 in the upper ears 14 of the back panel . to assemble the arms and the track element , the legs 32 are pivoted just enough to allow the cross piece 27 which separates the channels 24 and 24a of the yoke to be seated in one of the channels 36 . when this has been done , the legs 32 are pivoted back to closed position and , by flexing the upper ears outwardly sufficiently , the pintles 37 are seated in the openings 38 in the upper ears ( fig1 ). when the clamp member is pivoted downwardly into retracted position , the upper ends of the springs 17 are pressed against the back face of the yoke and the back face of the track element , as the same is seen in fig5 and 6 , thus , biasing the clamp member to remain in retracted position . when , however , the clamp member is pivoted to erected position , the notches 25 become aligned with the springs and , thus , detents 39 in the springs will each seat in one of the notches , as is illustrated in fig2 and 3 . thus , as the individual arms of the clamping member are shifted outwardly , various ones of the notches 25 on each of the yoke will successively be brought into register with the spring detents 39 , providing a positive resistance to further lateral movement of the individual clamp member . thus , the positions of the clamp members once established will remain fixed until an operator provides positive pressure to adjust the spacing between the arms . the outward and inward movement of the arms is limited to the length of the slots 36 formed between the legs of the track element . the support or holder is designed to be mounted against a vertical surface by means of screws or the like inserted through the openings 19 . this can be done while the article holder is in open condition as illustrated in fig1 . when the article holder is not in use , the support member 20 is retracted to a vertical position parallel with the back panel and seated between the sides 13 extending forwardly from the back panel , as seen in fig4 . the cover 12 is then pivoted upwardly to enclose the folded clamping member as illustrated in fig1 . to make the unit operable , the cover is povited to the position illustrated in fig4 and 12 . then the clamp member 20 is pivoted to its erected position illustrated in fig1 . in this condition , the arms 22 and 22a of the clamp member will be retracted so that they will fit within the confines of the cover 12 . if the container or article to be supported by the unit is small , it is simply seated through the opening 21 between the arms 22 and 22a to rest on the base formed by the open cover 12 . if , however , the container is larger , the arms 22 and 22a are spread apart the distance necessary to permit the container to be passed downwardly between them . the cooperation of the notches 25 with the detents 39 will hold the relative positions of the arm with sufficient resistance to movement that the container will be positively held against any substantial sideways movement or release from the holder . it will be recognized that while the unit has been described and illustrated with only 3 notches on each of the arms , additional notches may be provided to either provide more precise spacing between the arms or to make it possible to have an even greater degree of adjustment than the 3 notches would permit . the back panel 11 , the cover 12 , the arms 22 and 22a and the track element 30 can all be molded from a suitable plastic which will provide enough strength to positively hold a container filled with liquid , be resistant to the presence of moisture and sunlight and will provide surfaces which will not gall when one part is moved relative to another . the material must also have enough resilience to permit the upper and lower ears 14 and 15 to be spread just enough to permit the pintles of the clamp member and the cover to be seated in their respective openings . a suitable material is a reinforced polyamide , such as nylon . by making the whole unit foldable , the entire unit can be folded substantially flat against the sides of a vessel such as a boat where it will not interfere with operation of the vessel when it is not in use and , further , will protect it from accidential damage due to somebody striking the unit while it is open . while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described , it will be recognized that various modifications of the unit can be made . each of such modifications is to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise .	1
the following detailed description and the appended drawings describe and illustrate some embodiments of the disclosure for the purpose of enabling one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to make and use these embodiments . as such , the detailed description and illustration of these embodiments are purely illustrative in nature and are in no way intended to limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner . it should also be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and in certain instances details may have been omitted , which are not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments , such as details of fabrication and assembly . in the accompanying drawings , like numerals represent like components . in one embodiment of an electro - optic polymer fiber , disclosed herein , the fiber may include a core for passing light there through , a first electrode spaced from the core and oriented substantially parallel with the core , a second electrode spaced from the core and oriented substantially parallel with the core and the first electrode , the first and second electrodes spaced each spaced substantially the same distance from the core , the first and second electrodes defining a pair of electrodes , a third electrode spaced from the core and oriented substantially parallel with the core , a fourth electrode spaced from the core and oriented substantially parallel with the core and the third electrode , the third and fourth electrodes spaced each spaced substantially the same distance from the core , the third and fourth electrodes defining an additional pair of electrodes , and a cladding material substantially surrounding at least a portion of the core , pair of electrodes , and additional pair of electrodes . in further embodiments of an electro - optic polymer fiber , the core may be doped with chromophore . a poling axis may be defined as extending from the first electrode to the second electrode , through the core , and the polarization of light passing through the core is parallel with the poling axis . the fiber may further include a first metal plate electrically connected with the first pair of electrodes , the first metal plate operable to provide an electric driving signal to the first pair of electrodes , and a second metal plate electrically connected with the second pair of electrodes , the second metal plate operable to provide an electric driving signal to the second pair of electrodes . the first metal plate and second metal plate may be independently operable to control the voltage in the first set of electrodes and the current through the second pair of electrodes . the first pair of electrodes may operate in a capacitive mode to apply voltage to the core to induce a phase - shift of light passing through the core . the second pair of electrodes may operate in a resistive mode to generate heat as current is passed through the second pair of electrodes . the fiber may further include a feedback system , which may include a measurement sensor positioned to measure light outputted from the core , and a control system operable to independently control the voltage change between the first set of electrodes and the current passing through the second pair of electrodes . the feedback system may be automated such that if measurable characteristics of the outputted light fall below a minimal threshold , then the feedback system automatically adjusts the voltage in the first set of electrodes and / or the current in the second set of electrodes in order to improve the characteristics of the outputted light . the measurable characteristics of the outputted light may include the intensity of the light as a measure of the phase shift that manifests itself through light interference . an embodiment of a method of controlling optical signals in an electro - optic polymer fiber , where the fiber includes a core for passing the optical signal there through , a first pair of electrodes , and a second pair of electrodes , may include adjusting voltage through the first pair of electrodes in order to adjust an electrical field for poling , and varying current through the second pair of electrodes in order to create localized heating in the fiber . an embodiment of a method of automatically calibrating optical signals passing through an electro - optic polymer fiber , where the fiber including a core for passing the optical signal there through , a first pair of electrodes , and a second pair of electrodes , may include measuring characteristics of the outputted light ; and if the characteristics of the outputted light are below a minimum level , then performing at least one adjustment of adjusting voltage through the first pair of electrodes in order to adjust an electrical field for poling , and / or varying current through the second pair of electrodes in order to create localized heating in the fiber . embodiments of the disclosure include methods for conveniently poling an electro - optic material inside an optical fiber using electrodes that are embedded within the optical fiber . the poling method may include self - calibration . this may be performed by periodically observing the v - pi voltage of the electro - optic fiber , and if degradation is observed , then electrodes may be used as heating elements to elevate temperature to reach the softening temperature of the electro - optic material or the host polymer , and a bias may be applied to another set of electrodes to generate an electric field that re - orients the electro - optic molecules . different configurations ( utilizing parameters not limited to the shape , number and location of optical cores , metal cores , and electrodes ) may be used to engineer devices for specific applications . a microcontroller / microprocessor or computer can be connected to the device to develop a feedback loop such that whenever the electro - optic performance falls below spec , the calibration process can be automatically triggered . the performance of the device can be periodically checked by measuring the phase change in the optical signal passing through the electro - optic fiber . the phase change can be measured by interferometric techniques , not limited to those utilizing mach zehnder interferometers , or by using other measurement devices and / or principles . as described in the disclosure herein , and illustrated in fig2 , an electro optic fiber may be produced with the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 and may be composed of a chromophore - doped core 30 , and cladding 32 , along with a pair of electrodes 34 placed in parallel on sides of the core 30 . electric driving signals may be applied through two plates 36 which are connected to electrodes 34 . in this embodiment , the polarization of the inserted light may be parallel to the poling axis 38 of the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 . therefore , the effective refractive index of the guided mode is changed by varying driving voltage of the electrodes 34 . furthermore , the core 30 material of the polymer fiber 22 may be polystyrene ( ps ) or poly methyl methacrylate ( pmma ) doped with a nonlinear electro - optic chromophore such as disperse red 1 . the cladding 32 may be made of poly methyl methacrylate ( pmma ). the electrodes 34 can be metallic micro wires such as copper wires , or transparent conductors such as indium tin oxide ( ito ). an all - fiber eom is described in fig1 for providing low optical loss and high speed response . the device may include a fiber mach - zehnder interferometer along with a chromophore - doped polymer optical fiber placed on one arm of the interferometer . the specialty chromophore - doped polymer optical fiber may be the electro - optic component of the device which is discussed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 14 / 187 , 492 and pct app . no . pct / us14 / 17922 , the entire contents of each are herein incorporated in their entirety . with reference to fig1 , an eom 10 may be formed by two strands of a polarization maintaining fiber ( pmf ) 12 , and two strands of a single mode fiber ( smf ) 14 . the pmfs and smfs may be joined at a first 16 and second coupler 18 , respectively . a first interfering arm 20 of the eom 10 may be formed by joining the end - facet of the smf 14 and that of the pmf 12 . a certain length of a chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 imbedded in the second arm 24 may be butt - coupled to the end - facet of the pmf 12 and that of the smf 14 . furthermore , a linear polarized light whose polarization is parallel to the slow axis 26 of the pmf 12 , may be inserted in to one of two strands of the pmf 12 . the slow axis 26 is , for instance , an imaginary line crossing the stress rods 28 of the pmf 12 . the light can be split at the first 3 db coupler 16 leading to separation of two linear polarized waves with the same intensity . one polarized wave in the arm 20 may directly reach the coupler 18 , while the second split wave is phase - retarded in the arm 24 by the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 . both phase - retarded and directly guided waves may be recombined at the second 3 db coupler 18 . the constructive and destructive interference of two recombined waves results in the on - state and the off - state optical signal , respectively . the length of the first 20 and the second 24 arm may be , in one embodiment , about 50 mm to 100 mm and the length of the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 varies from 1 cm to 20 cm . the longer the length of the polymer fiber 22 , the lower the driving voltage is needed to switch from the off - state to the on - state . the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 can be single - mode , multi - mode or polarization maintaining polymer fiber . the construction details of the embodiment illustrated in fig1 are that the smf 14 may be a commercial single mode optical fiber such as corning 28 , and commercially available fibers such as f - pm1550 can be used as pmf 12 . the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 may be fabricated using the technique disclosed comprehensively in the u . s . patent application ser . no . 14 / 187 , 492 , the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference . with reference now to fig3 , the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 40 may be composed of a chromophore - doped core 42 , and cladding 44 , along with a pair of electrodes 46 placed in parallel on sides of the core 42 . the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 40 can include additional metal electrodes 52 for local heating and softening of the chromophore - doped core 42 . electric driving signals are applied through plates 48 and 54 which are connected to electrodes 46 and 52 respectively . the polarization of the inserted light may be parallel to the poling axis 50 of the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 40 . chromophore - doped waveguides can relax their poling over time . this relaxation of poling causes change in electro - optic performance and induced phase - shift with a given applied voltage . in some embodiments , metal electrodes 46 are used in capacitive mode to apply voltage to the chromophore - doped core 42 for phase - change induction , and the additional electrodes 52 are used in resistive mode to allow a controllable current through them in order to generate local heating in fiber 40 in vicinity of the doped core 42 . generated heat can allow local softening and , therefore , easier poling of the materials in the chromophore - doped core 42 by applying a voltage between the capacitive metal electrodes 52 . while maintaining the voltage between the capacitive metal electrodes 46 , the electric current in the resistive metal wires 52 can be gradually lowered to gradually reduce the temperature of the chromophore - doped core 42 and fix chromophore orientations by solidifying the core material . in further embodiments , the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 40 can include a feed - back system that provides feedback on the performance of chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 40 ( for example , by measuring the intensity of output light as a measure of the phase shift that manifests itself through light interference ). the feedback system may include a known or to be developed measurement device for measuring characteristics of the outputted light , as well as a control system for controlling current through resistive wires 52 and voltage between the capacitive electrodes 46 . for instance , this feedback can trigger a current through the resistive wires 52 and a voltage between the capacitive electrodes 46 in order to restore a desired poling in the chromophore - doped core material . this self - calibration process can be adjusted for frequent calibration and maintenance of the electro - optic device when its performance level drops below a defined threshold level . metal contacts shown , for instance , in fig2 and 3 are for demonstration only . embodiments of the disclosure may include any contact configuration either from the sides or from the ends of the electro - optic fiber . a method of poling electro optical material in an optical fiber may , accordingly , use electrodes that are directly inserted in the optical fiber during the fiber fabrication or fiber draw process . these electrodes may be used for generating an electrical field for poling , and / or for creating localized heating in the fiber structure to reach a softening temperature suitable for poling the electro - optic fiber . a method of automatically calibrating the electro - optic section of the electro - optic fiber may be accomplished by using an optical signal that is transmitted through the device and the electro - optic response of the fiber may be characterized by measuring the phase retardation as a function of voltage applied to the electrodes . the calibration method may be used to periodically check the electro - optic response of the device , and a poor response may trigger a poling ( or calibration ) event that may or may not utilize a feedback and / or a device such as a microcontroller / computer / etc . the method of calibrating may utilize an interferometric approach to characterize the electro - optic response of the device , not limited to configurations such as mach zehnder interferometer , fabry perot etalon , michelson interferometer , etc . one , or more electrodes may be used as heating elements , and / or one or more electrodes are used to generating an electric field profile across the material to be polled . the electro - optic device may consist of chromophore doped core , or cladding , or both , or a different electro - optic material , and / or doping , for example . any optical waveguides may be used and are not limited to embodiments developed using single mode or multimode fibers . the device design may be optimized for certain features , not limited to poling , or electro - optic affect , or both , for example , by modifying parameters not limited to electrode shape , electrode size , number of electrodes , spacing of electrodes , voltages applied , material of electrode , material of fiber , waveguide dopants , etc . the performance of the device may be checked periodically or continuously in the course of its operation . fig4 illustrates a chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 which may be coupled to a pmf 12 and a smf 14 . the slow axis 26 may be parallel to the poling axis 38 , thereby indicating that phase retardation occurs perfectly if the polarization of the incident light is along the slow axis 26 of the pmf 12 . alternatively , the poling axis 38 can be perpendicular to the slow axis 26 of the pmf 12 which in this case the polarization of the incident light would be perpendicular to the slow axis of the pmf 12 . the chromophore - doped electro - optic polymer fiber 22 may be joined to pmf 12 and smf 14 using an epoxy . embodiments of the disclosure may result in higher optical power efficiency , simplicity , and lower production cost compared to conventional eoms . additionally , eom can be fabricated using cost - effective techniques rather than complicated costly engineering techniques such as lithography . furthermore , embodiments of the disclosure may provide high potential of mass - production , since all components are basically manufactured using the accurate fast fiber optic drawing technique . the eom market gap is that quadrature amplitude modulators ( qams ) composed of more than one mach - zehnder modulator are expensive . at the same time , the individual mach - zehnder interferometers cannot be integrated on one single optical chip leaving a big challenge of expensive fabrication cost and the challenge of precise phase control of the qams . the phase of the qams would be easier to control if the mach - zehnder interferometers were integrated on one optical chip . embodiments disclosed may enable integration of many mach - zehnder interferometers with drastically lower production costs and lower loss . the descriptions set forth above are meant to be illustrative and not limiting . various modifications of the embodiments , in addition to those described herein , will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description . such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the concepts described herein . each patent , patent application and publication cited or described in this document are hereby incorporated herein by reference , in their entireties . the foregoing description of possible implementations consistent with the present disclosure does not represent a comprehensive list of all such implementations or all variations of the implementations described . the description of some implementation should not be construed as an intent to exclude other implementations . for example , artisans will understand how to implement the embodiments in many other ways , using equivalents and alternatives that do not depart from the scope of the disclosure . moreover , unless indicated to the contrary in the preceding description , none of the components described in the implementations are essential to the embodiments disclosed . it is thus intended that the embodiments be considered as illustrative , with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims .	6
embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows the arrangement of a whole copying machine . this copying machine 1 includes cassette paper feed units 2 containing a large number of transfer sheets in the lower portion of the machine . the upper portion of the copying machine 1 includes an image reader 5 for reading an original , an automatic document feeder 6 for supplying an original to this image reader 5 , an image storage unit ( not shown ) for storing image data read by the image reader 5 , and a laser optical device 9 for extracting the stored image data and forming a visible image by irradiating an image forming unit 8 with a laser beam . the image forming unit 8 is composed of a photosensitive drum 10 , a developing unit 11 , a cleaner 12 , a charger 13 , a discharge lamp 14 , and a transfer / separation charger 15 . the developing unit 11 has a toner bottle 16 and a driving unit for rotating the toner bottle 16 . fig2 shows the toner bottle 16 and the driving unit 17 . a cap 20 having a discharge port 21 is placed at an opening portion of the toner bottle 16 . a rib 24 is formed on a portion of the outer surface at the end portion away from the opening portion of the toner bottle 16 . this rib 24 has a predetermined positional relationship with the discharge port 21 of the cap 20 . a rotating mechanism including driving gears and the like , which is a part of the driving unit 17 for rotating the toner bottle 16 , will be described below with reference to fig2 and 3 . referring to fig2 , the driving unit 17 includes a motor 27 , a pulley 29 , a belt 28 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 27 to the pulley 29 , a driving gear a 30 to which the rotation of the pulley 29 is transmitted , a driving gear b ( not shown ) to which the rotation of the driving gear a 30 is transmitted , a conveyor auger for converting the rotation of the driving gear b into linear motion , and a driving gear c 33 for converting the linear motion of the conveyor auger into rotation . referring to fig3 , the driving unit 17 includes a driving gear d 34 for transmitting the rotation of the driving gear c 30 , a driving plate 36 attached to the rotating shaft of the driving gear d 34 , the driving gear d 34 attached to the driving plate 36 to slide along the axial direction , and a holder guide 37 attached to the driving plate 36 and rotated together with the driving plate 36 by the driving gear d 34 . the developing unit 11 has the toner bottle 16 and the driving unit 17 as described above . the first , second , and third embodiments of the present invention include a control circuit shown in fig4 in order to control the rotation of the toner bottle 16 and perform processing such as discrimination . this control circuit includes a cpu ( central processing unit ) 101 , a rom 104 , a ram 105 , a sensor 102 , and a motor driver 103 . the cpu 101 manages the whole operation of the copying machine 1 . the rom 104 stores programs for designating the operation procedure of the cpu 101 . the ram 105 stores data and data is read out from the ram 105 where necessary under the control of the cpu 101 . the sensor 102 senses the rib 24 of the toner bottle 16 and outputs a sensor signal to the cpu 101 . the motor driver 103 receives a control signal from the cpu 101 and drives the motor 27 for rotating the toner bottle 16 . in accordance with the procedures to be described later with reference to flow charts , the cpu 101 outputs a control signal to the motor driver 103 and causes the motor driver 103 to drive the motor 27 . the motor 27 rotates the toner bottle 16 , and the sensor 102 senses the rib and outputs a sensor signal to the cpu 101 . on the basis of this sensor signal , the cpu 101 discriminates the type of the toner bottle 16 , controls the number of times of rotation of the toner bottle for the purpose of stirring toner , or detects the amount of remaining toner . first , the procedure of discrimination performed by a toner bottle type discriminating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a toner bottle adapted to fit this discriminating apparatus will be described below . fig5 shows the positional relationship between the sensor 102 and the rib 24 of the toner bottle 16 . the sensor 102 can be any sensor as long as it can sense the presence of the rib 24 . an optical sensor and a mechanical limit sw are examples . it is also possible to adhere a magnetic material to the surface of a toner bottle and allow a magnetic sensor to sense this material . alternatively , it is possible to attach an optically sensible mark such as a bar code to the surface of a toner bottle and permit an optical sensor to sense this mark . that is , it is only necessary to allow a sensor to sense a portion to be discriminated . let α be the angle at which the rib exists on the outer surface of the toner bottle 16 and β be the angle at which it does not exist . when a spiral is cut in the outer surface of the toner bottle 16 as shown in fig2 , the direction in which internal toner moves changes in accordance with the rotational direction . therefore , the rotation of the toner bottle 16 includes forward rotation and reverse rotation . the forward rotation is rotation in a direction in which toner in the toner bottle 16 moves to the opening portion . the reverse rotation is rotation in a direction in which toner moves to the end portion opposite to the opening portion . fig6 shows an output waveform when the sensor 102 senses the rib 24 of the toner bottle 16 during rotation ( regardless of whether it is forward rotation or reverse rotation ). a high level is output in a period t 1 during which the sensor 102 senses the rib 24 . the output changes to low level in a period t 2 during which the sensor 102 does not sense the rib 24 . fig7 shows the procedure of toner bottle discrimination according to this embodiment . in step s 100 , the cpu 101 starts rotating the motor 27 . the direction of this rotation is the reverse direction . this is so because this operation is to discriminate whether the toner bottle is a genuine product , unlike the original toner bottle operation of replenishing toner to the developing unit , so it is necessary to prevent discharge of toner from the opening portion . in step s 102 , the cpu 101 waits until the rotation of the toner bottle 16 becomes stable . during this interval , the cpu 101 does not check for the output from the sensor 102 . this is so because the time required for the rotation of the motor 27 to become a constant velocity rotation changes in accordance with the amount of remaining toner in the toner bottle 16 , so the cpu 101 cannot accurately measure the time of one rotation of the toner bottle . this phenomenon is significant when a brush motor is used as the motor 27 . in step s 104 , after the rotation of the motor 27 has become stable , the cpu 101 checks for the output from the sensor 102 , thereby checking whether the output has changed from low level to high level . in step s 106 , if the output from the sensor 102 has not changed from low level to high level within a predetermined time , i . e ., if the rib 24 does not exist in a predetermined position of the toner bottle 16 , the cpu 101 determines that this toner bottle 16 is not a genuine product , and displays information indicating abnormality on a control panel . if the output from the sensor 102 has changed from low level to high level within the predetermined time , in step s 108 the cpu 101 starts measuring a time t 1 during which the high - level output is maintained . in step s 110 , the cpu 101 checks for the output from the sensor 102 to check whether the output has changed from high level to low level . if the cpu 101 determines in step s 112 that the output has not changed from high level to low level within a predetermined time , the cpu 101 determines that the toner bottle 16 is not a genuine product , and displays information indicating abnormality on the control panel . if the output has changed from high level to low level within the predetermined time , a high - level output period t 1 is determined at this point . in step s 114 , the cpu 101 starts measuring a time t 2 during which the output maintains low level . in step s 118 , the cpu 101 checks whether the output has changed from low level to high level within a predetermined time . if no in step s 118 , the cpu 101 displays information indicating abnormality on the control panel . if the output has changed from low level to high level within the predetermined time , a low - level output period t 2 is determined at this point . in step s 120 , the rotation of the motor 27 is stopped under the control of the cpu 101 . in step s 122 , the cpu 101 calculates the angle α (= t 1 /( t 1 + t 2 )) at which the rib 24 exists by using the high - level output period t 1 and the low - level output period t 2 . in this embodiment , the rib angle α is detected by using the high - level output period t 1 and the low - level output period t 2 of the sensor as parameters , and is used as a criterion . however , various criteria can also be formed by combining the timings of the leading and trailing edges of the sensor output signal . in step s 124 , the cpu 101 checks whether the calculated angle α corresponds to a genuine product . if the angle α corresponds to a genuine product , the cpu 101 determines that this toner bottle is a genuine product , and completes the process . if the angle α does not correspond to a genuine product , the cpu 101 displays information indicating abnormality on the control panel and completes the process . in this embodiment as described above , it is possible to discriminate whether a toner bottle is a genuine product by using a simple method . also , different toner bottle destination versions ( e . g ., a domestic version , a us version , and an european version ) can be set by setting several different angles α . a toner stirring method and apparatus and a toner bottle adapted to fit the apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below . fig8 shows the procedure of this process . in step s 200 , a cpu 101 drives a motor to rotate a toner bottle 16 . this first rotational direction is a reverse direction . in step s 203 , the cpu 101 checks whether an output has changed to high level within a predetermined time . if no in step s 203 , this means that the motor is locked , so the cpu 101 abnormally terminates the process . in step s 202 , the cpu 101 checks whether the output from a sensor 102 has changed from high level to low level . in step s 204 , the cpu 101 checks whether the output has changed from high level to low level within a predetermined time . if no in step s 204 , the cpu 101 determines that the motor is locked , and abnormally terminates the process . if the output has changed from high level to low level within the predetermined time , the cpu 101 stops the motor in step s 206 . in step s 208 , the cpu 101 rotates the motor in a forward direction . in step s 210 , the cpu 101 checks whether the sensor output has changed from high level to low level . in step s 212 , the cpu 101 checks whether the output has changed from high level to low level within a predetermined time . if no in step s 212 , the cpu 101 abnormally terminates the process . if the output has changed from high level to low level within the predetermined time , the cpu 101 stops the motor in step s 214 . in step s 216 , the cpu 101 checks whether the stirring operation has been performed twice . if the cpu 101 determined that the stirring operation has not been performed twice , the flow returns to step s 200 . if the cpu 101 determines that the stirring operation has been performed twice , the cpu 101 completes the process . in the second embodiment described above , a toner stirring process can be performed by a simple method . the number of times of the toner stirring operation is set to 2 in this embodiment , but this number of times can be freely set . when this is the case , the desired number of times is set as a stirring number n , and the stirring operation is repeated until this number is reached in step s 216 . a remaining toner amount detecting method and apparatus and a toner bottle adapted to fit the apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below . in this embodiment , the amount of remaining toner is detected since the load of rotation of a toner bottle changes in accordance with the amount of remaining toner in the toner bottle . fig9 shows a change in the rotational speed when a toner bottle is rotated by giving it a fixed torque from the state in which the toner bottle is filled with toner to the state in which the remaining toner amount is 0 ( toner empty ). let r 1 be the rotational speed when the toner bottle is full , r 3 be the rotational speed when the remaining toner amount is 0 , and r 2 be the rotational speed when the remaining toner amount is a predetermined amount n ( toner near empty ) ( g ) close to 0 . also , let r be the rotational speed obtained by rotating the toner bottle when the remaining toner amount is m ( g ). fig1 shows the relationship between the remaining toner amount and the possible number of copies when a standard chart ( a chart for use in testing with which the ratio of toner necessary to copy on one transfer material is approximately 6 %) is used . assume that the possible number of copies when the toner bottle is filled with toner is , e . g ., 10 , 000 , and the possible number of copies when the remaining toner amount is n ( g ) is , e . g ., 2 , 000 . on the basis of the relationship between the remaining toner amount and the rotational speed shown in fig9 , when the rotational speed r detected becomes higher than the rotational speed r 2 , it is determined that toner empty is approached , and information indicating toner empty is displayed . fig1 shows the process procedure leading to a remaining toner amount check routine . fig1 shows the remaining toner amount check routine . in step s 300 , a cpu 101 performs a copying operation . in step s 302 , the cpu 101 counts the number of copies c for each copying . in step s 304 , the cpu 101 checks whether the number of copies c exceeds a predetermined number of copies . if no in step s 304 , the flow returns to step s 300 . if yes in step s 304 , the flow advances to the next step . in step s 306 , the cpu 101 checks whether a developing unit has requested toner replenishment . if no in step s 306 , the flow returns to step s 306 . if yes in step s 306 , the flow advances to a remaining toner amount check routine in step s 308 . in step s 400 of fig1 , the cpu 101 replenishes toner . in step s 402 , the cpu 101 drives a motor 27 to rotate a toner bottle 16 . the direction of this rotation is a forward direction because replenishment of toner is the purpose . in step s 404 , the cpu 101 waits until the rotation of the toner bottle 16 becomes stable . in step s 406 , the cpu 101 checks whether the output from a sensor 102 has changed from low level to high level . in step s 408 , the cpu 101 starts measuring a time t 1 during which the sensor output maintains high level . in step s 410 , the cpu 101 checks whether the sensor output has changed from high level to low level . the time t 1 is determined when the sensor output has changed . in step s 412 , the cpu 101 starts measuring a time t 2 during which the sensor output maintains low level . in step s 414 , the cpu 101 checks whether the sensor output has changed from low level to high level . the time t 2 is determined when the sensor output has changed . in step s 416 , the cpu 101 stops the motor . in step s 418 , the cpu 101 calculates the rotational speed r (= 1 /( t 1 + t 2 )) of the toner bottle . in step s 420 , the cpu 101 checks whether the calculated rotational speed r is higher than the predetermined rotational speed r 2 . if the rotational speed r is equal to or lower than the predetermined rotational speed r 2 , the flow returns to step s 310 in the flow chart of fig1 , and the cpu 101 resets the counter of the number of copies c and completes the process . if the rotational speed r is higher than the predetermined rotational speed r 2 , the flow advances to step s 422 , and the cpu 101 displays near empty . the flow then returns to step s 310 in the flow chart of fig1 , and the cpu 101 resets the counter of the number of copies c and completes the process . in the third embodiment described above , the remaining toner amount can be detected in real time . also , the remaining toner amount can be displayed in the state of near empty which is close to empty . each of the above embodiments is merely an example and hence does not restrict the present invention . the present invention can be modified without departing from the scope of right of the invention . for example , the outer shape of the toner bottle and the arrangement of the driving unit are not limited to those shown in fig1 to 3 . also , the shape of the rib formed on the outer surface of the toner bottle is not restricted to the one shown in fig2 to 5 and can be deformed where necessary . in the second embodiment described above , both the toner stirring process and the toner bottle type discrimination process are performed . however , only the toner stirring process can also be performed . furthermore , when the cpu checks whether a toner bottle is a genuine product or whether toner is near empty , the result can be displayed on a dedicated screen or a screen for operations , such as a liquid crystal display or a crt , commonly included in a copying machine .	6
the present invention provides improved systems and methods for transmitting optical signals . among other things , preferred embodiments address improvements in the formation and use of soliton pulses , particularly in regard to spectral band characteristics . certain embodiments improve soliton transmission through the use of iir ( infinite impulse response ) and / or fir ( finite impulse response ) filtration techniques . other embodiments improve soliton transmission through the use of enhanced techniques in connection with rz modulation . soliton format transmission , by definition , is conducted in an rz pulse format . one way to generate streams of individual pulses ( that may , for example , become individual soliton pulses ) is by using mode - locked laser sources or an external modulator that carves individual pulses out of a continuous wave ( cw ) laser source . a conventional generation of a pulse stream ( such as a soliton pulse stream ) produces a double side band ( dsb ) spectrum . as shown in fig1 a , an optical carrier oc with two side bands rsb and lsb is generated . then , data is modulated on the oc and side bands shown in fig1 a to generate data side bands 1014 , 1016 around the carrier oc , data side bands 1010 , 1012 around band lsb , and data side bands 1018 , 1020 around band rsb , as shown in fig1 b . each pulse in the stream is subject to dispersion according to the relation δτ =( d * l * δλ ), where δτ is temporal spread , d is the fiber dispersion in ps / km . nm and l is the fiber length in km and δλ is the spectral width in nm . in order for each pulse in the stream to form a soliton pulse , sufficient spm is generated to counteract the dispersion . in certain embodiments of the invention , pulse streams ( e . g ., soliton pulse streams ) are created that spectrally are single side band ( ssb ) in nature . for example , by filtering out one of the side bands in the spectrum of the stream , the effective dispersive effect on the stream is immediately reduced by factor of approximately 4 . ( with reference to a section below entitled “ soliton creation ”, since the filtering causes the pulse duration to increase , the effect of the dispersion is reduced as the square of the pulse duration increase .) this in turn translates to less power required to generate spm to counterbalance the dispersion , in fact by 10 * log ( 4 )= 6 db . in addition , removing the unwanted redundant side bands further reduces the overall power requirement for the stream of pulses ( e . g ., soliton pulses ). accordingly , the magnitude of power - and intensity - related side effects , including nonlinear effects and crosstalk , are correspondingly reduced . when the soliton pulse stream has an ssb spectrum , the gordon - haus jitter and self - frequency shift of the soliton pulses in the stream are also greatly reduced , as a natural consequence of having spectrally narrower soliton pulses , which are less prone to jitters and frequency shifts . another benefit of the ssb pulse stream is a reduction in cross talk among different channels ( in wdm ) or among pulses of the same channel ( in tdm ). the lower power requirement of the ssb soliton pulse stream improves intensity dependent characteristics of the link , including self phase modulation ( spm ), cross phase modulation ( xpm ), four wave mixing ( fwm ), and polarization mode dispersion ( pmd ). the ssb nature also allows for raman pump technology to be used efficiently since energy is not being expended on the filtered out sideband . in certain embodiments , iir and / or fir filtration techniques are used to filter out a side band from an existing dsb pulse stream optical signal , and known amplification techniques are used to control the intensity to cause the filtered results to be transmitted as an ssb soliton pulse stream . examples of iir and / or fir filtration techniques are disclosed in one or more of the following patent applications , each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety : u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 052 , 868 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 053 , 478 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 050 , 635 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 050 , 751 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 050 , 641 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 050 , 749 , filed jan . 16 , 2002 ; and u . s . patent application entitled “ filtering noise in optical signal transmission , which is being filed simultaneously herewith . referring to fig2 iir and / or fir filters are used to optically filter a side band out of a dsb pulse stream optical signal from a transmitter . system 100 may include a tunable iir and / or fir filter block 105 in optical communication with transmitter ( tx ) 110 via optical link 115 . in some embodiments , filter block 105 acts as a slave to tx 110 , e . g ., such that the filter block &# 39 ; s center frequency is adjusted in response to a potentially wandering center frequency at tx 110 . in other embodiments , tx 110 may act as a slave to filter block 105 , e . g ., such that tx 110 adjusts its center frequency in response to control signals from filter block 105 . tx 110 and / or filter block 105 may have some or all of the characteristics described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above . as described in more detail below , filter block 105 reshapes the spectrum of the pulse stream received from tx 110 by removing side - band spectral components . the configuration of tx 110 may be responsive to filter block 105 . the configuration of filter block 105 may be responsive to tx 110 . for example , the detected energy , power , or oc of the dsb stream or the ssb stream may be used to adjust the output intensity or other characteristics of tx 110 . [ 0037 ] fig2 a illustrates the frequency spectrum of signals emitted by a conventional optical transmitter , such as tx 110 , which spectrum and transmitter are described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above . in one embodiment , filter block 105 removes one of the side band components ; that is , either the left side band ( lsb ) together with its data side bands 211 , 212 , or the right side band ( rsb ) together with its data side bands 221 , 222 . fig2 b illustrates an example in which a filter depicted by box 250 is implemented by filter block 105 and results in the removal of the right side band ( rsb ) together with its data side bands 221 , 222 . filtering block 105 can also be tuned to reduce or attenuate one or more of components 200 , 201 , 202 to correspond to ( e . g ., to equalize their powers with respect to ) the power of lsbs 210 , 211 , 212 respectively ( known as a symmetric shape spectrum ). in other embodiments , filter block 105 removes additional side band spectral components . fig2 c , for example , illustrates that a narrower filter depicted by box 252 and implemented by filter block 105 results in the additional removal of side band spectral components 202 , 211 . as described above , filter block 105 can be tuned to reduce the power of components 200 , 201 to match or otherwise correspond to lsb power components 210 , 212 respectively ( the symmetric shape spectrum ). filter block 105 may include technology from one or more iir and / or fir filters as disclosed in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above , such as a high finesse fabry perot etalon , an electronically tunable liquid crystal fabry - perot filter , fiber brag grating ( fbg ), a michelson interferometer , an electronically tunable liquid crystal fir filter , and / or a mach - zehnder type interferometer . in certain embodiments , rz modulation is used in the creation of an ssb pulse stream ( e . g ., soliton pulse stream ). in certain embodiments , rz modulation is used to produce an ssb optical signal which is then modulated with data to produce a data modulated ssb optical signal . pertinent principles are described in “ design and application of discrete - time fractional hilbert transformer ,” by c . c . tseng and s . c . pei , ieee trans . on circuits and systems - ii : analog and digital signal processing , vol . 47 , no . 12 , pp . 1529 - 1533 , december 2000 . in one embodiment as shown in fig3 a , the light from a cw laser source is received by a transmission system 310 that may include a mach - zehnder type modulator / interferometer having some or all of the characteristics described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above . the modulator is a conventional rz modulator except in a first stage 312 which has electrodes implanted on both legs 314 , 316 respectively ( instead of on only one leg ). both legs have respective electrodes 318 , 320 implanted , which electrodes are driven by the same signal , from an rf synthesizer 322 through a splitter 324 , with a phase difference of π / 2 , which causes production of an ssb optical signal which can be modulated with data in a second stage 326 . in the second stage , an electrode 328 implanted on leg 330 is driven by a data signal source 332 . as shown in spectral diagrams 340 , 342 depicted below stages 312 , 326 respectively , stage 312 produces an ssb signal that has an oc and an lsb and no rsb , and stage 326 adds data side bands 352 , 354 around the lsb and data side bands 356 , 358 around the oc . [ 0042 ] fig3 c illustrates a general hilbert transform case of which fig3 a is an example embodiment . in a first stage 3020 , both legs 3010 , 3012 have respective electrodes 3014 , 3016 implanted , which electrodes are driven by a clock signal and its hilbert transform ( clock ′ signal ), respectively ( the clock and clock ′ signals have a phase difference of π / 2 ). in a second stage 3022 , an electrode 3024 implanted on leg 3026 is driven by an nrz data signal . the clock frequency and data modulation frequency are preferably equal . in another embodiment as shown in fig3 b , modulator 360 is the same as or largely similar to the modulator of fig3 a except that the second stage 362 ( data modulation section ) also has respective electrodes 364 , 366 implanted in both legs , which electrodes 364 , 366 are driven by the same data signal with a phase difference of π / 2 . accordingly , as shown in spectral diagram 368 , a different final spectrum is produced in which side bands 354 , 358 have been removed as compared to diagram 342 of fig3 a . fig3 d illustrates a general hilbert transform case of which fig3 b is an example embodiment . in a first stage 3040 , both legs 3050 , 3052 have respective electrodes 3054 , 3056 implanted , which electrodes are driven by a clock signal and a clock ′ signal , respectively . in a second stage 3062 , electrodes 3064 , 3066 respectively implanted on legs 3068 , 3070 are driven by an nrz data signal and a data ′ signal ( the data and data ′ signals have a phase difference of π / 2 ), respectively . in other embodiments as shown in fig3 e , 3 f , an fir stage 370 including an fir filter is added to the embodiments shown in fig3 c , 3 d respectively . in the embodiments of fig3 e , 3 f , stage 370 defines the spectral bands and reshape the optical signal . the fir filter may have some or all of the characteristics described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above . in the fir stage , only leg 372 has an electrode 374 , and the phase difference between the two legs 372 , 376 is set to produce the least errors , or nearly the least errors , experienced at the receiver . the optimum phase difference between the two legs may vary according to data rate and pulse duration . the delay in the fir section is set such that the generated pulse is split into two overlapped pulses 378 , 380 that are preferably one - half to one full fwhm ( full - width half - maximum ) apart . [ 0045 ] fig3 c - 3 f , 4 a - 4 b also show an amplitude adjuster 4010 which in one or more embodiments may include an optical amplifier and / or an optical attenuator and which may be used for optical signal amplitude adjustment , e . g ., in soliton creation as described herein . a pulse in optical fiber can take the form of a soliton pulse if the pulse has certain characteristics relative to the characteristics of the fiber , as explained in agrawal , govind p ., nonlinear fiber optics , 2 nd edition ( academic press , inc ., new york , 1995 ), which describes the following relation ( agrawal at 145 , equation 5 . 2 . 16 ): as described above , an outgoing pulse stream having ssb spectral characteristics can be formed from an incoming pulse stream having dsb spectral characteristics , which pulse streams may or may not include soliton pulses . with an appropriate adjustment of peak through amplification , a soliton pulse stream ( which may or may not contain data ) having ssb spectral characteristics can be formed from the outgoing pulse stream . the adjustment , which can be performed automatically or manually , can be performed by , with , or within the apparatus described above , or can be performed by , with , or within other apparatus ( e . g ., apparatus that receives an ssb pulse stream produced as described above ). solitons and the formation of solitons are further explained in yariv , optical electronics in modern communications , 5 th edition ( oxford , 1997 ), particularly chapter 19 ; handbook of optics , volume iv : fiber optics and nonlinear optics , 2 nd edition , edited by michael bass ( mcgraw - hill , new york , 2001 ), particularly chapter 7 ; and hasegawa , optical solitons in fibers for communication systems , optics & amp ; photonics news , february 2002 . in connection with the above , the transmission technology may be modified in many ways . for example , the arrangements having iir and / or fir technology may employ different arrangements , such as tunable or passive iir and / or fir technology separately or in combination . [ 0058 ] fig4 a , 4 b illustrate embodiments similar to the embodiments described above , but in which enhanced techniques used in connection with rz methodology affect the spectral characteristics of the optical signal . in the embodiments of 4 a , 4 b , a data modulation stage is provided in which a modulator is driven with an electrical rz data format pattern , which allows a clock modulation stage to be omitted in the generation of rz ssb optical pulses . fig4 a shows a data rz modulation stage 510 in which the legs are driven by a data signal and a data ′ signal ( the data and data ′ signals have a phase difference of π / 2 ), respectively . [ 0059 ] fig4 b illustrates an embodiment in which an fir filter stage 530 is added to the embodiment shown in fig4 a to further reshape the optical signal . the fir filter stage may have some or all of the characteristics described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above . in the fir filter stage , only leg 532 has an electrode 536 , and the phase difference between the two legs 532 , 534 is preferably set at π / 2 ( other phase differences , such as 0 or π , may be used ). the delay in the fir section is set such that the generated pulse is split into two overlapped pulses 540 , 542 that are preferably one - half to one full fwhm apart . [ 0060 ] fig5 illustrates an embodiment 604 in which at least a portion of one or more techniques described herein is used in a wdm application . optical signals from transmitter devices 610 a - 610 n are processed by systems 612 a - 612 n , each of which systems may rely on at least a portion of one or more techniques described herein ( e . g ., techniques described in connection with embodiment 100 of fig2 or system 310 of fig3 a ). a wdm multiplexor device 614 receives the processed signals and directs a combined signal to link 616 , which may include one or more optical amplifiers 618 a - 618 n to propagate the combined signal to a wdm demultiplexor device 620 which reverses the combination process of device 614 and directs decombined signals to receiver devices 622 a - 622 n corresponding to transmitter devices 610 a - 610 n respectively . wdm methodology is described in iannone , nonlinear optical communication networks , john wiley and sons , new york , 1998 . the arrangements described above were illustrated with single filtering devices ( e . g ., filters ) for the most part to avoid clutter . for example , the filters may be implemented as a cascaded arrangement of filters as well . moreover , though not shown in the figs . to avoid clutter , gaining elements may be incorporated into the implementations , e . g ., to compensate for any insertion loss from various components of the implementations . for example , the insertion loss of a device may be compensated by erbium doped optical fiber amplifiers or the like , which may be placed before , after or within a filter block . the transmission technology may use , in whole or in part , one or more of the filtration techniques described in one or more of the patent applications incorporated by reference above , e . g ., for noise reduction or for another purpose . it will be further appreciated that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above - described embodiments , but rather is defined by the appended claims , and that these claims will encompass modifications of and improvements to what has been described .	6
1 . a guide to iupac nomenclature of organic compounds ( recommendations 1993 ), 1993 , blackwell scientific publications . 2 . nomenclature and symbolism for amino acids and peptides . recommendations 1983 . iupac - iub joint commission on biochemical nomenclature , uk . biochemical journal ( 1984 ), 219 : 345 - 373 , as well as cited literature . method 1 ( lc - ms ): instrument type ms : micromass zq ; instrument type hplc : hp 1100 series ; uv dad ; column : phenomenex synergi 2μ hydro - rp mercury 20 mm × 4 mm ; eluent a : 1 l of water + 0 . 5 ml of 50 % formic acid , eluent b : 1 l of acetonitrile + 0 . 5 ml of 50 % formic acid ; gradient : 0 . 0 min 90 % a → 2 . 5 min 30 % a → 3 . 0 min 5 % a → 4 . 5 min 5 % a ; flow : 0 . 0 min 1 ml / min , 2 . 5 min / 3 . 0 min / 4 . 5 min 2 ml / min ; oven : 50 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 nm . method 2 ( preparative hplc ; symmetry ; trifluoroacetic acid ): instrument : gilson abimed hplc ; uv detector 210 nm ; binary pump system ; column : symmetryprep ™ c 18 , waters , 7 μm ; 300 × 19 mm ; eluent a : 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid in water , eluent b : 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 - 5 min 5 % b at flow rate 20 ml / min , 5 - 30 min gradient ramp from 5 to 60 % b with the following increases in flow rate : 22 ml / min from 6 min , 23 ml / min from 10 min , 24 ml / min from 15 min ; 30 - 35 min gradient ramp from 60 % to 98 % b with flow rate reduction to 21 ml / min from 38 min ; 40 - 45 min 10 % b . method 3 ( method for preparative separation of dihydro - and octahydrolysobactin by hplc ): column : symmetryprep ™ c 18 , waters , 7 μm 300 × 19 mm ; flow 25 ml / min ; rt ; eluent a : 0 . 2 % tfa in water , eluent b : acetonitrile , 0 - 10 min gradient : 80 % a , 20 % b to 35 % a , 65 % b ; 10 . 01 - 15 min : 80 % a , 20 % b ; detection 210 nm fractions monitored by means of lc - ms ( method 1 ), freed from acetonitrile on a rotary evaporator and lyophilized . method 4 ( analytical hplc 1100 , zq2 , phenomenex , synergi , hydro - rp ): instrument type hplc : hp 1100 series ; uv dad ; column : phenomenex , mercuryms , synergi 2μ hydro - rp 20 × 4 mm ; eluent a : water / 0 . 05 % formic acid , eluent b : acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 . 0 - 2 . 5 min , 90 - 30 % a , flow 1 - 2 ml / min , 2 . 5 - 3 . 0 min , 30 - 5 % a , flow 2 . 0 ml / min , 3 . 0 - 4 . 5 min , 5 % a ; oven : 50 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 nm . method 5 ( tof - hr - ms ): tof - hr - ms - esi + spectra are recorded using a micromass lct instrument ( capillary voltage : 3 . 2 kv , cone voltage : 42 v , source temperature : 120 ° c ., desolvation temperature : 280 ° c .). for this a syringe pump ( harvard apparatus ) was used for the sample introduction . leucine enkephalin ( tyr - gly - gly - phe - leu ) is used as standard . method 6 ( hplc ): instrument type hplc : hp 1100 series ; uv dad column : zorbax eclipse xbd - c8 ( agilent ), 150 mm × 4 . 6 mm , 5 μm ; eluent a : 5 ml of hclo 4 / 1 of water , eluent b : acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 - 1 min 10 % b , 1 - 4 min 10 - 90 % b , 4 - 5 min 90 % b ; flow : 2 . 0 ml / min ; oven : 30 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 and 254 nm . method 7 ( hplc ): column : kromasil rp - 18 , 60 mm × 2 mm , 3 . 5 μm ; eluent a : 5 ml of hclo 4 / 1 of water , eluent b : acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 min 2 % b , 0 . 5 min 2 % b , 4 . 5 min 90 % b , 9 min 90 % b ; flow : 0 . 75 ml / min ; oven : 30 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 nm . method 8 ( hplc ): column : kromasil rp - 18 , 250 mm × 4 mm , 5 μm ; eluent a : 5 ml of hclo 4 / 1 of water , eluent b : acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 min 5 % b , 10 min 95 % b ; flow : 1 ml / min ; oven : 40 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 nm . method 9 ( hplc ): column : kromasil rp - 18 , 250 mm × 4 mm , 5 μm ; eluent a : 2 ml of hclo 4 / 1 of water , eluent b : acetonitrile ; isocratic : 45 % b , 55 % a ; flow : 1 ml / min ; oven : 40 ° c . ; uv detection : 210 nm . method 10 ( hplc ): instrument : agilent 1100 with dad ( g1315b ), binary pump ( g1312a ), autosampler ( g1313a ), solvent degasser ( g1379a ) and column thermostat ( g1316a ); column : agilent eclipse xdb - c8 4 . 6 × 150 × 5 mm ; column temperature : 40 ° c . ; eluent a : 0 . 05 % of 70 % perchloric acid in water ; eluent b : methanol ; flow : 2 . 00 ml / min ; isocratic : 0 - 7 min 55 % b . method 11 ( hplc ): analytical hplc method bromelain / chymotrypsin cleavage . about 20 μg of the enzymatic cleavage products or of the starting compounds are chromatographed on a 300sb - c18 column ( 4 . 6 mm × 125 mm ; 3 . 5 μm material ; 300 angström pore diameter ). as eluent , an acetonitrile / tfa gradient is used . eluent a : 0 . 1 % tfa in water , eluent b : 0 . 1 % tfa in 60 % acetonitrile / 40 % water ; gradient : 0 min 0 % b , 2 min 10 % b , 50 min 80 % b , 52 min 100 % b , 55 min 0 % b , 60 min 0 % b ; flow : 0 . 7 ml / min ; column temperature : 40 ° c . ; detection : 210 nm . the sequence analyses are carried out using a protein sequencer procise ™ from applied biosystems . the standard sequencing program is used . the sequencer , the various sequencing programs as well as the pth detection system are described in detail in the operating handbook user &# 39 ; s manual set , protein sequencing system procise ™ ( 1994 ), applied biosystems forster city , calif . 94404 , u . s . a . the reagents for operating the sequencer and the hplc column for the pth detection are obtained from applied biosystems . the hplc analyses are carried out using an hp1100 hplc system from agilent . a zorbax 300sb - c18 column ( 4 . 6 mm × 150 mm ; 3 . 5 μm material ; 300 angström pore diameter ) from agilent ( d - waldbronn ) is used for the separations . the reagents used are of hplc quality and are obtained from merck ( d - darmstadt ). the capillary electrophoresis model 270a - ht is from applied biosystems . the samples are generally injected hydrodynamically over various time periods . the capillary column used ( 50 μm diameter × 72 cm in length ) is from applied biosystems . separation programs and the function of the analyzer are described extensively in the handbook of the instrument ( user &# 39 ; s manual capillary electrophoresis system model 270a ht ; applied biosystems forster city , calif . 94404 , u . s . a . ; 1989 ). the reagents used are of biochemical quality and are obtained from merck ( d - darmstadt ) or sigma ( d - deisenhofen ). the amino acid analyses are carried out using an lc3000 amino acid analyzer from eppendorf / biotronik a slightly modified standard separation program from eppendorf / biotronik is used . the separation programs and the function of the analyzer are extensively described in the instrument handbook ( handbuch des aminosäureanalysators lc 3000 [ handbook of the lc 3000 amino acid analyzer ], wissenschaftliche geräte gmbh biotronik , maintal , 1996 ). the reagents used are of biochemical quality and are obtained from merck ( d - darmstadt ), fluka ( d - neu - ulm ) or sigma ( d - deisenhofen ). the molecular weights are determined using a zq - 1 system from micromass ( manchester , uk ). the fragments are thereby separated by means of rp - 18 - hplc chromatography ( hp1100 system ) and the molecular weight is determined by electron spray ionization ( esi ). external calibration is carried out . the calibration and functioning of the systems are extensively described in the handbook of the instrument . the enzymes and chemicals used are of biochemical quality and are obtained from fluka , calbiochem ( d - heidelberg ) and sigma . the material for the preparative chromatography source 15rpc is obtained from amersham bioscience ( d - freiburg ). the preparative separation is carried out using an äkta ™ system from amersham bioscience . the chemical compounds mentioned in the invention can also be in the form of salts , solvates or solvates of the salts . salts preferred for purpose of the present invention are physiologically acceptable salts of the compounds which can be prepared or are useable according to the invention . however , also comprised are salts which are not themselves suitable for pharmaceutical applications , but can be used , for example , for the isolation or purification of the compounds which can be prepared or are useable according to the invention , or mixed salts . physiologically acceptable salts of the compounds which can be prepared or are useable according to the invention comprise acid addition salts of mineral acids , carboxylic acids and sulfonic acids , for example salts of hydrochloric acid , hydrobromic acid , sulfuric acid , phosphoric acid , methanesulfonic acid , ethanesulfonic acid , toluenesulfonic acid , benzenesulfonic acid , naphthalenedisulfonic acid , acetic acid , trifluoroacetic acid , propionic acid , lactic acid , tartaric acid , malic acid , citric acid , fumaric acid , maleic acid and benzoic acid . physiologically acceptable salts of the compounds which can be prepared or are useable according to the invention also comprise salts of usual bases such as , for example , and preferably , alkali metal salts ( for example sodium and potassium salts ), alkaline earth metal salts ( for example calcium and magnesium salts ) and ammonium salts , derived from ammonia or organic amines having 1 to 16 carbon atoms , such as , for example , and preferably ethylamine , diethylamine , triethylamine , ethyldiisopropylamine , monoethanolamine , diethanolamine , triethanolamine , dicyclohexylamine , dimethylaminoethanol , procaine , dibenzylamine , n - methylmorpholine , arginine , lysine , ethylenediamine and n - methylpiperidine . solvates , for the purpose of the invention refer to those forms of the compounds which can be produced or are useable according to the invention which , which in solid or liquid state , form a complex by coordination with solvent molecules . hydrates are a special form of solvates in which the coordination takes place with water . ym : yeast - malt agar : d - glucose ( 4 g / l ), yeast extract ( 4 g / l ), malt extract ( 10 g / l ), 1 liter of lewatit water . before sterilization ( 20 minutes at 121 ° c . ), the ph is adjusted to 7 . 2 . hpm : mannitol ( 5 . 4 g / l ), yeast extract ( 5 g / l ), meat peptone ( 3 g / l ). working preserve : the lyophilized strain ( atcc 53042 ) is grown in 50 ml of ym medium . flask fermentation : 150 ml of ym medium or 100 ml of hpm medium in a 1 l erlenmeyer flask are inoculated with 2 ml of the working preserve and allowed to grow on a shaker at 240 rpm for 30 - 48 hours at 28 ° c . 30 l fermentation : 300 ml of the flask fermentation ( hpm medium ) are used to inoculate a sterile 30 l nutrient medium solution ( 1 ml of antifoam sag 5693 / 1 ). this culture is allowed to grow for 21 hours at 28 ° c ., 300 rpm and aeration with sterile air of 0 . 3 vvm . the ph is kept constant at ph = 7 . 2 with 1 m hydrochloric acid . in total , 880 ml of 1 m hydrochloric acid are added during the culturing period . main culture ( 200 l ): 15 × 150 ml of ym medium in 1 l erlenmeyer flasks are inoculated with 2 ml of the working preserve and allowed to grow on the shaker at 28 ° c . for 48 hours and at 240 rpm . 2250 ml of this culture are used to inoculate a sterile 200 l nutrient media solution ( ym ) ( 1 ml of antifoam sag 5693 / 1 ) and it is allowed to grow for 18 . 5 hours at 28 ° c ., 150 rpm and aeration with sterile air of 0 . 3 vvm . hourly samples ( 50 ml ) are taken to check the course of the fermentation . 1 ml of methanol ( 0 . 5 % trifluoroacetic acid ) is added to 2 ml of this culture broth and the mixture is filtered through a 0 . 45 μm filter . 30 μl of this suspension are analyzed means of by hplc ( method 6 and method 7 ). after 18 . 5 hours , the culture broth of the main culture is separated into supernatant and sediment at 17 000 rpm . the supernatant ( 183 l ) is adjusted to ph 6 . 5 ( 7 using concentrated trifluoroacetic acid or a sodium hydroxide solution and loaded onto a lewapol column ( oc 1064 , 60 l contents ). elution is subsequently carried out with pure water , water / methanol 1 : 1 and subsequently with pure methanol ( containing 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ). this organic phase is concentrated in vacuo to a residual aqueous residue of 11 . 5 l . the residual aqueous phase is bound to silica gel c 18 and separated ( mplc , biotage flash 75 , 75 × 30 cm , kp - c18 - wp , 15 - 20 μm , flow : 30 ml ; eluent : acetonitrile / water containing 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ; gradient : 10 %, 15 % and 40 % acetonitrile ). the 40 % acetonitrile phase which contains the main amount of example 1a , is concentrated in vacuo and subsequently lyophilized ( about 13 g ). this mixture of solids is separated in 1 . 2 g portions , first on a preparative hplc ( method 1 ), subsequently by gel filtration on sephadex lh - 20 ( 5 × 70 cm , acetonitrile / water 1 : 1 , in each case containing 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid ) and a further preparative hplc ( method 8 ). the sediment is taken up in 41 of acetone / water 4 : 1 , 2 kg of celite are added , the mixture is adjusted to ph = 6 using trifluoroacetic acid , stirred and centrifuged . the solvent is concentrated in vacuo and the residue is freeze dried . the lyophilizate obtained ( 89 . 9 g ) is taken up in methanol , filtered , concentrated and separated on silica gel ( method 9 ). example 1a is then purified by gel filtration ( sephadex lh - 20 , 5 × 68 cm , water / acetonitrile 9 : 1 ( containing 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid ), flow : 2 . 7 ml / min , fraction size 13 . 5 ml ) to give the pure substance . 1h nmr ( 500 . 13 mhz , d 6 - dmso ): δ = 0 . 75 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 78 ( d , 6h ), 0 . 80 ( t , 3h ), 0 . 82 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 90 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 91 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 92 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 95 ( d , 3h ), 0 . 96 ( d , 3h ), 1 . 05 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 19 ( d , 3h ), 1 . 25 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 50 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 51 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 55 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 61 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 65 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 84 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 85 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 86 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 89 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 75 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 40 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 52 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 53 ( dd , 1h ), 3 . 64 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 66 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 68 ( dd , 1h ), 3 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 00 ( dd , 1h ), 4 . 02 ( br ., 1h ), 4 . 13 ( br ., 1h ), 4 . 32 ( dd , 1h ), 4 . 39 ( t , 1h ), 4 . 55 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 75 ( dd , 1h ), 5 . 19 ( t , 1h ), 5 . 29 ( d , 1h ), 5 . 30 ( br ., 1h ), 5 . 58 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 68 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 89 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 93 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 94 ( br ., 1h ), 6 . 98 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 12 ( br ., 1h ), 7 . 20 ( br ., 2h ), 7 . 23 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 42 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 54 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 58 ( d , 1h ), 8 . 32 ( br ., 1h ), 9 . 18 ( br ., 1h ), 9 . 20 ( m , 2h ), 9 . 50 ( br ., 1h ). 13 c - nmr ( 125 . 77 mhz , d 6 - dmso ): δ = 10 . 3 , 15 . 3 , 19 . 0 , 19 . 2 , 19 . 6 , 20 . 0 , 20 . 9 , 22 . 0 , 22 . 4 , 23 . 0 , 23 . 2 , 24 . 3 , 24 . 4 , 25 . 0 , 25 . 4 , 26 . 0 , 27 . 8 , 30 . 9 , 35 . 4 , 39 . 5 , 40 . 8 , 40 . 9 , 41 . 6 , 44 . 1 , 51 . 5 , 52 . 7 , 55 . 9 , 56 . 2 , 56 . 4 , 57 . 9 , 58 . 8 , 60 . 2 , 61 . 1 , 62 . 6 , 70 . 1 , 71 . 6 , 71 . 7 , 75 . 5 , 128 . 1 , 128 . 6 , 136 . 7 , 156 . 8 , 168 . 2 , 170 . 1 , 170 . 4 , 171 . 2 , 171 . 5 , 171 . 9 , 172 . 2 , 172 . 4 , 173 . 7 . the assignment of the signals was carried out according to the assignment described in the literature ( t . kato , h . hinoo , y . terui , j . antibiot . ( 1988 ) 61 : 719 - 725 ). the compound from example 1 ( lysobactin , 250 mg , 170 mmol ) is dissolved in isopropanol / water ( 2 : 1 , 60 ml ) and hydrogenated under 1 atm of hydrogen in the presence of 200 mg of pd ( 10 % on carbon ). the course of the reaction is followed by means of lc - ms ( method 1 ). after virtually complete conversion (& gt ; 95 %), the catalyst is filtered off , washed with isopropanol and the filtrate is lyophilized . in this crude product , according to lc - ms , the products are distributed as follows : dihydrolysobactin about 74 %, octahydro - lysobactin about 12 %. the residue is purified by hplc ( method 2 ). after lyophilization of the suitable fractions , the pure compound example 2 is obtained ( 81 . 5 mg , 31 % of theory ). lc - ms : ( method 1 ): r t = 1 . 56 min es + : m / z = 1279 [ m + h ] + , 640 . 1 [ m + 2h ] 2 + ; es − : m / z = 1277 [ m - h ] − , 638 . 1 [ m - 2h ] 2 − . by hydrogenation under a hydrogen pressure of 3 atm , in a method otherwise identical to hydrogenation method 1 , the following distribution in the crude product determined by lc - ms is obtained : dihydrolysobactin about 80 %, octahydrolysobactin about 17 %. after hplc purification ( method 2 ), the pure compound example 2 is obtained ( 86 mg , 33 % of theory ). with a prolonged hydrogenation period at 3 bar hydrogen or using a higher pressure ( up to 80 bar hydrogen pressure ), proportionately more octahydrolysobactin can be obtained . in most cases , the crude mixtures of dihydro - and octahydrolysobactin are not separated , but are used directly in the enzymatic cleavage . in the following case the compound octahydrolysobactin is also isolated in pure form : lysobactin ( example 1 , 1 . 04 g , 0 . 69 mmol ) is dissolved in isopropanol / water ( 2 : 1 , 90 ml ) and hydrogenated under 3 atm hydrogen for 7 days in the presence of 200 mg of pd ( 10 % on carbon ). the catalyst is filtered off , washed with isopropanol and the filtrate is freed from isopropanol on a rotary evaporator and then lyophilized . in this crude product the products are distributed according to lc - ms ( method 1 ) as follows : dihydrolysobactin about 65 %, octa - hydrolysobactin about 35 %. the residue is purified by hplc ( method 2 , subsequently method 3 ). dihydrolysobactin ( example 2 ) ( 280 mg , 27 % of theory ) and octahydrolysobactin ( example 3 ) ( 212 mg , 20 % of theory ) are obtained . lc - ms : ( method 1 ): r t = 1 . 63 min esipos . : m / z = 643 . 3 ( 100 ) [ m + 2h ] 2 + : esineg . : m / z = 1283 [ m - h ] + , 641 . 2 [ m - 2h ] 2 − . as an example of a hydrogenation under high pressure hydrogen , after 4 days at 40 ° c . and 50 bar hydrogen , the following crude mixture is obtained according to lc - ms ( method 1 ): 45 % dihydrolysobactin and 45 % octahydrolysobactin . lysobactin bistrifluoroacetate ( example 1 , 500 mg , 0 . 33 mmol ) is dissolved in isopropanol / water 2 : 1 ( 30 ml ). under an argon protective gas atmosphere , 10 percent palladium on carbon ( 100 mg ) is added . the reaction mixture is stirred ( after degassing ) in a pressure autoclave at 80 - 70 bar hydrogen and rt for 48 h . 10 % palladium on carbon ( 100 mg ) is again added to the reaction . the reaction mixture is ( after degassing ) again stirred in a pressure autoclave at 80 - 70 bar hydrogen and rt for 48 h . now no lysobactin is detectable any more by means of hplc ( for example method 4 ). the reaction mixture is filtered through a glass frit ( pore size 2 or 3 ), concentrated in vacuo , again taken up in methanol / 0 . 2 % glacial acetic acid , filtered through a syringe filter ( biotage , ptfe ), concentrated in vacuo and dried under high vacuum . 496 mg ( quant .) of product ( 80 % dihydrolysobactin , 20 % octahydrolysobactin ) are obtained . lysobactin monotrifluoroacetate monoacetate ( 5 mg , 3 . 45 mmol ) is hydrogenated in a mixture of isopropanol ( 2 ml ), water ( 0 . 25 ml ) and acetic acid ( 0 . 05 ml ) in the presence of platinum dioxide ( 20 mg ) at 80 bar and 50 ° c . after 17 h , the pressure is relieved , the system is vented with argon and the suspension freed from the catalyst by means of a microfilter . lc - ms analysis of the filtrate ( method 4 ) shows 7 % of theory octahydrolysobactin ( r t = 1 . 54 min , method 4 ). lysobactin bistrifluoroacetate ( example 1a , 10 g , 6 . 65 mmol ) is dissolved in isopropanol / water 9 : 2 ( 110 ml ). under an argon protective gas atmosphere , palladium on carbon ( 10 %; 5 g ) is added . the reaction mixture ( after degassing ) is stirred in a pressure autoclave at 80 - 70 bar hydrogen pressure and 40 ° c . for 12 h . palladium on carbon ( 10 %; 5 g ) is again added to the reaction . the reaction mixture ( after degassing ) is again stirred in a pressure autoclave at 80 - 70 bar hydrogen pressure and 40 ° c . for 12 h . the reaction mixture ( after degassing ) is once again stirred in a pressure autoclave at 80 - 70 bar hydrogen pressure and 40 ° c . for 12 h . now no lysobactin is detectable any more by means of analytical hplc ( method 10 ). the reaction mixture is filtered through kieselguhr , concentrated in vacuo and dried under a high vacuum . 9 . 17 g ( 99 % of theory ) of product ( 60 % dihydrolysobactin , 40 % octahydrolysobactin ) are obtained . lysobactin bistrifluoroacetate ( example 1a , 5 g , 3 . 32 mmol ) is dissolved in isopropanol / water 9 : 2 ( 110 ml ). under an argon protective gas atmosphere , palladium on carbon ( 10 %; 5 g ) is added . the reaction mixture ( after degassing ) is stirred in a pressure autoclave at 80 bar hydrogen pressure and 40 ° c . for 12 h . the reaction mixture is filtered through kieselguhr , concentrated in vacuo and dried under high vacuum . the hydrogenation is repeated a further three times each time using 5 . 0 g of lysobactin bistrifluoroacetate ( in total : 4 passes ). as combined product fraction 18 . 27 g of product ( dihydro - lysobactin : octahydrolysobactin , about 5 : 4 ) are obtained . 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 4 μg of : chymotrypsin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis by hplc , capillary zone electrophoresis , sequence analysis , amino acid analysis , or ms study . see table 2 the for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 4 μg of : chymotrypsin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . analytical chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro -/ octahydrolysobactin , enzyme substrate ratio 1 : 25 200 μg of dihydro - ( 59 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 34 %) are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 8 μg of chymotrypsin ( 1 : 25 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at ˜ 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . analytical chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro -/ octahydrolysobactin , enzyme substrate ratio 1 : 400 150 μg of dihydro -( 59 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 34 %) are dissolved in 15 μl of ethanol and then 126 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 0 . 38 μg of chymotrypsin ( 9 μl of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol / cleavage buffer , 0 . 2 mg / ml ; 1 : 400 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 25 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 25 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . analytical chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro -/ octahydrolysobactin substrate concentration 6 mg / ml 900 μg of dihydro - ( 59 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 34 %) are dissolved in 15 μl of methanol and then 99 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 36 μg of chymotrypsin ( 36 μl of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 25 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 25 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . analytical chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro -/ octahydrolysobactin solvent concentration 30 % methanol 150 μg of dihydro - ( 59 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 34 %) are dissolved in 45 μl of methanol and then 99 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 6 μg of chymotrypsin ( 6 μl of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 25 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 25 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . 200 μg of dihydro - ( 59 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 34 %) are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 8 μg of chymotrypsin ( 8 μl of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at room temperature ( 20 - 25 ° c .). aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 2 for the peptide sequences of the chymotrypsin cleavage products . 2 × 80 mg of dihydrolysobactin ( 35 . 3 mmol and 33 . 8 mmol of pure peptide determined by amino acid analysis ) are dissolved in 8 ml of methanol each and then 69 ml of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) each are added . before the addition of enzyme , the solutions are warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . 3 . 2 mg of chymotrypsin ( 3 . 2 ml of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ; preheated to 37 ° c .) are added and the reactions are carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 . 5 , 1 h and the enzyme cleavages are stopped with 200 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are analyzed by hplc in parallel to the enzyme cleavages within 15 min ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , conditions : solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa , gradient : 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm ). the enzyme reactions are stopped after about 70 min with 3 ml of acetonitrile and about 0 . 6 ml of tfa . the ph of the solution is between 1 and 2 . the solutions can be stored at − 20 ° c . until the preparative separation . 2 × about 80 ml of the cleavage solutions are filtered through a filter ( 0 . 2 μm ) and then combined . the solution is divided into four portions each of about 38 . 5 ml ( total 154 ml ) and each is chromatographed on a source 15rpc column ( 3 ml ) using an acetonitrile / tfa gradient . conditions : solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 0 . 1 % tfa / acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 % b to 45 % b in 40 min ; flow 2 ml / min ; uv detection 210 nm . the four runs are carried out sequentially and the fractions are collected in the same tube . the resultant chromatograms are identical . fragments 4 - 11 ( rt = about 15 min ) and 1 - 3 ( llf ) ( rt = about 25 min ) are combined , diluted 1 : 1 with water and then lyophilized . 200 μl aliquots of the respective pools are lyophilized separately for amino acid analysis , analytical hplc , capillary zone electrophoresis ( cze ), sequence analysis and mass spectrometry . the yield of fragment 4 - 11 according to amino acid analysis is 68 . 3 mmol ( 99 % of theory ) and of fragment 1 - 3 67 . 4 mmol ( 98 % of theory ). 2 × 700 mg of dihydro - ( 56 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 21 %) ( 682 mmol of dihydro - and octahydrolysobactin present as pure peptides determined by amino acid analysis ) are dissolved in 70 ml of methanol each and then 602 ml of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) each are added . before the addition of enzyme the solutions are warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . 28 mg of chymotrypsin ( 28 ml of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ; 37 ° c . preheated ) are added and the reactions are carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 . 5 , 1 h and the enzyme cleavages are stopped with 200 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are analyzed by hplc in parallel to the enzyme cleavages within 15 min ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( ll ( 3 - cyclohexyl ) a ) about 11 . 3 min , conditions : solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa , gradient : 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm ). the enzyme reactions are stopped after about 60 min with 30 ml of acetonitrile and about 6 ml of tfa . the ph of the solution is between 1 and 2 . the solutions can be stored at − 20 ° c . until the preparative separation . 775 mg of dihydro - ( 45 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 48 %) ( 468 mmol of dihydro - and octahydrolysobactin present as pure peptides determined by amino acid analysis ) are dissolved in 77 . 5 ml of methanol and then 667 ml of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5m urea ph 8 ) are added . before the addition of the enzyme the solution is warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . 31 mg of chymotrypsin ( 31 ml of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ; 37 ° c . preheated ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 . 5 , 1 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 200 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are analyzed by hplc in parallel to the enzyme cleavage within 15 min ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( ll ( 3 - cyclohexyl ) a ) about 11 . 3 min ) ( solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa , gradient : 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , temperature : 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm ). the enzyme reaction is stopped after 60 min with 30 ml of acetonitrile and about 6 ml of tfa . the ph of the solution should be between 1 and 2 . the solution can be stored at − 20 ° c . until the preparative separation . the cleavage batches 1 and 2 are filtered through a filter ( 0 . 2 μm ) and then combined . the solution is divided into several portions and each is chromatographed on a source 15rpc column using an acetonitrile / tfa gradient as described above . the runs are carried out successively and the fractions collected in the same tube . the resultant chromatograms are identical . fragment 4 - 11 ( rt . about 15 min ) is combined , diluted 1 : 1 with water and then lyophilized . the yield of fragment 4 - 11 , after lyophilization , is 1 . 1 g ( 1095 mmol ). for a starting amount of 1150 mmol of cleavable material , the yield of fragment 4 - 11 is 95 % of theory . preparative chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro / octahydrolysobactin substrate concentration 3 mg / ml 2 × 0 . 995 g of a mixture of dihydro - ( 52 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( 37 %) are dissolved in 33 ml of methanol each and then 257 ml of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) each are added . before the addition of the enzyme the solution is warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . 39 . 6 mg of chymotrypsin ( 39 . 6 ml of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 1 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ; 37 ° c . preheated ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 . 5 , 1 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 200 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are analyzed by hplc in parallel to the enzyme cleavage within 15 min ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( ll ( 3 - cyclohexyl ) a ) about 11 . 3 min ) ( solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa , gradient : 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow : 0 . 7 ml / min , temperature : 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm ). the enzyme reactions are stopped after 60 min with 30 ml of acetonitrile and about 2 . 5 ml of tfa each . the ph of the solution should be between 1 and 2 . the solution can be stored at − 20 ° c . until the preparative separation . preparative chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture dihydro / octahydrolysobactin substrate concentration 5 mg / ml 10 g of dihydro - ( about 40 %) and octahydrolysobactin ( about 60 %) are dissolved in 200 ml of methanol and then 1700 ml of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogen - carbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . before the addition of the enzyme the solution is warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . 400 mg of chymotrypsin ( 100 ml of chymotrypsin solution water / ethylene glycol 1 : 1 , 4 mg / ml ; 1 : 25 ; 37 ° c . preheated ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 . 5 , 1 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 200 μl of 30 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa . the samples are analyzed by hplc in parallel to the enzyme cleavage within 15 min ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( lla ( 3 - cyclohexyl )) about 11 . 3 min ) ( solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa , gradient 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , temperature : 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm ). the enzyme reaction is stopped after 60 min with 75 ml of acetonitrile and about 15 ml of tfa . the ph of the solution should be between 1 and 2 . the solution can be stored at − 20 ° c . until the preparative separation . fragment 4 - 11 is isolated as described above by preparative hplc in several runs . the activity of the chymotrypsin batch used ( 70 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 4 μg of subtilisin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 3 for the peptide sequences of the subtilisin cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 4 μg of subtilisin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 3 for the peptide sequences of the subtilisin cleavage products . the activity of the subtilisin batch used ( about 12 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m tris ( hydroxymethyl ) aminomethane / 5 mm calcium chloride ph 7 . 45 ) are added . 4 μg of thermolysin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 4 for the peptide sequences of the thermolysin cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m ammonium hydrogencarbonate / 0 . 5 m urea ph 8 ) are added . 4 μg of thermolysin ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 4 for the peptide sequences of the thermolysin cleavage products . the activity of the thermolysin batch used ( about 55 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium phosphate / 10 mm cysteine , 2 mm edta ph 6 . 5 ) are added . 4 μg of papain ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 5 for the peptide sequences of the papain cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium phosphate / 10 mm cysteine , 2 mm edta ph 6 . 5 ) are added . 4 μg of papain ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 5 for the peptide sequences of the papain cleavage products . the activity of the papain batch used ( about 11 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium tetraborate ph 9 ) are added . 4 μg of proteinase k ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 6 for the peptide sequences of the proteinase k cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium tetraborate ph 9 ) are added . 4 μg of proteinase k ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 6 for the peptide sequences of the proteinase k cleavage products . the activity of the proteinase k batch used ( about 30 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 200 μg of dihydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium phosphate , 10 mm cysteine , 2 mm edta ph 6 . 5 ) are added . 4 g of bromelain ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 7 for the peptide sequences of the bromelain cleavage products . 200 μg of octahydrolysobactin are dissolved in 10 μl of methanol and then 190 μl of cleavage buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium phosphate , 10 mm cysteine , 2 mm edta ph 6 . 5 ) are added . 4 μg of bromelain ( 1 : 50 ) are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . see table 7 for the peptide sequences of the bromelain cleavage products . the activity of the bromelain batch used ( about 4 u / mg ) is checked by a control cleavage using the protein interleukin - 4 double mutein arg ( 121 )→ asp ( 121 )/ tyr ( 124 )→ asp ( 124 ) ( bayer healthcare ag , d - wuppertal ). 800 μg of the peptide leu - leu - pheome and 100 μg of the peptide 4 - 11 are dissolved in 200 μl of methanol and then 200 μl of synthesis buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium tetraborate ph 9 ) are added . 24 μg of chymotrypsin are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the synthesis is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . 800 μg of the peptide boc - leu - leu - pheome are dissolved in 200 μl of tetrachloromethane and then 200 μl of synthesis buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium tetraborate ph 9 ) which contains 100 μg of the peptide 4 - 11 are added . 24 μg of chymotrypsin are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the synthesis is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . 800 μg of the peptide leu - leu - ala ( 3 - cyclohexyl ) ome and 100 μg of the peptide 4 - 11 are dissolved in 200 μl of methanol and then 200 μl of synthesis buffer ( 0 . 1 m sodium tetraborate ph 9 ) are added . 24 μg of chymotrypsin are added and the reaction is carried out at 37 ° c . aliquots of 30 μl are taken after 0 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 3 , 6 and 24 h and the synthesis is stopped with 30 μl of acetonitrile / 1 % tfa . the samples are stored at − 20 ° c . until analysis . 3 nmol of fragments dissolved in 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa are loaded onto a sequencer sheet which is preincubated with polybrenr . the proteins are sequenced using the usual sequencer cycle . the pth - amino acids are identified by means of online hplc using a 40 pmol pth standard . the non - proteinogenic amino acids are identified by their relative position to the standard amino acids . the purity of the peptides is estimated from the amino acid of the 1st pth cycle . the various peptides are sequenced over 4 to 12 stages . tables 1 to 7 show the protein sequences determined . amino acid analysis is an important qualitative and quantitative parameter for characterizing proteins . in addition to the protein content , in the case of known primary structure , the number of the individual amino acids is determined . the amino acid analysis of lysobactin derivatives and peptide fragments is in good agreement with the theoretical values from the primary structure ( table 8 ). non - proteinogenic amino acids are only quantified in the presence of corresponding standards . 100 μg of the lysobactin derivatives and peptide fragments are dissolved in 200 n1 of 6 n hydrochloric acid and hydrolyzed at 166 ° c . for 1 h . about 5 nmol of the samples are introduced into the amino acid analyzer . the amount of amino acid is determined via a 4 nmol amino acid standard . in the hplc chromatography of proteins on chemically bound reversed phases , a bond to the phase used is formed via a hydrophobic interaction of the proteins . the peptides are displaced by organic solvents ( mobile phase ) according to the strength of their bond to the stationary phase . for this reason , this method is a good criterion for assessing the purity of a peptide and for monitoring the rate of enzymatic cleavage and the resulting cleavage products . the peptides dihydrolysobactin and octahydrolysobactin elute from the rp - 18 phase at about 35 min and about 38 min , fragment 4 - 11 at about 16 min , 1 - 3 ( llf ) at about 31 min and 1 - 3 ( lla ( 3 - cyclohexyl )) at about 37 min fig1 shows the time course of a preparative enzymatic cleavage with chymotrypsin ( example 11 ). about 20 μg of the enzymatic cleavage products and the starting compounds dihydrolysobactin and octahydrolysobactin or the mixture are chromatographed on a zorbax 300sb - c18 column ( 4 . 6 mm × 150 mm ; 3 . 5 μm material ; 300 angström pore diameter ). the eluent used is an acetonitrile / tfa gradient . conditions : solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , column temperature 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm , solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 0 . 1 % tfa / 60 % acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 min 0 % b , 2 min 10 % b , 50 min 80 % b , 52 min 100 % b , 55 min 0 % b , 60 min 0 % b . capillary electrophoresis permits the separation of peptides and proteins on the basis of their charge in an electrical field . the quality of the separation depends on the buffer , the ph , the temperature and the additives used . the capillaries used are so - called fused silica columns having an internal diameter of 50 - 100 μm . this method is a very good criterion for assessing the purity of a peptide and for monitoring the formation of enzymatic cleavage products . the peptides dihydrolysobactin and octahydrolysobactin elute from the capillary column at about 21 min , fragment 4 - 11 at about 18 min , 1 - 3 ( llf ) at about 24 min , 1 - 3 ( lla ( 3 - cyclohexyl )) at about 22 min , the deamidated forms as a double peak at about 30 min ( 1 - 11 ) and 24 min ( 4 - 11 ). fig2 shows the time course of an enzymatic cleavage of octahydrolysobactin with chymotrypsin ( example 5 ). the great increase in deamidated products after 24 h in the buffer can clearly be seen . about 4 ng of the enzymatic cleavage products or the starting compounds dihydrolysobactin and octahydrolysobactin , or the mixture , are investigated by means of capillary electrophoresis on a glass column ( length 72 cm , internal diameter 50 μm ). conditions : current 90 μa , column temperature 25 ° c ., 100 mm phosphate buffer ph 3 . 0 , uv detection 210 nm , loading under pressure 3 seconds . peptides and enzymatic cleavage products are separated by rp - 18 - hplc chromatography and the molecular weight is determined by electron spray ionization ( esi ). about 100 μg of chymotrypsin cleavage of the mixture of dihydrolysobactin and octahydrolysobactin are separated with a zorbax c18 - hplc column under the following conditions : solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 60 % acetonitrile / 0 . 1 % tfa ; flow 0 . 7 ml / min , column temperature 40 ° c ., uv detection 210 nm , solvent a 0 . 1 % tfa , solvent b 0 . 1 % tfa / 60 % acetonitrile ; gradient : 0 min 0 % b , 2 min 10 % b , 50 min 80 % b , 52 min 100 % b , 55 min 0 % b , 60 min 0 % b . the peptides are transferred to the atmospheric pressure ion source of the mass spectrometer and ionized there . from there the ions are transferred to the high vacuum region of the mass spectrometer and detected . table 9 shows the molecular weights determined . 18 . 27 g of dihydro - and octahydrolysobactin ( about 5 : 4 ) are dissolved in 365 ml of methanol and diluted to 3654 ml with chymotrypsin ( 731 mg ) and cleavage buffer . the reaction is carried out for 30 min at 37 ° c . and then stopped with 20 ml of tfa and 150 ml of acetonitrile . before the addition of the enzyme , the solutions are warmed to 37 ° c . in a drying cabinet . aliquots of 200 μl are taken after 0 and 0 . 5 h and the enzyme cleavage is stopped with 200 μl of 0 . 1 % tfa in 30 % acetonitrile / 70 % water . the samples are analyzed by hplc ( retention time fragment 4 - 11 about 3 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( llf ) about 9 . 6 min , fragment 1 - 3 ( ll ( hexahydro ) f ) about 11 . 3 min .) ( eluent a : 0 . 1 % tfa in water , eluent b : 0 . 1 % tfa in 60 % acetonitrile / 40 % water , gradient : 0 min 30 % b , 10 min 80 % b , 11 min 100 % b , 12 min 30 % b , 15 min 30 % b ; flow : 0 . 7 ml / min , column temperature : 40 ° c ., detection : 210 nm ). alternatively , method 11 is used . the solution is divided into 9 × 500 ml portions and frozen at − 70 ° c . until preparative rp separation . fragment 4 - 11 is isolated by preparative hplc in several runs . about 800 ml of the cleavage solution are filtered through a cartridge ( 0 . 2 μm ) and chromatographed in two portions of about 400 ml on a source 15rpc column ( column size : 2360 ml ) using a methanol / tfa gradient . eluent a : 0 . 1 % tfa in water , eluent b : 0 . 1 % tfa in 100 % methanol ; flow : 30 ml / min ; detection 215 nm . the gradient is run according to column volumes : after application , the column is washed with 3 . 6 column volumes of eluent a , and then in 18 column volumes to 45 % b , in 0 . 67 column volumes to 100 % b , 1 . 3 column volumes 100 % b , in 0 . 67 to 0 % b , 7 column volumes of eluent a for equilibration . 10 . 36 g ( 77 % of theory ) of fragment 4 - 11 are obtained as product . ms ( esipos . ): m / z (%)= 453 . 6 ( 100 ) [ m + 2h ] 2 . 906 ( 10 ) [+ h ] + .	2
as required , detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention , which may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . the reference number 1 generally refers to a launderable prosthetic device in accordance with the present invention , shown in fig1 to 6 . the prosthetic device 1 comprises a plurality of pads or layers 3 . the layers 3 are constructed of a soft , porous , highly resilient , light - weight material which has excellent launderability characteristics , such as a high loft bonded polyester fiber or the like . the material for the layers 3 is preferably spongy and flexible allowing the layers 3 to be compressed , bent , twisted or the like after which the layers 3 have an inherent &# 34 ; memory &# 34 ; which allows the layers 3 to return to an original shape after being deformed by compressing , bending , twisting or the like . layers 3 having a variety of thicknesses ( for example , thin layers 3a , intermediately thick layers 3b , and comparatively thick layers 3c , as shown in fig6 ) are preferably intermixed to construct the prosthetic device 1 to conform to the complexity of almost any compatibly reasonable surface profile deformity arising from missing body parts as hereinafter described . preferably , the initial thickness of the various layers 3 , utilized to construct the composite layered structure 5 of the prosthetic device 1 , as shown in cross - section in fig4 will range between approximately 1 / 2 to 1 1 / 2 inch , depending on the application as hereinafter described . a peripheral edge 7 of each layer 3 is reinforced , such as with an overlock stitch 9 or the like as shown in fig3 . as additional reinforcement , a line of straight stitches 10 is sewn along the edge 7 just inside the overlock stitching 9 . the layers 3 are brought into face - to - face abutting relationship with each other , such that they are superimposed one upon the other generally with the wider or layer faces 8 of each layer 3 in face - to - face relationship between adjacent layers 3 , and are joined by a basting stitch 11 or the like . the basting stitches 11 are generally inset inwardly from the pad edge 7 approximately 1 / 2 to 1 inch or more so that each of the edges 7 are independently easily moved relative to the edges 7 of adjacent abutting layers 3 and thereby providing a more realistic feel than that provided by the prior art . the stitch 11 also lightly connects or tacks the faces 8 together without use of through stitches which allows substantial independent relative movement and flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the device 1 . the total number of layers 3 and the thicknesses thereof depends on the size and shape of the void created by the missing or removed body part . layers 3 are cut to fit the body region ( cavity , depression , area of missing tissue or area to be built up such as where a breast is missing ) when stacked on each successive lower layer 3 . the layers 3 are added until the size and shape of an inner surface 13 of the composite structure 5 closely approximates the size and shape of a body surface 15 which will receive the prosthesis 1 . similarly , the layering process with the layers 3 stitched into assembled position is continued until an outer surface 17 of the composite structure 5 , when slightly compressed as by clothing or the like in its installed configuration , closely approximates the otherwise normal profile lines which would be present , but for the abnormality . also , sufficient bulk must exist within the composite structure 5 such that the layers 3 cooperate to prevent inward collapse of the prosthetic device 1 and thereby impart to the wearer the desired appearance that is attractive in appearance thereby alleviating the inhibitions and fears of the wearer of being seen in public with such a defect . for applications where the composite structure 5 has a size or thickness such that greater ventilation must be provided to the boundary between the prosthetic device 1 and the wearer , the layers 3 are configured with randomly spaced apertures , perforations or openings 19 therein . the openings 19 enhance ventilation within the composite structure 5 and promote diffusion of body moisture away from the body surface 15 . further , the openings 19 serve as dead - air spaces to enhance the insulating characteristics of the prosthesis 1 . typically , the dimensions of the openings 19 range between approximately 1 / 8 &# 34 ; to 1 1 / 2 &# 34 ; in diameter . the actual size depends on the overall thickness of the composite structure 5 and the relative lateral sizes of the layers 3 which provides effective ventilation for any particular application . the openings 19 can be formed in the layers 3 by stamping or the like . interposed between the composite structure 5 and the wearer &# 39 ; s body surface 15 is a liner 21 . the liner 21 is constructed of a soft , non - abrasive , porous material , such as cotton or the like . similarly , the outer surface 17 of the layers 3 is covered with a shield cover , layer , or outer enclosure 23 constructed of relatively thin , smooth , porous , durable fabric or material , such as nylon tricot or the like , to provide wear resistance and to facilitate ease of movement of outer clothing relative thereto . preferably , the material used for the outer enclosure 23 exhibits certain elastic qualities for purposes hereinafter described . also , preferably , the hue of the outer enclosure 23 approximates the skin color of the wearer in order for the appearance of the prosthetic device 1 to blend with that of the surrounding natural skin . the peripheral edges of the liner 21 and the outer enclosure 23 are permanently secured together , such as by stitching or the like , such that the composite layered structure 5 is encapsulated in the space therebetween . when so encapsulated , the complimentary edge portions of the liner 21 and the outer enclosure 23 are drawn together such that the elasticity of the outer enclosure 23 partially compresses the pads 3 contained therein to provide a slight outward pressure thereon to approximate the resilience which would exist if the normal body tissue were still present . an example of an application of the present invention is shown in the embodiment shown in fig1 to 6 wherein a substantial quantity of body mass is missing from the lower back area of the victim . the prosthetic device 1 is sized and shaped to fill and correct the profile deficiency created thereby . to maintain the desired spacing of the prosthetic device 1 , the prosthetic device 1 is secured , by stitching or otherwise , at an appropriate site on the inside of a special garment for support , such as a torso - encircling jacket or vest 25 . the vest 25 is preferably constructed of a relatively inelastic net - or mesh - like material which promotes ventilation and which can be worn undetectedly beneath other clothing , such as a shirt 27 . the edges of the vest 25 are preferably reinforced , such as by a narrow hem 29 as shown in fig2 . the vest 25 is adapted to facilitate ease of donning and removing same when the wearer 31 is dressing and undressing and in repeatedly positioning the device 1 in its proper position . similarly , the vest 25 is sufficiently snuggly fitted such that the prosthetic device 1 is inconspicuously maintained in its desired location regardless of the reasonable physical activity or position posed by the wearer 31 . alternatively , the prosthetic device 1 may be secured , by pinning or otherwise , to the inside of a snugly fitted , relatively inelastic undergarment in such a manner that the prosthetic device 1 is held captive inside the undergarment . a first modified launderable prosthetic device 40 in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig7 and 8 . many of the characteristics of the prosthetic device 40 are substantially similar to those already described herein for the device 1 and will not be reiterated here . in an application of the prosthetic device 40 , substantial body mass is missing from a human limb , such as a thigh 42 as shown in fig7 . the prosthetic device 40 has a composite structure 44 with a plurality of soft porous layers 46 similar to layers 3 of the previous embodiment except having uniform thickness , as is shown in fig8 . the composite structure 44 is secured to a band or sleeve 48 which is adapted to fit about the thigh 42 . the band 48 is constructed of a material which grasps the thigh 42 such that it resists downward slippage during physical activity of the wearer 50 . the band 48 has opposite mateable ends which are equipped with fasteners 52 , such as hook and loop fasteners that are marketed under the tradename velcro or the like . alternatively , the band 48 may be constructed of a continuous elastic material and adapted to be telescoped over the wearer &# 39 ; s leg 54 to appropriately space the prosthesis 44 as desired ; here , however , caution must be observed in order to avoid overly snugging of the band 48 about the leg 54 and thus inhibiting otherwise normal circulation of the leg 54 . a second modified launderable prosthetic device 60 in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig9 and 10 . many of the characteristics of the second modified prosthetic device 60 are substantially similar to the previously described embodiments and will not be reiterated here . in an application of the second modified prosthetic device 60 of the present invention , substantial body mass is missing or undeveloped over a substantial portion of a human limb , such as a deformed leg 62 from which substantial subdermal muscle tissue is missing , as is shown in fig9 . the prosthetic device 60 comprises a series of pads or layers 64 in a side - by - side abutting relationship . an innermost layer 66 abuts a liner 68 which , in turn , abuts the leg 62 . a next innermost layer 70 has lateral dimensions slightly greater than the lateral dimensions of the innermost layer 66 . similarly , each subsequent layer 64 spaced progressively radially outwardly therefrom has lateral dimensions greater than those of the next radially inward layer 64 abutting thereagainst . to allow for needed irregularities in the profile of the prosthetic device 60 , intermediately sized layers , such as layer 72 referenced in fig1 , may be interposed between adjacent layers 74 , which substantially span the periphery of the leg 62 . with an appropriate intermix of the layers 64 and 72 , a naturally formed leg profile can be simulated with the prosthetic device 60 . a first longitudinal terminating edge 76 of each of the layers 64 is gathered together and commonly secured at a first seam 78 , such as by stitching or the like . an opposing longitudinal terminating edge 80 of each of the layers 64 is similarly gathered and secured together at a second seam 82 . the differences in lateral lengths of the layers 64 as aforesaid are adapted to create a curvature in the composite structure 84 comprising the layers 64 such that the composite structure 84 arches outwardly and thereby naturally cups or curls around the leg 62 . a smooth , textured , skin - colored outer layer 85 is integrally secured to the composite structure 84 by stitching to the inner layer 68 so as to form a complete enclosure for the inner layers 64 . a strip fastener means , such as illustrated zipper 86 , a hook and loop fastener , or the like , is secured to the seams 78 and 82 for securement of the prosthetic device to the leg 62 . the described , vaulted configuration provides a prosthetic device 60 which can be readily and easily donned ( and removed ) and which reliably maintains its position on and registration with the leg 62 by preventing substantial movement of the prosthetic device 60 relative to the leg 62 . a third modified launderable prosthetic device 90 in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig1 . many of the characteristics of the third modified device 90 are substantially similar to the previously described embodiments and will not be reiterated here . in an application of the third modified device 90 , substantial body mass is missing which would otherwise have a substantially protruding convex curvature , such as a female human breast . the prosthetic device 90 is constructed from a plurality of layers 92 . the lateral dimensions of each of the layers 92 is adapted and graduated , whereby an outermost layer 94 has the greatest lateral dimensions . then , by gathering and securing together of peripheral edges 96 of the successively sized layers 92 into a common seam 98 , a composite structure 100 formed by the layers 92 bulges outwardly toward the outermost layer 94 creating the desired size , shape and natural curvature , when partially compressed , which would otherwise by evidenced by the missing breast when confined in a brassiere ( not shown ). further , the partial compression is adapted to provide the tactile and deformation qualities of a normal female human breast when so confined . if the prosthetic device 90 is needed to replace a breast removed during a mastectomy , depending on the radicality of the surgery , additional pads or layers ( not shown ) simulating a vertical extension , or breast tail , and an underarm extension ( both of which are often removed during mastectomy surgery ) may be provided and secured to the composite structure . an inner liner 102 covers an inner surface of the composite structure 100 and an outer shield liner 104 covers the outer convex surface of the composite structure 100 . the shield liner 104 and the inner liner 102 are secured together by stitching or the like and enclose the layers 92 and are designed to provide a partial compression of the composite structure 100 as hereinbefore described in order to provide resiliency characteristics to the prosthetic device 90 which closely approximate the look and appearance of the natural female human breast through normally worn clothing . a fourth modified prosthetic device 110 in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig1 . many of the characteristics of the fourth modified device 10 are substantially similar to the previously described embodiments and will not be reiterated here . the prosthetic device 110 is constructed of a plurality of pads or layers 112 . the lateral dimensions of each of the layers 112 is adapted and graduated , with an outermost layer 114 having the least lateral dimensions of the layers 112 , such that the combination of the layers 112 creates a structure having the size , shape and natural curvature of a natural female human breast for confinement in a brassiere ( not shown ). peripheral edges 116 of each of the layers 112 are reinforced such as by overlock stitching 118 or the like , and each layer 112 , such as layer 120 , is secured to its next underlying layer 112 , such as layer 122 , by stitching 124 or the like . alternatively , basting stitches which are confined to adjacent abutting faces of the layers 112 and which are inset from peripheral edges of the layers 112 , as hereinbefore described , may be used to maintain the spacing of the layers 112 relative to each other . the various embodiments provide the ability to construct prosthetic devices not only for substantially planar body regions , such as the chest , stomach , or other parts of the body having relatively flat contours , but also for those regions which have complex convex curvatures . a common attribute of each of the structures and materials utilized in the aforedescribed embodiments , is the ability to subject each to the hot aqueous solution environments normally and customarily used for ordinary laundering procedures so that the device can be cleaned on a regular basis . while the preferred material of construction of the prosthesis layers has been described herein as being polyester fiber , it is foreseen that other materials , especially lightweight , flexible and launderable materials , may be alternatively utilized for some embodiments . it is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein , it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown .	0
in one embodiment , the present invention relates to an improved stereoselective method for making 9 - deoxy - pgf 1 - type compounds comprising converting a compound of the formula : wherein y 1 is trans - ch ═ ch —, cis - ch ═ ch —, — ch 2 ( ch 2 ) m —, or — c ≡ c —; m is 1 , 2 , or 3 ; wherein r 1 is h or an alcohol protecting group ; ( 1 ) — c p h 2p — ch 3 , wherein p is an integer from 1 to 5 , inclusive , ( 2 ) phenoxy optionally substituted by one , two or three chloro , fluoro , trifluoromethyl , ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkyl , or ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkoxy , with the proviso that not more than two substituents are other than alkyl , with the proviso that r 7 is phenoxy or substituted phenoxy , only when r 3 and r 4 are hydrogen or methyl , being the same or different , ( 3 ) phenyl , benzyl , phenylethyl , or phenylpropyl optionally substituted on the aromatic ring by one , two or three chloro , fluoro , trifluoromethyl , ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkyl , or ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkoxy , with the proviso that not more than two substituents are other than alkyl , ( 1 ) ( c 4 - c 7 ) cycloalkyl optionally substituted by 1 to 3 ( c 1 - c 5 ) alkyl ; wherein m 1 is α - oh : β - r 5 or α - r : β - oh or α - or 1 : β - r 5 or α - r 5 : β - or 1 , wherein r 5 is hydrogen or methyl and r 1 is an alcohol protecting group ; and wherein l 1 is α - r 3 : β - r 4 , α - r 4 : β - r 3 , or a mixture of α - r 3 : β - r 4 and α - r 4 : β - r 3 , wherein r 3 and r 4 are hydrogen , methyl , or fluoro , being the same or different , with the proviso that one of r 3 and r 4 is fluoro only when the other is hydrogen or fluoro . preferably , the above conversion is carried out through cobalt - mediated cyclization , in which the enyne undergoes intramolecular cyclization accompanied by a carbon monoxide insertion to form the tricyclic structure shown below . more preferably , this cyclization is carried out by reacting co 2 ( co ) 8 with a compound of the formula : using a suitable non - reactive solvent . preferably , the non - reactive solvent is a chlorinated solvent , a hydrocarbon solvent , or an aromatic solvent . more preferably , the non - reactive solvent is selected from the group consisting of 1 , 2 - dme ( 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane ), ch 2 cl 2 , toluene , isooctane , and heptane . in the case of carrying out the cobalt - mediated cyclization with 1 , 2 - dme after reacting co 2 ( co ) 8 with the compound of the formula : to form a complex with the alkynyl group , preferably the solvent is removed in a subsequent step after intramolecular cyclization occurs to form the tricyclic compound . although co 2 ( co ) 8 contributes a carbonyl during the reaction , it is not necessary to react equal amounts of the starting compound of the above formula and co 2 ( co ) 8 . it is also possible to use the co 2 ( co ) 8 in a catalytic way , by introducing a relatively small amount of co 2 ( co ) 8 and also introducing co into the reaction mixture ( e . g ., by bubbling co into the reaction mixture ) in the presence of light or heat which causes the transfer of co through a co - mediated complex formed with the compound of the formula : in another preferred embodiment , the present invention relates to an improved stereoselective method for making 9 - deoxy - pgf 1 - type compounds comprising the following reaction with heat or light : wherein y 1 is trans - ch ═ ch —, cis - ch ═ ch —, — ch 2 ( ch ) m —, or — c ≡ c —; m is 1 , 2 , or 3 ; ( 1 ) — c p h 2p — ch 3 , wherein p is an integer from 1 to 5 , inclusive , ( 2 ) phenoxy optionally substituted by one , two or three chloro , fluoro , trifluoromethyl , ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkyl , or ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkoxy , with the proviso that not more than two substituents are other than alkyl , with the proviso that r 7 is phenoxy or substituted phenoxy , only when r 3 and r 4 are hydrogen or methyl , being the same or different , ( 3 ) phenyl , benzyl , phenylethyl , or phenylpropyl optionally substituted on the aromatic ring by one , two or three chloro , fluoro , trifluoromethyl , ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkyl , or ( c 1 - c 3 ) alkoxy , with the proviso that not more than two substituents are other than alkyl , ( 1 ) ( c 4 - c 7 ) cycloalkyl optionally substituted by 1 to 3 ( c 1 - c 5 ) alkyl ; m 1 is α - oh : β - r 5 or α - r 5 : β - oh or α - or 1 : β - r 5 or α - r 5 : β - or 1 , wherein r 5 is hydrogen or methyl and r 1 is an alcohol protecting group ; wherein l 1 is α - r 3 : β - r 4 , α - r 4 : β - r 3 , or a mixture of α - r 3 : β - r 4 and α - r 4 : β - r 3 , wherein r 3 and r 4 are hydrogen , methyl , or fluoro , being the same or different , with the proviso that one of r 3 and r 4 is fluoro only when the other is hydrogen or fluoro . the present invention also relates to a method of making the following compounds utilizing the following reaction scheme : wherein r 1 is in each case an independently selected alcohol protecting group . preferred alcohol protecting groups are tertiary butyl dimethyl silyl ( tbdms ) and tetra hydro pyranyl ( thp ), trimethylsilyl ( tms ), tes or any bulky groups . the present invention also relates to the following novel intermediate compounds : wherein y 1 , m 1 , l 1 , r 1 and r 7 are as defined above . the present invention also relates to a stereoselectively produced compound according to the following formula : wherein z is o , s , ch 2 , or nr 8 in which r 8 is h , alkyl or aryl ; x is h , cn , or 9 , or coor 9 in which r 9 is alkyl , thp or tbdms ; y 1 , m 1 , l 1 , and r 7 are as defined above and the compound is produced according to the inventive stereoselective synthesis . the produced compounds are diastereomerically pure . in a preferred embodiment of the stereoselectively produced isomeric compound , z is o , n is 1 , x is cooh , y 1 is — ch 2 ch 2 — m 1 is α - oh : β - r 5 , wherein r 3 is hydrogen , l 1 is α - r 3 : β - r 4 , wherein r 3 and r 4 are hydrogen and r 7 is propyl . the stereoselectively produced isomeric compound is diastereomerically pure . “ diastereomerically pure , i . e ., & gt ; 99 %” means that the present diastereoselective synthesis produces diastereomers as represented by the above formula having & gt ; 99 % purity . the purity level is determined by running the product through a chiral hplc column where & gt ; 99 % of the above diastereomer exits the column as a single peak . a diastereoselective or stereoselevtive synthesis involves one or more reactions that yield predominantly one diastereomer or stereoisomer of several possible disatereomers or stereoisomers . the present invention is further illustrated by , though in no way limited to , the following examples . to an oven dry 1 l three - necked round bottom flask fitted with a reflux condenser and mechanical stirrer was added meta hydroxybenzaldehyde ( 16 , 100 gms . 0 . 819 mol ) in 500 ml dry acetone , anhydrous potassium carbonate 226 . 2 gms ( 1 . 6 mol ), sodium iodide 12 . 2 gms ( 0 . 081 mol ) and allyl bromide 99 ml ( 1 . 14 mol ). the resulting mixture was refluxed with stirring under an atmosphere of argon for 18 - 20 hrs , until the reaction was complete ( as monitored by thin layer chromatography ( tlc ), hexane ethyl acetate 4 : 1 ). then the reaction mixture was filtered on a büchner funnel and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to give an oily compound ( 140 gms ) which was dissolved in 500 ml of dichloromethane and washed with 10 % naoh solution ( 300 ml ). the aqueous layer was separated and extracted with 200 ml dichloromethane . the combined organic layers were dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to afford crude allylether 17 ( 122 gms ). the allyl ether was passed through a short column of sio 2 ( 316 gms ) using 1 % ethyl acetate in hexanes . fractions containing compound 17 were evaporated in vacuo to give 17 as a yellow oil , yield 112 gms ( 84 %); b . p 80 ° c ./ 0 . 02 mm ( lit : ( 1 ) b . p 78 ° c ./ 0 . 02 mm ); 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 4 . 49 - 4 . 52 ( d , 2h , ( ch 2 ), 5 . 21 - 5 . 41 ( m , 2h = ch 2 ), 5 . 89 - 6 . 06 ( m , 1h , ═ ch ), 7 . 08 - 7 . 38 ( m , 4h , arh ), 9 . 89 ( s , h , cho ). in a 250 ml oven dry three neck - flash equipped with a condenser and thermometer was added 100 gms ( 0 . 617 mol ) of allylether 17 under an atmosphere of argon . the mixture was heated slowly up to 150 ° c . ( internal temperature ), with temperature control monitored over the reaction period , on an oil bath ( outside temp . 158 ° c .) and was left at this temperature for stirring for 41 hrs . after 41 hrs , the reaction mixture turned dark brown and becomes a thick slurry and at this point the tlc as well as nmr showed the maximum conversion of starting material to product ( 78 - 80 %). at this stage , the reaction mixture was cooled down to room temperature and taken up in dichloromethane ( 1 l ) and extracted twice with 10 % sodium hydroxide solution ( 350 ml , 200 ml ) ( until there is no more product in the organic layer , as checked by tlc ). the combined aqueous layers ( 10 % naoh ) were neutralized with 25 % hcl until the ph is 2 , ( determined by using ph paper ) at this stage a crude brown solid separated in the aqueous layer and the resulting aqueous layer was extracted in dichloromethane ( 1 . 5 l × 2 , 500 ml × 2 ). the combined organic layers were dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to yield a crude brown solid ( 77 gms ) which was purified by flash chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel ( 396 gms ) by slowly increasing the gradient of ethyl acetate ( 1 %- 10 %) in hexanes . fractions containing the required compound were evaporated to afford 40 gms of solid which was mixture of isomers 18a and 18b ( ratio 2 : 4 , by nmr ) and the isomers were separated by recrystallization and nahso 3 . the compound obtained after the rearrangement of 17 to 18 was a mixture of isomers 18a and 18b in the ratio of 2 : 1 , respectively . the crude yellow ( 40 gms ) compound was first purified by recrystallization from dichloromethane ( 200 ml ) and hexanes ( 400 ml ) to yield a fluffy white solid ( yield 29 . 5 gms ) having isomers in the ratio of 5 : 1 ( determined by nmr ), respectively . to the 29 . 5 gms of the 5 : 1 mixture was added a solution of 3 . 60 gms of sodium bisulfite in 60 ml of water and the mixture was shaken vigorously for 5 - 8 minutes . after vigorous shaking , the mixture was filtered and washed with excess water ( 100 ml ) to remove the soluble sodium bisulfite addition product of isomer 18b , leaving behind isomer 18a on the filtration funnel , which was dried and characterized by its spectral data . the nmr showed the presence of single isomer 18a and complete disappearance of isomer 18b ; yield 25 gms , m . p . 107 ° c . : 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 3 . 89 - 3 . 92 ( d , 2h , ch 2 ), 4 . 98 - 5 . 51 ( m , 2h , ═ ch ), 5 . 42 ( brs , 1h , exchangeable with d 2 o , oh ), 5 . 97 - 6 . 11 ( m , 1h , ═ ch ), 7 . 08 - 7 . 11 ( d , 1h , ar 4h ), 7 . 11 - 7 . 30 ( d , 1h , ar 5h ), 7 . 44 - 7 . 47 ( d , 1h , ar 6h ), 10 . 19 ( s , 1h , cho ); hrms calcd . for c 10 h 10 o 2 ( m — nh 4 ) 180 . 1025 , found 180 . 1025 ; anal . calcd . for c 10 h 10 o 2 c , 74 . 07 ; h , 6 . 17 ; found : c , 74 . 07 ; h , 6 . 15 . to a stirred solution of 18a ( 1 gm , 0 . 006 mol ) in 20 ml of 95 % etoh was added , at room temperature , nai ( 89 mg , 10 mol %), k 2 co 3 ( 1 . 02 gm 0 . 0072 mol ) and dropwise 0 . 909 gm ( 0 . 82 ml , 0 . 0072 mol ) of benzyl chloride . the mixture was refluxed for 4 - 5 hrs ( until completion of reaction as monitored by tlc ) and the suspension was filtered and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to afford a crude solid compound ( 2 gm ). the crude solid was dissolved in 30 ml of dichloromethane and washed with 20 ml of 10 % naoh solution . the aqueous layer was washed with 20 ml of dichloromethane and the combined organic layers were dried over sodium sulfate and reduced on vacuo to give solid ( 1 . 45 gm ) which was crystallized from hexanes to yield 1 . 2 gm of pure solid compound 19 ; yield 80 %, m . p . 66 ° c .- 67 ° c ., 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 3 . 99 ( d 2h ), 4 . 90 - 4 . 9 ( m 2h ), 5 . 05 - 5 . 13 ( s , 2h ), 5 . 9 - 6 . 1 ( m 1h ), 7 . 1 - 7 . 5 ( m 8h ); hrms calcd for c 17 h 40 o 2 ( m + h ) 253 . 1226 , found 253 . 1229 ; anal . calcd for : c , 74 . 07 ; h , 6 . 17 ; found : c , 74 . 07 ; h , 6 . 15 . a solution of side chain a ( s - 1 - decyn - o - tetrahydropyranyl - 2 - yl - 5 - ol ) ( 10 % pure , 1 . 4 gms , 1 . 1 eq , prepared using conventional techniques of organic chemistry ) in anhydrous thf was taken up in a 50 ml flame dried three neck round bottom flask equipped with a condenser , magnetic bar and dropping funnel under argon . the reaction mixture was heated to gentle reflux ( boiling at the boiling point of thf , about 65 - 67 ° c . and a solution of etmgbr ( 0 . 512 gm , 4 ml , 1 m in thf ) was added dropwise with stirring . after the complete addition the reaction mixture was refluxed for an additional 90 minutes then cooled and then a solution of 19 ( 970 mg , 0 . 0038 mol ) in 15 ml dry thf was added dropwise . after the addition , the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and left overnight with stirring ( until completion of the reaction , monitored by tlc ) and a solution of saturated ammonium chloride ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise with stirring . the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 2 × 20 ml ). the combined organic layers were washed with brine , dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the crude viscous liquid was purified by flash chromatography using silica gel ( 230 - 400 mesh ). a solvent gradient of 2 - 11 % ethyl acetate in hexanes was used to elute the product from column . the fractions containing the desired compound were evaporated on vacuo to yield benzylalkynol 20 ( 1 . 5 gm , 80 %), 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 27 - 1 . 81 ( m , 17h ), 2 . 26 - 2 . 44 ( dt , 2h ), 3 . 43 - 3 . 92 ( m , 4h ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 67 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 92 - 4 . 93 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 01 - 5 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 01 - 5 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 64 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 96 - 6 . 09 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 93 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 44 ( m , 7h ); hrms calcd for c 32 h 42 o 4 ( m + na ) 513 . 2971 , found : 513 . 2962 ; anal . calcd for c 32 h 42 o 4 , c , 78 . 36 ; h , 8 . 57 ; found : c , 77 . 73 , h , 8 . 80 . benzyl alkynol 20 ( 0 . 870 gm , 0 . 0017 mol ) was dissolved in dry dichloromethane ( 20 ml ) in a three neck 50 ml round bottomed flask equipped with a thermometer , magnetic bar and argon inlet - outlet trap . it was cooled to 0 ° c . under argon and pyridinium chlorochromate ( pcc , 0 . 765 gm , 0 . 0035 mol , 2 eq .) was added portionwise while stirring . the reaction mixture was slowly allowed to warm to ambient temperature and left with stirring under argon for approximately 12 hrs . ( checked by tlc ). the mixture was filtered through celite ( 4 gm ) using a büchner funnel . the dark brown solid in the reaction flask and on the büchner funnel was washed with ethyl acetate ( 2 × 10 ml ). the solvent was removed in vacuo and the crude product was purified by column chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel . a solvent gradient of ethyl acetate in hexanes ( 2 - 5 %) was used to elute the product from column . fractions containing the desired compound were combined and concentrated in vacuo to yield aryl alkyl ketone 21 ( 0 . 600 gm , 69 %) as a light yellow viscous liquid , 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 86 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 65 ( m , 16h ), 2 . 51 ( t , h ), 2 . 62 ( t , 1h ), 3 . 45 - 3 . 51 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 71 - 3 . 93 ( m , 4h ), 4 . 62 - 4 . 63 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 94 - 4 . 97 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 99 - 5 . 10 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 92 - 6 . 09 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 08 - 7 . 12 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 22 - 7 . 45 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 76 ( t , 1h ); hrms exact mass calcd for c 32 h 40 o 4 ( m + na ) 511 . 282 , found 511 . 280 , anal . calcd for : c , 78 . 69 ; h , 8 . 19 ; found : c , 7 . 73 ; h , 8 . 34 . to a solution of aryl alkyl ketone 21 ( 3 gm , 0 . 00614 mol ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 40 ml ) in 100 ml three neck round bottom flask was added a solution of ( r )- d - methyl oxazaborolidine ( 2 . 04 gm , 7 . 36 , 0 . 0065 mol , 1 . 2 eq , 1m solution in toluene ) slowly over a period of one minute . the resulting solution was cooled to − 30 ° c . under argon and borane - methylsulfide complex ( 0 . 700 gm , 4 . 6 ml , 0 . 092 mol , 1 . 5 eq , 2m solution in thf ) was added dropwise with stirring . after the addition was complete ( 2 minutes ), the reaction mixture was stirred at − 40 ° c . to − 30 ° c . for 2 hrs and the reaction was monitored by tlc . after completion , the reaction was quenched by dropwise addition of methanol ( 5 - 8 ml ) at − 40 ° c . the resulting solution was allowed to attain ambient temperature ( leaving overnight with stirring ). the reaction was cooled to 0 - 10 ° c . and 5 % aqueous ammonium chloride ( 20 ml ) was added with stirring . the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes and the organic layer was separated and filtered through celite ( 5 gm ). the filtrate was washed with 5 % aqueous ammonium chloride ( 15 ml ) and brine 20 ml ). the combined aqueous layers were extracted with ethyl acetate ( 2 × 20 ml ). the combined organic layers were dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to yield crude s -(+)- benzylalkynol as a yellow oil ( 2 . 78 gm ). the crude viscous liquid was purified by column chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel . a solvent gradient of ethyl acetate in hexanes ( 4 - 10 %) was used to elute the produce from column . the fractions containing the desired compound were evaporated in vacuo to yield chiral benzyalkynol 22 , 1 . 80 gm ( 60 %). 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 83 ( m , 17h ), 2 . 26 - 2 . 43 ( m , 2h ). 3 . 42 - 3 . 91 ( m , 4h ), 4 . 67 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 90 - 4 . 92 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 04 - 5 . 10 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 65 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 96 - 6 . 02 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 88 - 6 . 93 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 45 ( m , 7h ); anal . calcd for : c , 78 . 36 ; h , 8 . 57 , found : c , 77 . 87 ; h , 8 . 57 . to a solution of chiral benzylalkynol 22 ( 2 gm , 0 . 00408 mol ) in a three neck round bottom flask , in dichloromethane ( 50 ml ) were added slowly imidazole ( 0 . 389 gm , 0 . 0057 mol ), 4 -( dimethylamino ) pyridine ( dmap , 0 . 050 gm , 0 . 00040 mol ) and dmf ( 10 ml ) with stirring . the stirring continued until a clear solution was obtained . the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . under argon and t - butyldimethylsilyl chloride ( tbdmscl , 0 . 918 gm , 0 . 0061 mol ) was added slowly with stirring over a period of approximately 10 minutes . the reaction was slowly allowed to warm to ambient temperature and stirring was continued for approximately 15 hrs . ( monitored by tlc ). the crude mixture was washed with water ( 2 × 20 ml ), brine ( 20 ml ) and dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo . the crude product was purified by column chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel and eluting with solvent gradient of ethyl acetate in hexanes ( 24 %). the fractions containing the desired compound were evaporated in vacuo to yield benzyl alkynyl t - butyldimethylsilyl ether 23 ( 1 . 94 gm , 80 %) ir ( nacl ) cm − 1 : 2933 , 2855 , 1582 , 1457 , 1252 , 1125 ; 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 10 ( d , 6h ), 0 . 73 - 0 . 95 ( m , 12h ), 1 . 27 - 1 . 77 ( m , 16h ), 2 . 17 - 2 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 41 - 3 . 86 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 584 . 61 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 92 - 4 . 96 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 5 . 92 - 6 . 02 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 9 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 47 ( m , 7h ); anal . calcd for : c , 75 . 49 ; h , 9 . 27 , found : c , 74 . 87 ; h , 9 . 26 . a solution of enyne 23 ( 1 . 35 gm , 0 . 0022 mol ) and co 2 ( co ) 8 ( 0 . 076 gm , 0 . 00022 mol , 10 mol %) in degassed 1 , 2 - dme ( was made free of oxygen by continuously bubbling with argon for 5 minutes , 35 ml ) was magnetically stirred at room temperature under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide ( co , using balloon ). after 30 minutes the reaction mixture was heated to 58 - 60 ° c . using constant oil bath for 15 hrs ( until the reaction was complete . after cooling to room temperature , 1 , 2 - dme ( solvent ) was evaporated in vacuo to yield crude gummy mass which was taken up in ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ) and to this was added brine ( 15 ml ) and organic layer containing the desired compound was extracted , dried over sodium sulfate and reduced under vacuo to afford an oily compound which was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel using 2 - 3 % ethyl acetate in hexanes . fractions containing the desired compound were collected and reduced under vacuo to yield 24 , 1 . 02 gm , 73 %; ir ( nacl ) cm − 1 : 2933 , 2853 , 1698 , 1651 , 1579 , 1455 , 1248 , 1033 ; 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 10 ( m , 6h ), 0 . 82 - 0 . 94 ( m , 12h ), 1 . 13 - 1 . 73 ( m , 16h ), 2 . 04 - 2 . 46 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 63 - 2 . 72 ( dd , 1h ) 3 . 33 - 3 . 66 ( m , 4h ), 4 . 55 - 4 . 56 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 05 ( s , 2 - h ) 5 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 5 . 48 - 5 . 60 ( two s , 1h ), 1h ), 6 . 82 - 6 . 96 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 42 ( m , 6h ); anal . calcd for : c , 74 . 05 ; h , 8 . 86 , found : c , 73 . 42 ; h , 8 . 81 . to a solution of tricyclic enone 24 ( 1 gm , 0 . 0015 mol ) in absolute ethanol ( 50 ml ) were added anhydrous k 2 co 3 ( 0 . 1 gm ) and 10 % pd / c ( 0 . 4 gm , 50 % wet ) and the mixture was hydrogenated at 50 - 60 psi pressure for 7 - 8 hrs at room temperature ( monitored by ir and tlc of reaction mixture every 2 hrs ). the reaction mixture was filtered through celite ( 5 gm ). the celite was washed with ethanol 20 ml and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to yield a crude oily compound which was further purified by flash chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel and solvent gradient of ethyl acetate and hexanes ( 10 - 35 %). fractions containing the required compound were evaporated in vacuo to yield tricyclic ketone 25 , 0 . 384 gm ( 60 %); ir ( nacl ) cm − 1 : 3343 , 2931 , 2857 , 1726 , 1603 , 1459 , 1275 , 1126 ; 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 21 - 1 . 51 ( m , 6h ), 1 . 52 - 2 . 10 ( m , 6h ), 2 . 13 - 3 . 10 ( m , 7h ), 3 . 48 - 3 . 64 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 88 - 3 . 93 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 63 ( s , 1h ) 5 . 96 ( d , 1h ) 6 . 61 - 6 . 72 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 95 - 7 . 04 ( m , 1h ); hrms exact mass calcd for c 26 h 38 o 4 ( m + na ) 437 . 26693 , found 437 . 26642 . a two neck 50 ml round bottom flask equipped with a thermometer and magnetic bar was charged with a solution of tricyclic ketone 25 ( 0 . 202 gm , 0 . 00048 mol ) in ethanol ( 20 ml ). it was cooled to − 10 ° c . ( the temperature was maintained by using mixture of ethylene glycol and dry ice ) and 10 % naoh solution ( 0 . 1 ml ) was added with stirring under argon . the reaction mixture was stirred for 15 minutes and then nabh 4 ( 0 . 017 gm , 0 . 00048 mol , 1 eq .) was added and stirring continued at − 10 ° c . for 1 hr . an additional equivalent of nabh 4 ( 0 . 017 gm , 0 . 00048 mol , 1 eq ) was added and stirring continued for another 6 hrs at − 10 ° c . ( progress of reaction was checked by tlc ). the reaction mixture was quenched carefully with glacial acetic acid ( 2 - 3 ml until ph was 5 - 6 ) at − 10 ° c . the reaction mixture was allowed to attain room temperature ( left overnight ), diluted with water ( 10 ml ) and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the crude reaction mixture was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 25 ml ) washed with aq . nahco 3 ( 2 × 10 ml ), brine ( 10 ml ) and dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to obtain crude oily tricyclic alcohol . further purification was done by using flash chromatography ( 230 - 400 mesh silica gel ) under solvent gradient of ethyl acetate in hexanes to obtain tricyclic alcohol 26 , 0 . 140 gm ( 69 . 3 %); ir ( nacl ) cm − 1 : 3349 , 2931 , 2859 , 1586 , 1461 , 1348 , 1280 , 1020 ; 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 21 - 1 . 27 ( q , 2h ), 1 . 47 - 1 . 48 ( m , 6h ), 1 . 52 - 1 . 72 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 73 - 1 . 86 ( m , 3h ), 1 . 87 - 2 . 13 ( m , 2h ) 2 . 15 - 2 . 47 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 66 - 2 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 47 - 3 . 50 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 71 - 3 . 74 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 92 - 3 . 96 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 60 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ) 5 . 78 ( brs , 1h ) 6 . 61 - 6 . 63 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 64 - 6 . 70 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 93 - 6 . 98 ( m , 1h ); hrms exact mass calcd for c 26 h 40 o 4 ( m + na ) 439 . 2826 , found 439 . 2816 . to a solution of tricyclic alcohol 26 ( 0 . 124 gm , 0 . 00029 mol ) in methanol ( 16 ml ) at 0 ° c . under argon was added p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate ( 0 . 006 gm , 10 mol %) with stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred and slowly warmed to room temperature for 15 hrs ( reaction monitored by tlc ). the solvent was evaporated in vacuo and the crude product was purified by flash chromatography using 230 - 400 mesh silica gel . a solvent gradient of 10 - 50 % ethyl acetate in hexanes was used to elute the product from column . the fractions containing compound 15 were evaporated in vacuo to give benzindene triol 15 ( 0 . 079 gm , 80 %), m . p . 116 - 18 ° c . ( lit . ( 2 ) m . p . 114 - 17 ° c ., compared with the melting of authentic sample obtained from ut - 15 synthesis ); ir ( nacl ) cm − 1 : 3336 , 2922 , 2853 , 1582 , 1459 , 1276 ; 1 hnmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 89 ( t , 3h ), 1 . 10 - 2 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 242 - 2 . 47 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 49 - 2 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 61 ( brs , 1h ), 3 . 70 - 3 . 76 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 27 ( brs , 1h ), 6 . 65 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 98 ( m , 1h ). it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the processes and novel intermediates of this invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations , provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . the disclosure of all publications cited above are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties to the same extent as if each were incorporated by reference individually .	2
fig1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary aircraft 8 that includes at least one gas turbine engine 10 and an access panel 11 that is removable to perform maintenance on gas turbine engine 10 . fig2 is an illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine 10 that may be utilized with the aircraft shown in fig1 . gas turbine engine 10 includes a low pressure compressor 12 , a high pressure compressor 14 , and a combustor 16 . in one embodiment , engine 10 is a cf34 gas turbine engine commercially available from general electric company , cincinnati , ohio . in the exemplary embodiment , gas turbine engine 10 also includes a number of accessory devices , such as fuel pumps , lubrication pumps , generators and control units , which are driven by the core engine utilizing an accessory gearbox 20 . moreover , to perform maintenance on the gas turbine engine , the accessory gearbox 20 includes at least one drive pad 22 that is utilized to couple a maintenance tool 100 to the gas turbine engine , such that when the maintenance tool 100 is manually operated , the gas turbine engine rotates to facilitate borescoping the engine , for example . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of maintenance tool 100 that may be utilized with the exemplary gas turbine engine shown in fig2 in an engaged position . fig4 is a cross - sectional view of maintenance tool 100 in a disengaged position . maintenance tool 100 is a cranking plug that is utilized by an operator to manually rotate gas turbine engine 10 during a variety of maintenance procedures . in the exemplary embodiment , cranking plug assembly 100 includes a substantially cylindrical drive portion 102 and a housing 104 that circumscribes drive portion 102 . drive portion 102 includes has a substantially t - shaped cross - sectional profile and includes a head portion 120 that is utilized to operate drive portion 102 , a body portion 122 having a first end 124 that is coupled to head portion 120 and a second end 126 that is sized to be inserted at least partially within gearbox 20 . in the exemplary embodiment , head portion 120 is formed unitarily with body portion 122 . more specifically , head portion 120 includes a shoulder 128 that has a first diameter 130 that is greater than a diameter 132 of head portion 120 to facilitate retaining a biasing mechanism that is discussed later herein . body portion 122 includes a radial projection 134 , or travel stop , that extends radially outward and substantially perpendicularly from body portion 122 , and has an outer diameter 136 that is greater than a diameter 138 of body portion 122 . radial projection outer diameter 136 defines a substantially circular cross - sectional profile for radial projection 134 . body portion 122 also includes a first channel or groove 140 that is positioned between radial projection 134 and second end 126 . channel 140 has a diameter 142 that is less than body portion diameter 138 and is sized to receive a seal 144 therein . body portion 122 also includes a second channel or groove 150 that is positioned between first groove 140 and second end 126 . in the exemplary embodiment , second groove 150 is positioned proximate to second end 126 and has a diameter 152 that is less than body portion diameter 138 and is sized to receive a retaining device therein . body portion 122 also includes second end 126 that is sized to engage a female bushing 160 that is coupled to gearbox 20 . more specifically , and in the exemplary embodiment , second end 126 has a square cross - sectional profile and bushing 160 has an opening 162 that is sized to received second end 126 . housing 104 includes a first end 170 and a second end 172 and has an inner diameter 174 that is sized to circumscribe at least a portion of drive portion 102 . second end 172 also includes a groove 176 or channel that is formed proximate to second end 172 and is sized to receive a seal 178 therein . cranking plug assembly 100 also includes a substantially cylindrical wiper 180 that is coupled proximate to housing first end 170 and substantially circumscribes body portion 122 . in the exemplary embodiment , wiper 180 is fabricated from a material such as viton to facilitate inhibiting dirt or similar debris from entering between body portion 122 and housing 104 . to facilitate securing wiper 180 to housing portion 104 , cranking plug assembly 100 also including a retaining device 190 , or wiper housing that is coupled to housing 104 proximate to housing first end 170 . more specifically , the wiper housing 190 includes a channel 192 therein that is sized to receive wiper 180 and thus maintain wiper 180 in a substantially fixed position with respect to housing 104 . wiper housing 190 also includes a recess 194 that is formed at a forward end 196 of the wiper housing 190 . in the exemplary embodiment , recess 194 and shoulder 128 cooperate to secure a biasing mechanism 198 within cranking plug assembly 100 . to assembly cranking plug assembly 100 , seal 144 is inserted into groove 140 in drive portion 102 . moreover , wiper 180 is secured to housing 104 utilizing wiper housing 190 . spring 198 is then positioned around drive portion 102 such that a spring first end 200 is positioned proximate shoulder 128 . drive portion 102 is then at least partially inserted through housing 104 such that seal 144 is in sliding contact between drive portion 102 and an interior surface of housing 104 , such that seal 180 is sliding contact between drive portion 102 , and such that a biasing mechanism second end 202 is seated within recess 194 formed within wiper housing 190 . to secure drive portion 102 within housing 104 , retaining device 150 is coupled to drive portion 102 . to secure cranking plug assembly 100 to gearbox 20 , seal 178 is inserted into groove 176 and the cranking plug assembly is positioned at least partially into an opening in the gearbox 20 . to secure cranking plug assembly 100 to gearbox 20 , a retaining device 210 is utilized . in one embodiment , the retaining device 200 is a spring clip such as a c - clip for example . optionally , cranking plug assembly 100 is secured to the gearbox 20 utilizing a plurality of mechanical fasteners . during operation , a tool is coupled to cranking plug assembly 100 to facilitate operating the cranking plug assembly . more specifically , and in the exemplary embodiment , drive portion head 120 has a substantially hexagonal shape that is sized to receive either as standard socket or wrench . to operate cranking plug assembly 100 , a socket or wrench is coupled to drive head portion 120 , and force is exerted by an operator on head portion 120 such that drive portion 102 is moved in a first or engaged direction 220 . moving drive portion 102 thus moves drive portion second end into gearbox bushing 162 and thus in engagement with gearbox 20 . the operator then rotates drive head portion 120 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to facilitate rotating at least a portion of the gas turbine engine 10 . in the exemplary embodiment , radial projection 134 , i . e . the stopper , facilitates limiting the distance which drive portion 102 may moved in first direction 220 since stopper 134 will contact seal 180 at a predetermined distance . moreover , as shown in fig3 , because the housing inner diameter 174 is slightly tapered , as drive portion 102 is moved or pushed into gearbox bushing 162 in first direction 220 , the pressure on seal 144 is reduced to facilitate reducing the wear on seal 144 . however , when the force exerted by the operator on head portion 120 is removed such that drive portion 102 is moved in a second or disengaged direction 222 , because the housing inner diameter 174 is slightly tapered , as drive portion 102 is moved or pushed into gearbox bushing 162 in second direction 222 , the pressure on seal 144 is increased to facilitate forming a seal between drive portion 102 and housing 104 . to stop rotation of gas turbine engine 10 , the force exerted by the operator on head portion 120 is removed such that drive portion 102 is moved in a second or disengaged direction 222 . more specifically , biasing mechanism 198 , i . e . spring 198 acts against both drive portion should 128 and wiper housing 190 to facilitate moving drive portion 102 in second direction 222 when the force has been removed from the head portion 120 . accordingly , when cranking plug assembly 100 is not being utilized , biasing mechanism 198 facilitates maintaining the drive portion 102 is a disengaged or standby position . the above described cranking plug assembly includes a housing and a sealed square drive crank shaft . the crank shaft telescopes in its housing to engage the square drive in the gearshaft . when engine cranking is complete , the spring pushes the crank shaft out of engagement . the assembly stays on the engine and faciliates sealing the gearbox during all operational conditions . moreover , although the exemplary embodiment , illustrates a cranking plug that is coupled to a gas turbine engine installed on an aircraft , it should be realize that the cranking plug may be utilized with a gas turbine engine that is utilized in any environment , such as a power plant , for example . the above - described cranking plug assembly is cost - effective and highly reliable . the cranking plug assembly is configured to be installed on a gas turbine engine during all engine operating conditions . moreover , as explained previously , a known tool is installed through a plug opening in the gas turbine engine . after the inspection is completed the plug is reinstalled . however , if the plug is not properly replaced following the maintenance procedure the plug may loosen during flight resulting in low oil pressure and an engine in flight shut down ( ifsd ). accordingly , the cranking plug assembly described herein is coupled to the gas engine and is configured to remain with the gas turbine engine during all operational conditions . specifically , the cranking plug assembly described herein remains with the engine while the engine is running and during flight operations . as a result , the cranking plug assembly described herein faciliates reducing the time to perform maintenance , the cranking plug described herein also faciliates eliminating low oil pressure and as a result eliminate in flight shut downs associated with low oil pressure . while the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims .	8
example embodiments of the present invention are described here in detail with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is a block diagram that shows an electrical configuration of a switching electrical power source device 1 , according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as is shown in fig1 , the switching electrical power source device 1 includes an input section 2 , a noise filter section 3 , a rectification and smoothing section 4 , a switching section 5 , an oscillation start section 6 , an oscillator 7 , a transformer p 1 , and a secondary side rectification section 8 . an alternating current voltage that is input to the input section 2 , an output on the line of the external noise that is entered from the input side , and a noise that is generated by the switching section 5 , are filtered by the noise filter section 3 . after being rectified and smoothed by the rectification and the smoothing section 4 , the voltage is switched by the switching section 5 and the voltage conversion is carried out on the secondary side by the transformer p 1 . the oscillation start section 6 is a circuit that supplies an electric power for oscillation to start by the oscillator section 7 when the power to the switching electrical power source device 1 is turned on . once the oscillation starts , the oscillator section 7 drives the switching section 5 . the switching section 5 switches the voltage that is supplied from the rectification and the smoothing section 4 , and a high frequency alternating current voltage is supplied to the primary side of the transformer p 1 . when an alternating current is supplied to the primary side of the transformer p 1 , an alternating current is produced on the secondary side . a voltage is also generated in the oscillator section 7 , and the oscillation continues . the voltage that has been produced on the secondary side of the transformer p 1 , is rectified and smoothed out , and is supplied to the audio equipment . in the input section 2 , the commercial alternating current power of , for example , 100 v is input from the alternating current supply line that comprises the hot conductor l and the neutral conductor n . one end of each of the line bypass capacitors c 1 and c 2 is connected to the hot conductor l , and the neutral conductor n . the other ends of these capacitors are connected together , and their connection point is connected to the ground conductor of the secondary side circuit . these capacitors reduce the high frequency noise and as a result , it is possible to reduce the generation of the hum from the frequency of the commercial electric power source ( for example , 50 hz or 60 hz ). in addition , by connecting these capacitors to the ground conductor of the secondary side circuit , it is possible to make the capacitance of the capacitor c 3 smaller . accordingly , the weak shock can be reduced or prevented , in those cases where the panel of the equipment ( that is connected to the ground conductor on the secondary side ) is touched . the fuse f 1 is connected in a stage following the line bypass capacitor c 1 and the line bypass capacitor c 2 . the capacitances of the capacitors c 1 and c 2 are made roughly of the same value in the range of 470 pf to 100 pf . in the noise filter section 3 , a capacitor and a resistor for reducing high frequency noise are connected between the hot conductor l and the neutral conductor n . in the following stage , the choke coil ch 1 is connected and the noise of the common mode component is eliminated . a capacitor is also connected between the hot conductor l and the neutral conductor n in the stage following the choke coil ch 1 . it is then connected to the rectification and smoothing section 4 . in the rectification and smoothing section 4 , a bridge is formed by four diodes . the positive pole that has been rectified is connected to the oscillation start section 6 . it is connected to one end of the primary side winding of the switching transformer p 1 , and the positive electrode of the electrolytic capacitor c 4 . the negative electrode of the electrolytic capacitor c 4 is connected to the ground conductor on the primary side . in addition , the negative pole of the bridge is connected to the ground conductor on the primary side through a thermistor . a thermistor is a device in which the value of the resistance changes ( for example , becomes higher ) as the temperature increases . it is affixed to the heat sink and the like that is attached to the switching element . accordingly , in those cases where an abnormality due to a short circuit or a failure of a component and the like occurs , and the temperature of the switching element rises , the resistance value increases , and the flow of current is prevented . the oscillation start section 6 is a circuit that supplies an electric power such that the oscillation is started by the oscillator at the time that the power source to the switching electrical power source device 1 is turned on . the oscillator section 7 may include an oscillator circuit that oscillates at a high frequency . the output of the oscillator is connected to the gate electrode of the field effect transistor q 1 , which is a switching element , and drives the field effect transistor on and off . the drain electrode of the field effect transistor q 1 is connected to the other end of the primary side winding of the switching transformer p 1 . the source electrode of the field effect transistor q 1 is connected to the ground conductor on the primary side . when the field effect transistor q 1 is turned on and off , current flows in the primary side of the switching transformer p 1 and an alternating current having a specified voltage is produced on the secondary side of the transformer p 1 . together with this , an electric power is supplied to the oscillator section 7 , and the stable oscillation continues in the oscillator section 7 . the secondary side includes the diode d 2 that rectifies the alternating current having a specified produced voltage , and the capacitor c 5 that smoothes the current . an electric power having a specified voltage is supplied to the audio equipment that is connected to the secondary side . the capacitor c 6 is connected in parallel with the diode d 2 and reduces high frequency noise when carrying out the smoothening . with this switching electrical power source , the supply of electric power to various types of equipment such as an ac adapter is possible . a socket s 1 may be provided for connecting external equipment . the capacitor c 3 is connected between the ground conductor on the primary side and the ground conductor on the secondary side . since this capacitor c 3 discharges the noise that accompanies the switching operation , the capacitor is effective for reducing emi . as discussed above , in the embodiment involving the switching electrical power source device 1 , since one end of each of the line bypass capacitors c 1 and c 2 is connected to the hot conductor l and the neutral conductor n , the other ends are connected together , and the connection point is connected to the ground conductor of the secondary side circuit , the noise that accompanies the switching operation is reduced . as a result , it is possible to make the capacitance of the capacitor c 3 smaller . as it was explained above , in the switching electrical power source device 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , one end of each of the line bypass capacitors c 1 and c 2 is connected to the hot conductor l and to the neutral conductor n ( to which the commercial power source is supplied ). the other ends are connected together , and the connection point is connected to the ground conductor of the secondary side circuit . as a result of this circuit configuration , the hum from the frequency of the power source , is reduced . it is also possible to reduce the shock by making the capacitance of the capacitor c 3 smaller for those cases where the panel ( of the equipment to which the ground conductor on the secondary side is connected ) is touched . the explanation given above are samples of a few possible embodiments of the present invention . the present invention is not in any way limited to the embodiments that were discussed above . various modifications and changes are possible without diverging from the scope of the present invention .	7
the following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention . various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . in the following , a computer mouse is mainly used as an example to explain the embodiment of the present invention . however , the principle of the present invention may be readily applied to various types of other pointing or electronic devices . fig1 shows an embodiment of the present invention housed inside a computer mouse 1 , with a top cover of the computer mouse 1 removed to reveal the details inside . as further illustrated in fig2 , the present embodiment contains a wheel module 2 and a signal extraction unit 3 , integrated to a pedestal 25 to jointly provide the function of a scroll wheel . as illustrated in fig3 and 5 , the wheel module 2 contains cylindrical main ring 23 having an anti - slippery ring 24 coaxially embedded in the circumference of the main ring 23 . the wheel module 2 further contains cylindrical axle 22 axially threaded in and tightly joined with the main ring 23 . the axle 22 has two tips 222 extended beyond its two end surfaces for an appropriate distance . at a first end of the axle 22 , the end surface is concaved to form a socket ( not numbered ) and the tip 222 there has a thicker axial base 221 so that a ring - shaped permanent magnet 21 can be tightly fitted on the thicker base 221 and housed in the socket . the wheel module 2 is assembled as such so that , when the main ring 23 is turned , the axle 22 and the magnet 21 are turned synchronously . as shown in fig2 , 3 , and 5 , the pedestal 25 is a frame forming a generally rectangular space 251 for housing the wheel module 2 inside . the pedestal 25 therefore surrounds the wheel module 2 diametrically . there are two corresponding holes 252 on the two opposing longer sides ( hereinafter , the first and second sides ) of the pedestal 25 , respectively , for the accommodation of the tips 222 of the wheel module 2 . as such , the wheel module 2 is rotatably mounted on the pedestal 25 with the permanent magnet 21 adjacent to the first side of the pedestal 25 . on the outer surface of the first side of the pedestal 25 , a rectangular seat 253 is provided to accommodate the approximately rectangular signal extraction unit 3 . also on the outer surface of the first side of the pedestal 25 is a pair of laterally opposing clasps 2511 to reliably hold the signal extraction unit 3 inside the seat 253 . as further shown in fig6 , the signal extraction unit 3 is mainly a circuit board 31 having two sensors 32 electrically connected to the circuit board 31 . please note that the two sensors 32 are arranged so that they are tangential to the spinning direction of the permanent magnet 21 . according to the hall effect , as the permanent magnet 21 turns , the two sensors 32 are able to pick up the variations of the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet 21 and then translate to corresponding electrical signals . fig4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention to enhance the positioning of the permanent magnet 21 . as illustrated , a cylindrical auxiliary ring 26 is provided so that the axle 22 is first threaded axially into a second end of the auxiliary ring 26 and the combination is then threaded axially into the main ring 23 . to tightly join the axle 22 and the auxiliary ring 26 together , at least a wedge 223 is provided along the circumference of the axle 22 and at least a notch 261 is provided along the circumference of the auxiliary ring 26 , corresponding to the wedge 223 . as such , when the axle 22 is threaded into the auxiliary ring 26 , the wedge 223 is embedded into the corresponding notch 261 . please note that a first end of the auxiliary ring 26 opposite to the second end has an aperture ( not shown ) smaller than the diameter of the permanent magnet 21 . as such , the permanent magnet 21 is reliably sandwiched between the axle 22 and the auxiliary ring 26 . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above . while certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim , it is not intended to be limited to the details above , since it will be understood that various omissions , modifications , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the split of the present invention .	6
fig4 shows the construction of a first embodiment of the solar cell power system with a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention . in the drawing , the elements 1 to 13 are identical with those of the conventional system described with reference to fig1 so that a description thereof will be omitted here . the reference numeral 14a indicates a solar array bus lockup determining device , which is connected to a charge / discharge current monitor 12 , a bus voltage monitor 13 , a load current monitor 11 and a load 9 . this solar array bus lockup determining device 14a is composed of a reference power source 15 , a first multiplier 16a , a second multiplier 16b , a comparator 17a and a subtracter 18a . in the following , this solar array bus lockup determining device 14a will be described in detail . the subtracter 18a is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the load current monitor 11 and the telemetry output terminal of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , subtracting the telemetry i ctlm of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 from the telemetry i ltlm of the load current monitor 11 and transmitting the result ( i ltlm - i ctlm ) to the first multiplier 16a . this first multiplier 16a is connected to the output terminal of the subtracter 18a and the output terminal of the reference power source 15 where it multiplies the output of the subtracter 18a ( i ltlm - i ctlm ) by the output v ref of the reference power source 15 , supplying a signal p s1 to the comparator 17a . the second multiplier 16b is connected to the output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and the telemetry output terminal of the load current monitor 11 and multiplies the output v bustlm of the bus voltage monitor 13 by the telemetry i ltlm of the load current monitor 11 , supplying a signal p l1 to the comparator 17a . the comparator 17a compares the output p s1 of the first multiplier 16a with the output p l1 of the second multiplier 16b , and when the condition : is attained , supplies a load power reducing signal to the load 9 . the input signals i ltlm , i ctlm , v bustlm and v ref , which are supplied to the subtracter 18a , the first multiplier 16a and the second multiplier 16b , are respectively related in the following manner to the actual load current i l , the discharge current i d of the storage battery 2 , the bus voltage v bus , and the regulated bus voltage v shnt obtained by the shunt device 6 : in equations ( 3 ) to ( 5 ), k 1 and k 2 are constant transformation coefficients used when transforming the actual current levels or voltage levels to telemetries . the output v ref of the reference power source 15 is set in such a manner that it satisfies equation ( 6 ). the input signals p s1 and p l1 to be supplied to the comparator 17a can be obtained from equations ( 3 ) to ( 6 ) as follows : in equation ( 7 ), ( i l - i d ) is obtained by subtracting the discharge current of the storage battery 2 from the actual load current , so that , in the solar array bus lockup condition , its value is equal to the actual solar array current i sa that actually flows from the solar cell 1 into the power bus 4 . that is , in the solar array bus lockup condition , p s1 indicates a value equivalent to the effective generated power of the solar cell 1 and p l1 indicates a value equivalent to the load power of the load 9 . in consideration of the above , equations ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) may be substituted in equation ( 2 ) and i l - i d may be replaced by i sa , thereby obtaining equation ( 1 ), which is none other than the criterion for solar array bus lockup . thus , when solar array bus lockup has occurred , the condition of equation ( 2 ) holds true . as a result , a load power reducing signal is transmitted from the comparator 17a to the load 9 , reducing the magnitude of the load automatically . when the magnitude of the load has been reduced and the solar array bus lockup state cancelled , the discharge of the storage battery 2 is stopped and the bus voltage becomes v shnt , so that the condition shown in equation ( 2 ) does not hold true any longer , and the emission of the load power reducing signal from the comparator 17a is stopped . fig5 shows the construction of a second embodiment of the solar cell power system with a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention . in the drawing , the elements 1 to 13 are identical with those of the conventional system described with reference to fig1 so that a description thereof will be omitted here . the reference numeral 14b indicates a solar array bus lockup determining device , which is connected to a charge / discharge current monitor 12 , a bus voltage monitor 13 , a load current monitor 11 and a load 9 . this solar array bus lockup determining device 14b is composed of a reference power source 15 , a first multiplier 16c , a second multiplier 16d , a comparator 17b , a first subtracter 18b and a second subtracter 18c . in the following , this solar array bus lockup determining device 14b will be describe in detail . the first subtracter 18b is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the load current monitor 11 and the telemetry output terminal of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , subtracting the telemetry i ctlm of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 from the telemetry i ltlm of the load current monitor 11 and transmitting the result ( i ltlm - i ctlm ) to the first multiplier 16c . the second subtracter 18c is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and the output terminal of the reference power source 15 , subtracting the telemetry output v bustlm of the bus voltage monitor 13 from the output v ref of the reference power source 15 and transmitting the result ( v ref - v bustlm ) to the first multiplier 16c . the first multiplier 16c is connected to the output terminal of the first substracter 18b and the output terminal of the output terminal of the second subtracter 18c and multiplies the output ( i ltlm - i ctlm ) of the first subtracter 18b by the output ( v ref - v bustlm ) of the second subtracter 18c , supplying a signal p 12 to the comparator 17b . the second multiplier 16d is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and the telemetry output terminal of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and multiplies the output v bustlm of the bus voltage monitor 13 by the telemetry i ctlm of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , supplying a signal p b2 to the comparator 17b . the comparator 17b compares the output p i1 of the first multiplier 16c with the output p b1 of the second multiplier 16d , and when the condition : is attained , supplies a load power reducing signal to the load 9 . the input signals i ltlm , i ctlm , v bustlm and v ref , which are applied to the first substracter 18b , the second subtracter 18c and the second multiplier 16d , are respectively related in the following manner to the actual load current i l , the discharge current i d of the storage battery 2 , the bus voltage v bus , and the regulated bus voltage v shnt obtained by the shunt device 6 : in equations ( 10 ) to ( 12 ), k 1 and k 2 are constant transformation coefficients used when transforming the actual current levels or voltage levels to telemetries . the output v ref of the reference power source 15 is set in such a manner that it satisfies equation ( 13 ). the input signals p 11 and p b1 to be supplied to the comparator 17b can be obtained from equations ( 10 ) to ( 13 ) as follows : in equation ( 14 ), ( i l - i d ) is obtained by subtracting the discharge current of the storage batter 2 from the actual load current , so that , in the solar array bus lockup condition , it is equal to the solar array current i sa that actually flows from the solar cell 1 into the power bus 4 . that is , in the solar array bus lockup condition , p i1 indicates a value equivalent to the potential generated power of the solar cell 1 and p b2 indicates a value equivalent to the discharge power of the storage battery 2 . in consideration of the above , equations ( 14 ) and ( 15 ) may be substituted in equation ( 9 ) and k 1 · k 2 · v bus ·( i l - i d ) may be added to both sides , thereby obtaining equation ( 1 ), which is none other than the criterion for solar array bus lockup . thus , when solar array bus lockup has occurred , the condition shown in equation ( 9 ) holds true . as a result , a load power reducing signal is transmitted from the comparator 17b to the load 9 , reducing the magnitude of the load automatically . when the magnitude of the load has been reduced and the solar array bus lockup state cancelled , the discharge from the storage battery 2 is stopped and the bus voltage becomes v shnt , so that the condition shown in equation ( 9 ) does not hold true any longer , which stops the emission of the load power reducing signal from the comparator 17b . fig6 shows the construction of a third embodiment of the solar cell power system with a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention . in the drawing , the elements 1 to 13 are identical with those of the conventional system described with reference to fig1 so that a description thereof will be omitted here . the reference numeral 14c indicates a solar array bus lockup determining device , which is connected to a solar array current monitor 10 , a charge / discharge current monitor 12 , a bus voltage monitor 13 and a load 9 . this solar array bus lockup determining device 14c is composed of a reference power source 15 , a first multiplier 16e , a second multiplier 16f , a comparator 17c , and an adder 19 . in the following , this solar array bus lockup determining device 14c will be described in detail . the first multiplier 16e is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the solar array current monitor 10 and the output terminal of the reference power source 15 , where it multiplies the telemetry i satlm of the solar array current monitor 10 by the output v ref of the reference power source 15 , transmitting a signal p s2 to the comparator 17c . the adder 19 is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the solar array current monitor 10 and the telemetry output terminal of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , adding the telemetry i satlm of the solar array current monitor 10 to the telemetry i ctlm of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and transmitting the result ( i satlm + i ctlm ) to the second multiplier 16f . the second multiplier 16f is connected to the output terminal of the adder 19 and the telemetry output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and multiplies the output ( i satlm + i ctlm ) of the adder 19 by the output v bustlm of the bus voltage monitor 13 , supplying a signal p l2 to the comparator 17c . the comparator 17c compares the output p s2 of the first multiplier 16e with the output p l2 of the second multiplier 16f , and when the condition : is attained , supplies a load power reducing signal to the load 9 . the input signals v ref , i satlm , i ctlm and v bustlm , which are supplied to the first multiplier 16e , the adder 19 and the second multiplier 16f , are respectively related in the following manner to the actual regulated bus voltage v shnt obtained by the shunt device 6 , the solar array current i sa , the discharge current i d of the storage battery 2 and the bus voltage v bus : in equations ( 17 ) to ( 19 ), k 1 and k 2 are constant transformation coefficients that are used when transforming the actual current levels or voltage levels to telemetries . the output v ref of the reference power source 15 is set in such a manner that it satisfies equation ( 20 ). the input signals p s2 and p l2 to be supplied to the comparator 17c can be obtained from equations ( 17 ) to ( 20 ) as follows : in equation ( 22 ), ( i sa + i d ) is obtained by adding the discharge current of the storage battery 2 to the actual solar array current , so that , in the solar array bus lockup condition , it is equal to the actual load current i l that flows from the power bus 4 to the load 9 . that is , in the solar array bus lockup condition , p s2 indicates a value equivalent to the effective generated power of the solar cell 1 and p l2 indicates a value equivalent to the load power of the load 9 . in consideration of the above , equations ( 21 ) and ( 22 ) may be substituted in equation ( 16 ) and i sa + i d may replaced by i l , thereby obtaining equation ( 1 ), which is none other than the criterion for solar array bus lockup . thus , when solar array bus lockup has occurred , the condition shown in equation ( 16 ) holds true . as a result , a load power reducing signal is transmitted from the comparator 17c to the load 9 , automatically reducing the magnitude of the load . when the magnitude of the load has been reduced and the solar array bus lockup state cancelled , the discharge of the storage battery 2 is stopped and the bus voltage becomes v shnt , so that the condition shown in equation ( 16 ) does not hold true any longer , and the emission of the load power reducing signal from the comparator 17c is stopped . fig7 shows the construction of a fourth embodiment of the solar cell power system with a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention . in the drawing , the elements 1 to 13 are identical with those of the conventional system described with reference to fig1 so that a description thereof will be omitted here . the reference numeral 14d indicates a solar array bus lockup determining device , which is connected to a solar array current monitor 10 , a charge / discharge current monitor 12 , a bus voltage monitor 13 and a load 9 . this solar array bus lockup determining device 14d is composed of a reference power source 15 , a first multiplier 16g , a second multiplier 16h , a comparator 17d , and a subtracter 18d . in the following , this solar array bus lockup determining device 14d will be described in detail . the subtracter 18d is connected to the output terminal of the reference power source 15 and the telemetry output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and subtracts the telemetry output v bustlm of the voltage monitor 13 from the output v ref of the reference power source 15 , transmitting the result ( v ref - v bustlm ) to the first multiplier 16g . the first multiplier 16g is connected to the output terminal of the subtracter 18d and the output terminal of the solar array current monitor 10 and multiplies the output ( v ref - v bustlm ) of the subtracter 18d by the output i satlm of the solar array current monitor 10 , supplying a signal p i2 to the comparator 17d . the second multiplier 16h is connected to the telemetry output terminal of the bus voltage monitor 13 and the telemetry output terminal of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and multiplies the output v bustlm of the bus voltage monitor 13 by the output i ctlm of the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , supplying a signal p b2 to the comparator 17d . the comparator 17d compares the output p i2 of the first multiplier 16g with the output p b2 of the second multiplier 16h , and when the condition : is attained , supplies a load power reducing signal to the load 9 . the input signals v ref , i satlm , i ctlm and v bustlm , which are supplied to the subtracter 18d , the first multiplier 16g and the second multiplier 16h , are respectively related in the following manner to the actual regulated bus voltage v shnt obtained by the shunt device 6 , the solar array current i sa , the discharge current i d of the storage battery 2 and the bus voltage v bus : in equations ( 24 ) to ( 26 ), k 1 and k 2 are constant transformation coefficients that are used when transforming the actual current levels or voltage levels to telemetries . the output v ref of the reference power source 15 is set in such a manner that it satisfies equation ( 27 ). the input signals p i2 and p b2 to be supplied to the comparator 17d can be obtained from equations ( 24 ) to ( 27 ) as follows : that is , in the solar array bus lockup condition , p i2 indicates a value equivalent to the potential generated power of the solar cell 1 and p b2 indicates a value equivalent to the discharge power of the storage battery 2 . in the solar array bus lockup condition , the following relationship is established between the solar array current i sa , the discharge current i d of the storage battery 2 and the load current i l : in consideration of the above equation ( 30 ), equations ( 28 ) and ( 29 ) may be substituted in equation ( 23 ) and k 1 · k 2 · v bus ·( i l - i d ) may be added to both sides , thereby obtaining equation ( 1 ), which is none other than the criterion for solar array bus lockup . thus , when solar array bus lockup has occurred , the condition shown in equation ( 23 ) holds true . as a result , a load power reducing signal is transmitted from the comparator 17d to the load 9 , automatically reducing the magnitude of the load . when the magnitude of the load has been reduced and the solar array bus lockup state cancelled , the discharge of the storage battery 2 is stopped and the bus voltage becomes v shnt , so that the condition shown in equation ( 23 ) does not hold true any longer , which stops the emission of the load power reducing signal from the comparator 17d . as described above , the solar array bus lockup determining device 14a of the first embodiment is composed of one reference power source 15 , two multipliers 16a , 16b , one comparator 17a , and one subtracter 18a , utilizing , as input data , the respective telemetries of the load current monitor 11 , the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and the bus voltage monitor 13 of the solar cell power system . the solar array bus lockup determining device 14b of the second embodiment is composed of one reference power source 15 , two multipliers 16c , 16d , one comparator 17b , and two subtracters 18b , 18c , utilizing , as input data , the respective telemetries of the load current monitor 11 , the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and the bus voltage monitor 13 of the solar cell power system . the solar array bus lockup determining device 14c of the third embodiment is composed of one reference power source 15 , two multipliers 16e , 16f , one comparator 17c , and one adder 19 , utilizing , as input data , the respective telemetries of the solar array current monitor 10 , the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and the bus voltage monitor 13 of the solar cell power system . the solar array bus lockup determining device 14d of the fourth embodiment is composed of one reference power source 15 , two multipliers 16g , 16h , one comparator 17d , and one subtracter 18d , utilizing , as input data , the respective telemetries of the solar array current monitor 10 , the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and the bus voltage monitor 13 of the solar cell power system . when solar array bus lockup has occurred , these solar array bus lockup determining devices 14a to 14d supply a load power reducing signal to the load 9 to control the magnitude of the load , thereby determining the occurrence of solar array bus lockup automatically and cancelling it without causing the function of the load to be lost for a long period or depending on support from a ground station . in the first to the fourth embodiment described above , a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention is incorporated into a solar cell power system whose load 9 can be reduced . in some cases , however , the load 9 cannot be reduced . fig8 shows the construction of a fifth embodiment of this invention in which a solar array bus lockup cancelling mechanism in accordance with this invention is incorporated into a solar cell power system of the type in which load reduction is impossible or in which from the operational viewpoint , it is preferable , not to reduce the load . in the drawing , the elements 1 to 13 are identical with those of the conventional system described with reference to fig1 so that an explanation thereof will be omitted here . the load 9 may consist of a fixed load since it naturally operates as such . the solar array bus lockup determining device 14 of this embodiment is identical with the solar array bus lockup determining device 14c shown in fig6 or the solar array bus lockup determining device 14d shown in fig7 . the reference numeral 20 indicates a solar array bus lockup cancelling drive device , which is composed of a drive 21 , a transistor 22 , a coil 23 and a third diode 24 . in the following , this solar array bus lockup cancelling drive device 20 will be described in detail . the drive 21 is connected to the output terminal of the solar array bus lockup determining device 14 through which a solar array bus lockup signal is emitted ( more specifically , the output terminal of the comparator 17c shown in fig6 or of the comparator 17d shown in fig7 ) and , is connected to the base of the transistor 22 . the emitter of the transistor 22 is connected to the rtn and the collector thereof is connected to the node between the coil 23 and the anode of the third diode 24 . the other end of the coil 23 , which is not connected to the diode 24 , is connected to the node between the anode of the second diode 5 and the charge / discharge current monitor 12 . the cathode of the third diode 24 is connected to the power bus 4 . when solar array bus lockup occurs , the drive 21 receives a solar array bus lockup signal from the solar array bus lockup determining device 14 and responds to this signal to drive the base of the transistor 22 to cause the transistor 22 to be conducted for a certain period t on , short - circuiting its collector . here , the following relationship exists between the solar array current i sa , the voltage v bat of the storage battery 2 , the current i do supplied from the storage battery 2 to the power bus 4 through the charge / discharge current monitor 12 and the second diode 5 , the current i dl flowing from the storage battery 2 through the charge / discharge current monitor 12 , the coil 23 and the transistor 22 , the short - circuit period t on of the transistor 22 , the load power p1 , the inductance l of the coil 23 , and the energy w l stored in the coil 23 : ## equ1 ## when the transistor 22 has been opened , the energy w l stored in the coil 23 is supplied to the power bus 4 through the third diode 24 . if t on and l are selected such that the current i dl which the coil 23 supplies to the power bus is greater than i do , the capacitor bank 8 begins to be charged with a current &# 34 ; i dl - i do &# 34 ; and the bus voltage v bus increases . as a result , the power operating point of fig3 moves from point c ( which , as described with reference to the prior art , is the operating point when the power consumption is increased from p1 to p2 and then reduced to p1 ) to the point f . as a result of the increase of v bus , the power supply p sa from the solar array increases as follows : thus , supposing the time t at which the transistor 22 has become open is 0 , v bus continues to increase , as indicated by equations ( 33 ) and ( 34 ), as long as there exists , after the opening of the transistor 22 , the following energy relationship between the solar array power supply p sa , the accumulated energy w l of the coil 23 and the load power p1 : ## equ2 ## and thus the power operating point of fig3 moves from c to f , then to a . when v bus has become higher than the power operating point f of fig3 by even the slightest degree , the power p1 to be supplied to the load 9 can be provided solely by the power &# 34 ; v bus · i sa &# 34 ; from the solar cell 1 consisting of a solar array and , due to the surplus power control effected by the shunt device 6 , the power operating point of fig3 moves to the point a in the line m -- m &# 39 ;, thus releasing the system from the solar array bus lockup state . thus , by adjusting the inductance l of the coil 23 and the short - circuiting time t on of the transistor 22 and accumulating in the coil 23 energy that increases v bus to or beyond the power operating point f of fig3 the system can be automatically released from the solar array bus lockup state without reducing the load 9 . as described above , the solar array bus lockup cancelling device of the fifth embodiment operates as follows : when the load current temporarily becomes greater than the power generated by the solar cell 1 so that the bus voltage is fixed to the voltage of the storage battery 2 , a solar array bus lockup signal emitted from the solar array bus lockup determining device 14 is supplied to the drive 21 of the solar array bus lockup cancelling drive device 20 , which causes the transistor 22 to be short - circuited for a certain period with the result that energy is accumulated in the coil 23 . the energy accumulated in the coil 23 charges the capacitor bank 8 through the third diode 24 , causing the bus voltage to increase . as a result , the bus voltage is restored to a voltage which is at the level when the power supply to the load 9 is performed solely with the output power of the solar cell 1 while being regulated by the shunt device 6 . accordingly , the solar array bus lockup state can be cancelled without reducing the magnitude of the load . instead of the solar array current , the load current may be used for the purpose of determining the occurrence of solar array bus lockup , as in the first and second embodiments . in that case , the solar array bus lockup determining device 14 of fig8 may consist of the solar array bus lock - up determining device 14a or 14b shown in fig4 or fig5 with the telemetry i ltlm from the load current monitor 11 being received by the device 14 , as indicated by the broken line of fig8 instead of i satlm from the solar array current monitor 10 . although the invention has been described in detail with reference to some of its embodiments , it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the above description . it should be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .	8
in accordance with the present disclosure , a security token is provided that receives and processes a transaction verification input from an external user interface device , such as a smart phone . the security token may take the form of a secure hardware token . the token further sends a corresponding transaction verification result to a host device to which the token may be connected . in an illustrative implementation , the token may comprise a secure element interfacing to a host device via a usb connection and to a mobile phone via nfc . a user may visually verify transaction data and enter for example a pin or password securely through a mobile phone , which , in accordance with the present disclosure , may act as the token &# 39 ; s trusted ui companion device . thus , the security token does not need to be equipped with a rich user interface . that is to say , the functionality of the token may be reduced to security functions , for example . the token may receive the transaction verification input ( for example the pin or the password ) via a wireless or contactless communication interface , which increases the user convenience . if the contactless interface comprises an nfc interface , a relatively high level of security may be achieved due to the fact that the nfc connection is inherently limited to relatively small operating distances . since the security token no longer requires an embedded user interface , it may easily be integrated into other devices worn by a user , such as a watch or jewelry . furthermore , the user interface may be richer than the user interfaces of conventional , stand - alone tokens , such as rsa hardware tokens or yubico ® keys . generally speaking , the presently disclosed token may have a smaller form factor , a lower cost price and an increased reliability compared to conventional tokens . fig1 shows an illustrative embodiment of a transaction execution system . the transaction execution system 100 comprises a security token 102 , a mobile phone 110 and a host device 112 . the security token 102 may comprise a secure element 104 , an nfc antenna 106 for connecting the token 102 to the mobile phone 110 , and a usb connector 108 for connecting the token 102 to the host device 112 . the secure element may be implemented as an embedded chip , more specifically as a tamper - resistant integrated circuit with ( pre -) installed smart - card - grade applications , for instance payment applications , which have a prescribed functionality and a prescribed level of security . for example , the secure element may be an integrated circuit of the so - called smartmx ™ or smartmx2 ™ series of ics produced by nxp semiconductors . in operation , the token 102 receives transaction verification input from the mobile phone 110 through the nfc antenna 106 . the mobile phone 110 may have captured said transaction verification input via a rich ui . since the mobile phone 110 may be equipped with a relatively sophisticated user interface , biometric features may also be captured and provided as transaction verification input to the token 102 . the token 102 processes the transaction verification input and generates a corresponding transaction verification result . in accordance with the present disclosure , the secure element 104 may be arranged to facilitate processing of the transaction verification input , for example by keeping a reference value with which the transaction verification input may be compared in order to generate a corresponding transaction verification result . subsequently , the token 102 sends the transaction verification result to the host device 112 through the usb connector 108 . a usb connection provides a convenient communication channel . alternatively , the token 102 may be connected to the host device 112 by means of other communication technologies , such as wi - fi ® and bluetooth ®. fig2 shows an illustrative embodiment of a transaction execution method . the transaction execution method 200 comprises the following steps . an authentication process may be executed s 1 between a hardware token ( i . e . the security token ) and a device connected to a cloud service ( i . e . the host device ), thereby further increasing the security . this authentication process is preferably a mutual authentication process . for example , in this authentication process cryptographic keys ( session keys ) may be generated that may be used to authenticate and / or encrypt data to be exchanged with the security token . furthermore , for example after a positive authentication result , the host device may send s 2 an authenticated and / or encrypted transaction signing request to the security token . furthermore , the security token may verify and / or decrypt the request and initiate s 3 a transaction data processing function . furthermore , an authentication process may be executed s 4 between the security token and the mobile phone , thereby further increasing the security . again , this authentication process is preferably a mutual authentication process . for example , in this authentication process cryptographic keys ( session keys ) may be generated that may be used to authenticate and / or encrypt data to be exchanged with the mobile phone . furthermore , for example after a positive authentication result , the security token may send s 5 an authenticated and / or encrypted verification request to the mobile phone . furthermore , the mobile phone may decrypt the request and perform a user verification function s 6 , which comprises capturing the transaction verification input through a user interface of the mobile phone . for example , transaction data ( e . g . the bank account number , total transaction sum ) may be displayed to the user with a request to approve this by pressing a button on the phone &# 39 ; s screen . furthermore , the mobile phone may send s 7 a captured transaction verification input to the security token . the transaction verification input may be transmitted in authenticated and / or encrypted form . for example , the transaction verification input may be authenticated ( via a mac or digital signature ) and / or encrypted with the session keys generated in step s 4 . furthermore , the security token may verify the authenticated transaction verification input ( e . g . by verifying said mac or digital signature ) and / or decrypt the transaction verification input . furthermore , it may verify whether the input is valid by comparing it to a reference value stored in its secure element , for example , in order to generate s 8 a corresponding transaction verification result . the input may , for example , be verified by means of an algorithm that takes into account a characteristic of the phone with which the token is paired . that is to say , the phone may already have been paired with the token in a pairing step ( not shown ), such that the token will only respond to a single phone ( paired one ). the verification may then also involve verification against data obtained during said pairing and stored in the token &# 39 ; s secure element . as an example , the phone &# 39 ; s unique identifier — i . e . the international mobile equipment identity ( imei )— may be used for this purpose . the verification may involve a verification of a combined value , for instance the imei combined with user input ( e . g . a pin ). the transaction verification result may for example take the form of a digital signature , which provides an efficient yet secure way to convey it to the host device . the digital signature may be appended to the transaction data received from the host device in step s 2 . next , the transaction data including the digital signature may be sent s 9 to the host device in order to confirm that the transaction may proceed . these signed transaction data may be sent to the host device in encrypted form , using the session keys generated in step s 1 , for example . the signature itself may be regarded as the actual confirmation that the verification succeeded . if the signature is correct , the transaction should be executed ; if the signature cannot be validated , the transaction must not be executed . in a typical implementation , the signature may be a digital signature over at least a part of the transaction data and the private key used to create the signature may be stored securely in the hardware token . the cloud service may validate the digital signature if it possesses the public key of the token . as an alternative to a digital signature , a message authentication code ( mac ) may be used for conveying a positive verification result to the host device . a mac is the equivalent of a digital signature in symmetric cryptographic systems . alternatively or in addition , the transaction verification result comprises a response to a cryptographic challenge provided by the host device . in that case , the token may use the transaction verification input for generating said response . this may be implemented as follows . the hardware token may — if the user confirms the transaction via the mobile phone , perform a cryptographic operation on the challenge sent by the cloud service ( using a key stored in the token ) and send the result back to the cloud service . the cryptographic operation may comprise the calculation of a digital signature or a mac , created over the challenge , which may optionally be augmented or extended with at least a part of the transaction data and / or at least a part of the user input received from the phone . a transaction execution method of the kind set forth may , for example , be applied in the following practical scenario . in this practical , illustrative scenario , the device connected to the cloud service may be a personal computer ( pc ) and the cloud service may be a banking website running on a server owned by a bank . the security token may , for example , be an e - reader device with an embedded banking card , e . g . a secure element that emulates a banking card . the security token may be connected to the pc via usb . in this scenario , the user prepares a money transfer from one bank account to another via the bank &# 39 ; s website . to confirm the transaction , the website sends a transaction signing request to the pc &# 39 ; s web browser which redirects it to the security token . this signing request may contain some information on the money transfer ( bank account , how much money to transfer etc .). the security token forwards a part of the request to the phone . the phone then asks the user to confirm the transaction . for this purpose , it may for example display information on the actual transfer ( bank account , how much money to transfer etc .) and ask the user to verify this information . the user may confirm by simply pressing a button or by entering for example a password or pin code . the user confirmation may then be sent to the security token , which verifies the user confirmation ( e . g . pin ) and if the verification has a positive result , it will cryptographically sign the transaction and send the result to the cloud service ( banking website ). it will be appreciated that the mobile phone may comprise a secure element as well ; this secure element may be used to execute a part of the authentication processes , in collaboration with the secure element of the token . furthermore , cryptographic keys and other sensitive data that should be available to the mobile phone for performing the above - described functions may be stored securely in the secure element of the mobile phone . it is noted that the drawings are schematic . in different drawings , similar or identical elements are provided with the same reference signs . furthermore , it is noted that in an effort to provide a concise description of the illustrative embodiments , implementation details which fall into the customary practice of the skilled person may not have been described . it should be appreciated that in the development of any such implementation , as in any engineering or design project , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developers &# 39 ; specific goals , such as compliance with system - related and business - related constraints , which may vary from one implementation to another . moreover , it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming , but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design , fabrication , and manufacture for those of ordinary skill . finally , it is noted that the skilled person will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims . in the claims , any reference sign placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim . the word “ comprise ( s )” or “ comprising ” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim . the word “ a ” or “ an ” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements . measures recited in the claims may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements and / or by means of a suitably programmed processor . in a device claim enumerating several means , several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware . the mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage .	6
while the present invention may be embodied in many different forms , the illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and that such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and / or illustrated herein . fig1 shows a protective cabinet 20 with an angled deflection bracket 10 located below openings 2 . angled deflection bracket 10 has a first surface 10 a which is designed to catch any debris falling into the protective cabinet 20 , and prevent it from reaching the circuitry or critical components within protective cabinet 20 . for example , when openings 2 are created by punching or cutting holes through the top surface of protective cabinet 20 , in order to install connection cables to the equipment located in protective cabinet 20 for example , debris can fall into protective cabinet 20 during this procedure . further , during the installation of cables through the knocked out openings , the cable and its shielding can rub against the top surface of protective cabinet 20 , creating further debris . these pieces of debris , such as small metallic shavings , can disrupt or even short - circuit any circuitry located in protective cabinet 20 . in order to prevent any debris from falling into protective cabinet 20 , angled deflection bracket 10 can be installed below the openings 2 . angled deflection bracket 10 acts as a physical barrier to catch and prevent any debris from falling into the lower part 6 of protective cabinet 20 . angled deflection bracket 10 can be installed in the upper part 4 of protective cabinet 20 , or lower part 6 . angled deflection bracket 10 can be installed at an angle so that when debris impacts first surface 10 a , it slides down the surface . the contact friction force of the debris particles and the first surface 10 a is less than the gravitational force exerted on the particle or debris . thus , the particles slide down first surface 10 a . the first surface 10 a is designed to facilitate the movement of debris particles downward and into debris collection portion 10 d . debris collection portion 10 d is formed where a second surface 10 b joins first surface 10 a . second surface 10 b acts as a stop for any debris sliding down first surface 10 a . second surface 10 b may be aligned vertically with respect to the front of protective cabinet 20 , or at any angle which stops debris from continuing to slide down angled deflection bracket 10 . third surface 10 c , is located at the back of angled deflection bracket 10 and can attach to the back of protective cabinet 20 . third surface 10 c can be vertical in order to be aligned with the outside surface of protective cabinet 20 . angled deflection bracket 10 can be mounted at an angle such that when debris impacts it , the debris slides down the first surface 10 a and comes to rest at collection portion 10 d . angle 12 , as shown in fig1 , is the angle at which the angled deflection bracket is positioned with respective to a horizontal plane in the protective cabinet 20 . angle 12 can be any angle which promotes the debris sliding to the collection area 10 d of the angled deflection bracket 10 . for example , angle 12 can be between 5 ° and 75 °. more preferably , angle 12 can be between 10 ° and 55 °. more preferably , angle 12 can be between 15 ° and 35 °. more preferably , angle 12 can be between 20 ° and 30 °. more preferably , angle 12 can be 25 °. angled deflection bracket 10 can be made from any rigid material , particularly metal or plastic . preferably , angled deflection bracket 10 can be made from lexan ®, or any other suitable polycarbonate polymer . further , protective cabinet 20 can be made from any rigid material including plastic or metal . angled deflection bracket 10 can be positioned within protective cabinet 20 in a variety of ways . for example , angled deflection bracket 10 could be positioned using screws or bolts to fasten it to protective cabinet 20 . further , angled deflection bracket 10 could also be held in place with pegs or notches . still further , angled deflection bracket 10 could also be positioned with glue , epoxy or welding , or any other way known to those of skill in the art . angled deflection bracket 10 can be installed within the protective cabinet 20 , in the upper part 4 or lower part 6 , before openings 2 are created . once protective cabinet 20 is positioned in the appropriate location , ( i . e . where a ups or other device can be connected to incoming ac power , battery power , etc .) openings 2 can be created , allowing the installation of cables through the openings created by the knocked out plates in protective cabinet 20 . openings 2 are usually not created up until this point in order to keep the inside of protective cabinet 20 as clean and contaminate free as possible . when openings 2 are created and cables are installed to the protective cabinet 20 , this can lead to debris falling into the lower part 6 of protective cabinet 20 , potentially causing damage to any sensitive components located within . however , with the installation of angled deflection bracket 10 in the upper part 4 of protective cabinet 20 , debris can be collected at the collection portion 10 d of angled deflection bracket 10 . debris can be physically removed , for example with a vacuum device or by hand . once the debris is removed from collection portion 10 , angled deflection bracket 10 may be left in the protective cabinet 20 , or may itself be removed from protective cabinet 20 if desired . fig2 a shows a plan view of angled deflection bracket 10 . first surface 10 a is shown . fig2 b shows an elevation view of angled deflection bracket 10 , with second surface 10 b located at the top of the figure . fig2 c shows a perspective view of angled deflection bracket 10 . as shown in fig2 c , first surface 10 a is connected to second surface 10 b and third surface 10 c . fig2 d shows a side view of angled deflection bracket 10 . as shown in fig2 d , first surface 10 a is connected to second surface 10 b and third surface 10 c . collection portion 10 d is shown where first surface 10 a and second surface 10 b meet . angle 12 is shown adjacent to collection portion 10 d . as shown in fig2 d , second surface 10 b and third surface 10 c are parallel to each , in this embodiment . this is so that the second surface 10 b and third surface 10 c line up and are parallel with the outside of protective cabinet 20 . however , these surfaces do not have to be parallel with each other or with protective cabinet 20 . angled deflection bracket 10 can have any dimensions which allow the bracket to fit within protective cabinet 20 . fig3 shows a protective cabinet 20 which houses an uninterruptible power supply 1 . angled deflection bracket 10 is positioned in upper part 4 of protective cabinet 20 . ( see also , fig1 .) openings 2 are also shown . further , fig3 also shows knockout plate 5 . knockout plate 5 can be removed and openings 2 can be cut into knockout plate 5 . as indicated earlier , angled deflection bracket 10 catches any debris , falling through openings 2 . the caught falling debris then slides down first surface 10 a and comes to rest at debris collection portion 10 d ( as shown in fig1 ), located at the front of protective cabinet 20 . the collected debris can then easily be removed by a user without having to reach into the protective cabinet 20 . furthermore , angled deflection bracket 10 can be removed if desired , once the fallen debris has been collected , or can remain in the protective cabinet 20 to catch any additional debris which might fall into the unit . fig4 a shows an embodiment of the protective cabinet 20 with an opening 2 for a fan exhaust and a knockout plate 5 . the knockout plate 5 can be removed in order to make it easier to punch out openings 2 . as shown in fib . 4 b , openings 2 have been created in knockout plate 5 . while illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein , the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein , but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements , modifications , omissions , combinations ( e . g ., of aspects across various embodiments ), adaptations and / or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure . the limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application , which examples are to be construed as non - exclusive . for example , in the present disclosure , the term “ preferably ” is non - exclusive and means “ preferably , but not limited to .” in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , means - plus - function or step - plus - function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation : a ) “ means for ” or “ step for ” is expressly recited ; b ) a corresponding function is expressly recited ; and c ) structure , material or acts that support that structure are not recited . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ present invention ” or “ invention ” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure . the language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality , should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments ( i . e ., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments ), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ embodiment ” can be used to describe any aspect , feature , process or step , any combination thereof , and / or any portion thereof , etc . in some examples , various embodiments may include overlapping features . in this disclosure , the following abbreviated terminology may be employed : “ e . g .” which means “ for example .”	7
a portion of a memory structure , such as an on - chip sram or cache , is shown in fig3 where for simplicity one memory cell 302 and one word line 304 are explicitly illustrated . also shown in fig3 is driver 306 for driving word line 304 . access nmosfets 308 are high - v t ( high threshold voltage ) nmosfets . that is , the threshold voltage for access nmosfets 308 is higher than the threshold voltage of other , lower threshold voltage transistors in the memory circuit , such as transistors in memory cell 302 , and lower than the supply voltage v cc . in some embodiments , the threshold voltage for access nmosfets 308 may be 80 mv to 300 mv higher than the other , lower threshold voltage transistors . or , the threshold voltage for nmosfets 308 may be such that its leakage current is substantially less , e . g ., ten to one hundred times less , than leakage current in other , lower threshold voltage transistors , such as transistors in memory cell 302 . it is found that using high - v t access nmosfets reduces sub - threshold leakage current . however , high - v t nmosfets have lower gain than nmosfets with lower threshold voltages . it has generally been believed that scaling up various device features to compensate for lower gain devices would not help to increase the overall circuit performance . however , the authors of these letters patent have found that the topology of memory structures is such that high threshold voltage nmosfets may be scaled larger in order to achieve higher performance , and the scaling up of pass or access nmosfets does not necessarily affect the performance of read operations . scaling up the pass or access nmosfets increases their gate capacitance , which may be compensated for by increasing the size of the drivers that drive their gates . for example , in the embodiment of fig3 driver 306 is sized larger for high - v t nmosfets 308 . another embodiment utilizing high - v t nmosfets and larger sized drivers for an on - chip register file is shown in fig4 where for simplicity only one memory cell 402 and one word line 404 are explicitly illustrated . also shown in fig4 is driver 406 for driving word line 404 . pass nmosfet 408 is a high - v t nmosfet , and is sized larger to achieve the desired performance . again , similar to the description of the embodiment of fig3 pass nmosfet 408 is a high threshold voltage transistor in the sense that its threshold voltage is higher ( e . g ., 80 mv to 300 mv ) than the threshold voltage of other , lower threshold voltage transistors , such as transistors in memory cell 402 , or is such that its leakage current is substantially less , e . g ., ten to one hundred times less , than the leakage current through other , lower threshold voltage transistors , such as transistors in memory cell 402 . driver 406 is sized larger in order to compensate for the increased gate capacitance of pass nmosfet 408 . for other embodiments , a negative voltage with respect to ground ( substrate ) is applied to the gate terminals of access or pass nmosfets not performing a read operation . the application of a negative voltage in this manner may significantly reduce leakage current . for example , in fig5 voltage generator provides a negative voltage to the gates of access nmosfets 504 when cell 506 is not being read . voltage generator may be coupled to a memory controller , not shown , or to driver 508 so as to provide a negative voltage when cell 506 is not being read , and to provide an open circuit ( very high impedance ) to word line 510 when a read operation is being performed . voltage generator 502 may be combined with driver 508 into a single functional unit . the voltage transition of word line 510 when transitioning from a read operation to a no - read operation is illustrated in fig6 . when in a read operation , the voltage of word line 510 is at v cc , whereas when transitioning from a read operation to a no - read operation , the voltage transitions from v cc to negative voltage v nx , as illustrated in fig6 . it should be appreciated that fig6 is for illustrative purposes only , and the actual shape of the voltage curve may be different . the use of a negative gate voltage during a no - read operation may lead to higher electric fields over the gate oxide of an access or pass nmosfet than for the case in which a ground potential is applied to the gate terminals . to help mitigate possible reliability issues due to these higher electric fields , some embodiments may employ thicker gate oxides for the pass or access nmosfets than that used for other nmosfets or processes . another embodiment employing negative gate voltages for a cell in an on - chip register file is shown in fig7 where voltage generator 702 provides a negative voltage to the gate of pass nmosfet 704 during a non - read operation . for other embodiments , use is made of the observation that leakage current through two equally sized nmosfets in a stack configuration is significantly less than leakage current through only one nmosfet not in a stack configuration . two embodiments making use of this stack effect are shown in fig8 and 9 . in fig8 one cell of an on - chip sram or cache is shown . access nmosfets 802 and 804 are in a stack configuration , connected together serially with the source of one nmosfet connected to the drain of the other nmosfet . ( which particular terminal of a mosfet is the source or drain depends upon the direction of conduction current through the mosfet .) during a read operation , the stack comprising nmosfets 802 and 804 couple memory cell 806 to complementary bit - line 808 . similarly , nmosfets 810 and 812 are in a stack configuration , coupling memory cell 806 to bit - line 814 during a read operation . [ 0025 ] fig9 shows one memory cell of an on - chip register file . pass nmosfets 902 and 904 are in a stack configuration , so as to couple bit - line 906 to the drain of nmosfet 908 during a read operation . stacking nmosfets reduces their effective gain . this reduction may be mitigated by increasing the width - to - length ratio of the nmosfets . described herein are specific embodiments of the present invention . however , many other embodiments may be realized without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed below .	6
fig3 a shows a round bobbin 31 having tungsten wire 30 wound around it , or alternatively a square bobbin 33 having been wound with tungsten wire 30 . the wire 30 may be formed from any material or diameter , however it is believed that tungsten wire with a fixed diameter in the range 10 - 20 u is preferred for porous dispenser cathodes . tungsten wire in this diameter range is commonly available for use in electro - discharge machining ( edm ) and is also used as a source material for fabricating the filament of an incandescent light bulb . when wound about a square 34 or circular 31 bobbin , the cross section a - a of a bundle of such tungsten wires appears as shown in fig3 b . while the axial wire 30 tension from winding on the bobbin naturally causes a radial confining force , it may be desired to supplement this tensile force with external confining force 38 to enable uniform wire 30 packing during sintering . the porous cathode structure is formed from a plurality of sintered tungsten wires where straight pores of controlled size exist through the structure . the process for manufacturing the material begins with bundles of wires formed on the bobbins of fig3 a , which are shown in section a - a in fig3 b . the bundle of tungsten wires 30 are closely packed such that there are uniform gaps , or pores 36 around the periphery of each wire . the length of the wires can be arbitrary and chosen for compatibility with the manufacturing equipment or final application . fig3 c shows the intermediate state and fig3 d shows the final sintered cathode structure 40 , and after removal from the bobbin 31 or 34 of fig3 a , is shown formed in to the cylindrical porous cathode structure 50 of fig4 . the resulting sintered cathode structure 50 has a desired porosity based on the tungsten wire diameter as well as the sintering parameters of time and temperature . as shown in fig4 , the porous cathode structure 50 may then be cut into several porous cathodes 52 , since the pores of the structure run axially through the cathode structure 50 . since the porous cathode is structurally integral , it is possible to separate the individual cathodes 52 using means such as edm or mechanical cutting . the ease of separating these cathode disks 52 stands in contrast to prior art bulk cathodes sintered from particles of tungsten , where the prior art sintered particle cathode requires copper infusion into the pores to provide sufficient mechanical strength for any subsequent machining operations . the integral structure of sintered tungsten 50 provides internal mechanical strength to allow machining operations directly on the porous cathode structure 50 , and the resulting individual porous cathodes 52 may be machined to create an electron emission surface which is planar , concave , or any shape desired from the prior art of cathode emission surface profiles . fig5 a shows a dispenser cathode assembly 60 including a porous cathode 52 fabricated according to the present invention . the porous cathode 52 is cut from the cathode structure of fig4 , and is placed in dispenser cathode support 54 , which also has formed a cavity 56 for enclosing a work function reducing material ( not shown ), which may be any of the known work function reducing materials bao , cao , and al 2 o 3 , or any alternate material known to reduce the free electron work function for an electron emitting cathode 52 . fig5 b shows a section view of the cathode of fig5 a . porous cathode 52 has an electron emission surface 58 and a work function replenishment surface 60 . the dispenser cathode support 54 is placed adjacent to a heat source on surface 58 which heats the porous cathode 52 and causes migration of the bao , cao , and al 2 o 3 mixture in cavity 56 through cathode 52 pores 62 to the emitting surface 58 where electrons are emitted when an accelerating potential ( not shown ) is applied to the dispenser cathode assembly 60 . the uniform distribution of pores 62 provides uniform distribution of the impregnate over the emission surface 58 . the emission surface 58 may be planar or concave , or any shape known in the art of cathode emission surfaces . many variations of the invention may be practiced within the scope of the specification herein . for example , the porous cathode may be fabricated from alternate materials other than tungsten , and a heterogeneous mixture of wire diameters may be concurrently wound to produce a variety of pore spacings and patterns . any of the refractory metals used in cathode prior art may be formed into wires which can then be sintered into a cathode structure as described in the present invention . in the prior art of powdered sintered cathodes , the work function material was placed in the sintered matrix . in the present invention , the work function material may be coated on the wire prior to sintering , such that the work function material is loaded into the cathode after sintering , or as described in the drawings , the work function material may be placed in a cavity behind the electron emission surface of the porous cathode 52 , as shown in fig5 a and 5 b . fig7 a shows the porous surface 98 such as was formed as a porous disk 52 from the porous rod 54 of fig4 . the porous disk 52 of fig4 may further include the introduction of copper or a high conductivity material into the pores of the disk 52 , or the pores of the disk 52 may be filled with any material which provides thermal conductivity and optionally enhances bonding of the porous surface 98 to the anode substrate 92 in fig7 a . as described earlier , high energy electrons 94 impinge on the x - ray forming surface 98 to generate the x - ray pattern 96 . fig7 b shows the same porous disk 101 applied to a rotating anode substrate 108 coupled to shaft 102 , where the substrate 108 may be any thermally conductive material known in the prior art of x - ray anode substrates , including copper , graphite , stainless steel , nickel , cupronickel , or monel . the target surface 98 of fig7 a and target surface 101 of fig7 b show a sintered wire surface suitable for use as an x - ray target . the target surface 98 and 101 , respectively , comprise a plurality of sintered wires formed into a disk , or into any other shape which is suitable for use as a target according to the prior art . the sintered wire target may be substituted for prior art targets in any of the forms described in the prior art patents , or as used in the prior art , including targets which are stationary or rotating . the enhanced thermal conductivity of the porous target surface 98 and 101 increases thermal conductivity of the target , thereby providing an improved target surface . the sintered wires may be formed as described earlier , whereby the wires are held together with an axial pressure , and sintered until a suitable level of sintering occurs , as was described in fig3 a , 3 b , and 3 c , and forms the sintered rod shown in fig4 . the porous rod 54 can then be cut into porous discs 52 for use as targets , and the discs are then immersed into a pool of liquid copper , or copper may be introduced by heating the disc in the presence of copper liquid or in any gaseous or aqueous form , and the copper may be drawn into the pores of the sintered disc such as by capillary action . in this manner , a high thermal conductivity target may be fabricated . there are alternate methods for fabricating a sintered wire x - ray target surface using the process described , and these include changing the steps of the process or order of the steps , such that the introduction of the copper may be done prior to the cutting of the sintered wires into discs , or alternate materials other than tungsten and copper may be used for the target and thermal conductive wick , respectively . one possible process is shown in the steps of fig8 , whereby a first step of forming a sintered wire rod such as was shown in fig3 a and fig3 b through 3 d results in a porous sintered wire rod 54 of step 110 of fig8 . the following step 112 results in parting the porous sintered rod 54 into a plurality of individual porous disks 52 . these disks may be further shaped to fit the required profiles shown in fig7 a and 7 b , or any other target shape as required , and in step 114 a high thermal conductivity material is introduced into the pores of the disks 52 . the conductive disk is then bonded to the target in step 116 , resulting in the structures shown in fig7 a and 7 b . alternatively , the pores may be used to provide enhanced bonding of the target material to the substrate . the resulting sintered copper target may then be used in any of the prior art devices with increased thermal performance . other thermally conductive materials other than copper may be infused into the pores of the anode . graphite may be introduced into the pores by pyrolytic decomposition of a hydrocarbon gas using chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). the porous anode to be infused with graphite is placed in a vacuum chamber containing a partial pressure of a hydrocarbon gas such as ch4 ( methane ) in an oxygen - free environment . the porous sintered wire anode is heated to 1150 to 1250 degrees c ., and the gaseous methane , which has penetrated the porosity , is decomposed to hydrogen and a graphitic form of carbon which deposits in the pores and all over the material to be coated . this cvd process may therein be used to make any form of pyrolytic graphite , and other hydrocarbon gasses may be used in place of methane .	7
the epoxy component of the inventive composition is a monomeric , oligomeric or polymeric compound having two or more epoxy groups per molecule . mixtures of such compounds may also be utilized . suitable epoxy resins include those derived from epichlorohydrin and dihydric phenols , e . g ., resorcinol , hydroquinone , bisphenol a , p - p &# 39 ;- dihydroxydiphenylethane , - bis -( 2 - hydroxynaphthyl ) ethane , and 1 , 5 - dihydroxynaphthalene . the epoxy compound may also be a cycloaliphatic epoxy or an epoxidized novolak . suitable epoxy compounds are described in &# 34 ; handbook of epoxy resins &# 34 ; by lee and neville , mcgraw - hill book co ., new york ( 1967 ). a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a ( dgeba ) is preferred . in lieu of the above - described epoxy functional polymerizable monomers , or alternatively in association therewith , various epoxidized rubbers may be utilized in the potting compositions of the invention as the second resin component , such materials being well known in the art . a useful class of such epoxidized rubbers are epoxidized carboxy terminated butadiene acrylonitrile copolymers sold under the name of kelpoxy by spencer kellogg , and epoxidized polybutadiene , for example oxiron 2001 commerically available from fmc corporation . still other suitable rubber epoxy additives are the various polymers sold by b . f . goodrich company under the name hycar . the amine component is limited to polyoxyalkylene amines having two or more aliphatic amino groups per molecule . the polyether backbone is based preferably either on propylene oxide or ethylene oxide or mixtures of the two . such polyoxyalkylene amines are sold under the trademarks jeffamine ™ and terathane ™. wherein y is hydrogen , a methyl radical or an ethyl radical , z is a hydrocarbon radical of 2 - 5 carbon atoms , n is at least one and r is a number greater than or equal to 2 . especially preferred are polyoxyalkylene polyamines having the general structure : ## str3 ## wherein x + y + z are numbers having a total such that the molecular weight of said polyoxyalkylene polyamine is about 400 or more and r &# 34 ; is h or alkyl . wherein w is a finite number such that the molecular weight of said polyoxyalkylene polyamine is from about 200 to about 300 , or of the general structure : ## str4 ## wherein x + y + z are finite numbers having a total such that the molecular weight of said polyoxyalkylene polyamine is about 400 . preferred high molecular weight polyoxyalkylene polyamines are structures with more than two branches having a molecular weight of 5000 or more . the amine hardener is used in a stoichiometric equivalent to the epoxy resin . suitable olefinic imide adhesion promoters include maleimides and norbornene functionalized imides . such imides are represented by the formulas : ## str5 ## wherein r and r &# 39 ; are respectively monovalent and divalent organic groups . r and r &# 39 ; may be aliphatic or divalent organic groups aromatic heterocyclic radicals optionally substituted with alkoxy , cyano or other organic groups , or groups consisting of several said radicals . further r & amp ; r &# 39 ; may include non - carbon substituents such as halogens . the r or r &# 39 ; group suitably contains less than 200 carbon atoms , more suitably less than 50 carbon atoms . generally it is preferred that the imide compound be a bismaleimide and that r &# 39 ; be a c 2 - c 20 hydrocarbon group . certain of the preferred dimaleimides are shown in the working examples . in addition , specific attention is directed to compounds such as n , n &# 39 ;- ethylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- hexamethylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- decamethylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- dodecamethylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- oxydipropylenedimaleimide , ethylenedioxy bis ( n - propylmaleimide ), n , n &# 39 ;- metaphenylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- paraphenylenedimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- oxy ( diparaphenylene ) dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- methylene ( diaparaphenylene ) dimaleimide . n , n &# 39 ;- ethylene ( diparaphenylene ) dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- sulfo ( diparaphenylene ) dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- metaphenylene - bis ( paraoxyphenylene ) dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- methylene ( di - 1 , 4 - cyclohexylene ) dimaleimide . n , n &# 39 ;- isopropylidene ( di - 1 , 4 - cyclohexene ) dimaleimide , 2 , 5 - oxadiazolylenedimaleimide , n , n - paraphenylene ( dimethylene ) dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- 2 - methylparatolulene dimaleimide , n , n &# 39 ;- hexamethylenedicitraconimide . n , n &# 39 ;- thio ( diphenylene ) dicitraconimide . n , n &# 39 ;- methylene ( diparaphenylene )- bis ( chloromaleimide ) and n , n &# 39 ;- hexamethylene - bis ( cyanomethylmaleimide ). preferred bismaleimides include 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bismaleimidodiphenylmethane ( from ciba geigy ), 1 , 4 - pyrrole - 2 , 5 - dione - 1 , 1 -( methylenedi - 1 , 4 - phenylene ) bispolymer with methylene bis ( benzamine ) ( keramide 1050 from rhone poulonc ), and 1 , 1 -( methylenedi - 4 , 1 - phenylene ) bismaleimide ( from reichold chemicals ). norbornene functionalized imides are described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 099 , 676 , filed sept . 21 , 1987 , and incorporated herein by reference . the imide component is generally used at a level of 0 . 1 to 10 % with 1 to 5 percent being the preferred levels . as a further embodiment of the invention the formulation may include a photocurable ethylenically unsaturated compound and a photoinitiator in an amount effective to cause the composition to become immobilized upon irradiation with actinic light . suitable unsaturated compounds include ( meth ) acrylate compounds , vinyl monomers and unsaturated polyesters solubilized in vinyl resins . ( meth ) acrylic esters are preferred . as used here in the term &# 34 ;( meth ) acrylic &# 34 ; is intended to be broadly construed to include acrylic as well as methacrylic compounds , e . g ., acrylic esters and methacrylic esters . useful acrylic resins include esters and amides of ( meth ) acrylic acid as well as co - monomers thereof with other co - polymerizable monomers . illustrative esters include methyl acrylate , methyl methacrylate , hydroxy ethyl acrylate , butyl methacrylate , octyl acrylate , and 2 - ethoxyethyl acrylate . illustrative amides include butoxymethyl acrylamide , methacrylamide , and tert - buty acrylamide . also suitable are copolymers of such compounds , and copolymers with other monomers containing polymerizable vinyl groups . polyacrylates are generally useful , including 1 , 3 - butylene glycol diacrylate , diethylene glycol diacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol diacrylate , neopentyl glycol diacrylate , polyethylene glycol diacrylate , tetraethylene glycol diacrylate , triethylene glycol diacrylate , pentaerythritol tetraacrylate , tripropylene glycol diacrylate , ethoxylated bisphenol - a - diacrylate , trimethylolpropane dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate , pentaerythritol triacrylate , and the corresponding methacrylate compounds . also useful are reaction products of ( meth ) acrylic acid and epoxide resins and urethane acrylic resins . suitable poly ( meth ) acrylate ester compounds are also described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 051 , 195 ; 2 , 895 , 950 ; 3 , 218 , 305 ; and 3 , 425 , 988 . it will be understood that the foregoing listing of ( meth ) acrylic compounds is intended only to be illustrative in character , and that any other resin compounds having ( meth ) acrylic functionality in their molecules and curable under actinic radiation conditions may be potentially employed . among the foregoing compounds , ( meth ) acrylic acid esters are preferred , with the most preferred compounds being ( meth ) acrylic acid esters of polyhydric alcohols , such as ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate and dipentaerythritol monohydroxy pentaacrylate . another class of resins which are actinic radiation curable and suitable for use in the compositions in the invention include vinyl monomers such as styrene , vinyl toluene , vinyl pyrrolidone , vinyl acetate , divinyl benzene , and the like . a further class of actinic radiation curable materials comprises unsaturated polyesters , solubilized in vinyl monomers , as ordinarily prepared from alpha - beta ethylenically unsaturated polycarboxylic acids and polyhydric alcohols . such polyesters are described for example in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 025 , 407 . as used herein , &# 34 ; actinic radiation &# 34 ; means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 700 nm or less which is capable , directly or indirectly , of curing the specified resin component of the potting composition . by indirect curing in this context is meant curing under such electromagnetic radiation conditions as initiated , promoted or otherwise mediated by another compound . suitable photoinitiators useful with ultraviolet ( uv ) actinic radiation curing of ( meth ) acrylic and vinyl monomers include free radical generating uv initiators such as benzophenone , diethoxy - acetophenone , benzoin methyl ether , benzoin ethyl ether , benzoin isopropyl ether , diethoxyxanthone , chlorothioxanthone , azo - bis - isobutyronitrile , n - methyl diethanolaminebenzophenone , and mixtures thereof . in addition , the combination of a hydroperoxide , such as cumene hydroperoxide , with a η 6 , η 5 - arene complex as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 918 , 005 of woods et al ., filed oct . 14 , 1986 , now abandoned incorporated herein by reference , is suitable and in fact preferred as the photoinitiator . such combinations are useful with both uv and visible irradiation . infrared initiators also include cumeme hydroperoxide benzoyl peroxide , azobisisobutyronitrile , and like azo and peroxide compounds . the amount of the photoinitiator required for a given composition may be readily determined by the expedient of simple experiment , without undue effort . in general , however , in the case of ( meth ) acrylic and vinyl first resin components , amounts of photoinitiator on the order of about 0 . 1 - 10 percent by weight , and preferably about 0 . 5 - 5 percent by weight , based on the weight of the total resin , have been found satisfactory . the amount of the unsaturated component may constitute 50 % of the weight of the total composition . preferably the level of the first resin component is between 0 . 1 and 20 % based on the weight of the total composition , and more preferably between 5 and 15 %. it is particularily suprising that the advantages of the invention are still obtained when ( meth ) acrylic or other vinyl resins capable of michael addition to the amine component are employed in the inventive epoxy compositions . the competing reactions for amine between epoxy and imide are further complicated by the addition of the reactive acrylic or similar groups . while an increase in thermal decomposition resistance might be expected , it would also be expected that addition of the imide would cause an increase in the rigidity of the cured formulation with a consequent decrease in thermal shock resistance . use of an acrylic resin would be expected to make this problem worse . instead , addition of the imide dramatically decreases the modulus and increases elongation at break . apparently the imide reduces rather than increases the crosslink density of the cured product . the advantages of the invention are further illustrated with respect to the following non - limiting examples , wherein all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise expressly stated and all references to valox ™ pertain to valox ™ 420 seo , a filled polybutylene terephthalate containing a minor amount of polycarbonate . this example illustrates the advantages of the invention over comparable compositions which do not include the imide component . the adhesive compositions of table i were prepared and the respective parts mixed and applied to lap shear specimens ( as per astm d1002 ). cure of the compositions was effected at 250 ° f . for 15 minutes . tensile shear strengths were obtained on samples aged at room temperature and on samples thermally shocked by subjecting them to 10 cycles of - 55 ° to 125 ° c . the results are set forth in table i . table i______________________________________composition 1 2______________________________________part adiglycidyl ether bisphenol a 80 . 0 80 . 0 ( dow quatrex 1010 ) part bpolyoxypropylenamine 25 . 0 20 . 0 ( texaco jeffamine d230 ) keramide 1050 0 . 0 5 . 0 ( rhone poulonc ) mix ratio ( a / b ) 80 / 25 80 / 25______________________________________tensile shear strength ( psi ) astm d1002 compositionsubstrate 1 2______________________________________valox ™ to aluminumroom temp aged 855 1486thermal shocked 0 798 ( 10 cycles - 55 ° to 125 ° c .) ______________________________________ in this example , the formulations in table ii were prepared and used as potting compositions for variable resistance type potentiometers . the potentiometer was a model 3006 industrial cermet trimpot potentiometer commerically available from bourns , inc . ( riverside , ca ), and had a housing of valox polybutylene terephthalate . part a and b for compositions 3 and 4 , table ii were mixed by extrusion through static mixing elements . potentiometers were potted with both mixed compositions and the potting compositions cured under 5 seconds irradiation at 100 , 00 microwatts per square centimeter , 360 nanometers wavelength , followed by oven curing at 250 ° f . for 15 minutes . microscopic examination x30 of components potted with either composition revealed no evidence of delamination of the potting materials from the component housing . thermal shocking of the components was carried out , 10 cycles of - 55 ° to 125 ° c . subsequently on reexamination of the components , delamination was evident in those components potted with composition 3 , whereas no delamination was evident for components potted with composition 4 . this example illustrates how incorporation of the bismaleimide confers improved thermal cycle resistance to the potting composition . the improved thermal cycle resistance is believed to be due to the suprisingly lower modulus of composition 4 . table ii______________________________________composition 3 4______________________________________part adiglycidyl ether bisphenol a 75 . 3 75 . 3 ( dow quatrex 1010 ) dipentaerythritol monohydroxy 21 . 2 21 . 2pentaacrylate ( sartomer ssr399 ) 1 - benzoyl cyclohexanol 3 . 0 3 . 04 . 4 &# 39 ;- bismaleimidodiphenylmethane 0 . 0 10 . 0 ( matrimide 5292 , ciba geigy ) organic air release agent 0 . 5 0 . 5 ( byk asol byk malinkrodt ) part bpolyoxypropylenamine 23 . 8 23 . 8 ( texaco jeffamine d230 ) aluminum oxide 66 . 2 66 . 2silicon dioxide 2 . 0 2 . 0c14 aliphatic diacrylate 8 . 0 8 . 0 ( sartomer chemlink c2000 ) mix ratio ( a / b ) 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1mechanical and electrical propertiestensile strength 2582 642modulus 205 , 07 1859 % elongation at 9 . 4 38 . 4breakhardness shore d 83 47surface resistivity ( ohms ) 6 × 10 . sup . 14 1 . 9 × 10 . sup . 14volume resistivity ( ohm - cm ) 6 × 10 . sup . 14 8 . 3 × 10 . sup . 13______________________________________ the adhesive compositions of table iii were prepared and respective parts a and b mixed and applied to lap shear specimens ( as per astm d1002 ). adhesive lap shear bonds were prepared and cure of the compositions was effected by heat curing at 250 ° f . for 10 minutes . it can be seen from the results in table iii that composition 6 of table iii offers improved thermal cycle resistance over composition 5 of table iii , and that composition 7 of table iii offers further improved thermal cycle resistance over composition 5 and , in addition , improved adhesion on unaged samples over composition 5 of table iii . this illustrates the improved thermal shock resistance resulting from the use of maleimides on differential substrate bonding . the improvement is more pronounced with a bismaleimide over the simple n - phenylmaleimide . compositions 6 and 7 thus offer advantages over composition 5 in potting or bonding on differential substrates . table iii______________________________________composition 5 6 7______________________________________part adiglycidyl ether bisphenol a 75 . 3 75 . 3 75 . 3 ( dow quatrex 1010 ) dipentaerythritol monohydroxy 21 . 2 21 . 2 21 . 2pentaacrylate ( sartomer ssr399 ) 1 - benzoyl cyclohexanol 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0keramide 1050 0 . 0 0 . 0 10 . 0 ( rhone poulonc ) p )- phenyl maleimide ( imilex ™ 0 . 0 10 . 0 0 . 0organic air release agent 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 ( byk asol byk malinkrodt ) part bpolyoxypropyleneamine 23 . 8 23 . 8 23 . 8 ( texaco jeffamine d230 ) aluminum oxide 66 . 2 66 . 2 66 . 2silicon dioxide 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0c14 aliphatic diacrylate 8 . 0 8 . 0 8 . 0 ( sartomer chemlink c2000 ) mix ratio ( a / b ) 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1______________________________________tensile shear strengths ( psi ) astm d1002 compositionsubstrate 5 6 7______________________________________valox ™ to aluminumroom temperature aged 594 521 737thermal shocked 0 115 54010 cycles - 55 ° to 125 ° c . ______________________________________ the adhesive compositions of table iv were prepared and respective parts a and b mixed , and the mixtures applied to lap shear specimens as per astm d1002 . adhesive lap shear bonds were prepared and cure of the compositions effected by heat curing at 250 ° f . for 15 minutes . it can be seen from the results in table iv that composition 9 of table iv offers equivalent or better adhesive performance on all the substrates tested , and offers significantly improved thermal shock resistance over composition 8 . this example illustrates the effectiveness of imides with suitable terminal unsaturation other than maleimides . composition 10 , however , offered no improvement and these results illustrate that a nonfunctional polyimide is not effective in the invention . table iv______________________________________composition 8 9 10______________________________________part adiglycidyl ether bisphenol a 5 . 3 75 . 3 75 . 3 ( dow quatrex 1010 ) dipentaerythritol monohydroxy 21 . 2 21 . 2 21 . 2pentaacrylate ( sartomer ssr399 ) 1 - benzoyl cyclohexanol 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0bis - methylnadimide of 1 , 3 - 0 . 0 10 . 0 0 . 0phenylene diaminenonfunctional imide 0 . 0 0 . 0 10 . 0 ( matrimide 5218 , ciba geigy ) organic air release agent 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 ( byk asol byk malinkrodt ) part bpolyoxypropylenamine 23 . 8 23 . 8 23 . 8 ( texaco jeffamine d230 ) aluminum oxide 66 . 2 66 . 2 66 . 2silicon dioxide 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0c14 aliphatic diacrylate 8 . 0 8 . 0 8 . 0 ( sartomer chemlink c2000 ) mix ratio ( a / b ) 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1______________________________________tensile shear strengths ( psi ) astm d1002 compositionsubstrate 8 9 10______________________________________valox ™ to aluminumroom temperature aged 594 628 191thermal shocked 0 284 010 cycles - 55 °- 125 ° c . ryton ™ to glass 176 189 296ryton ™ to aluminium 323 325 364valox ™ to glass 771 846 681______________________________________ the adhesive compositions of table v were prepared , equal weights of respective parts a and b mixed , and the mixtures applied to lap shear specimens as per astm d1002 . cure of the compositions effected by heat curing at 250 ° f . for 10 minutes . it can be seen from the results in table v that the use of the maleimide had no beneficial effect when used with an anhydride cured epoxy composition confirming the need for an amine hardner for the epoxy resin . table v______________________________________composition 11 12______________________________________part acryacure 6110 ( union carbide ) 29 . 4 29 . 9cycloaliphatic bis - epoxidecryacure 6351 ( union carbide ) 48 . 7 46 . 3cycloaliphatic bis - epoxidedipentaerythritol monohydroxy 18 . 5 17 . 6pentaacrylate ( sartomer ssr399 ) diethoxyacetophenone 2 . 9 2 . 8keramide 1050 ( rhone poulonc ) 0 . 0 5 . 0organic air release agent 0 . 5 0 . 5 ( byk asol byk malinkrodt ) part bacdp - 1 anhydride blend 80 . 0 76 . 0 ( anhydrides and chemicals ) dipentaerythritol monohydroxy - 20 . 0 19 . 0pentaacrylatekeramide 1050 ( rhone poulonc ) 0 . 0 5 . 0mix ratio ( a / b ) 1 / 1 1 / 1______________________________________tensile shear strength ( psi ) astm d1002 compositionsubstrate 11 12______________________________________valox ™ to glass 88 66valox ™ to aluminumroom temp aged 75 136thermally shocked 0 010 cycles - 55 ° to 125 ° c . ______________________________________ the adhesive compositions of table vi were prepared , mixed , applied to lap shear specimens and cured as in examples 3 - 5 . it can be seen from the results in table vi that the substitution of an aromatic amine for the polyoxyalkylene amine produces a cured composition with no significant beneficial effect on thermal shock resistance . table vi______________________________________composition 13 14______________________________________part adiglycidyl ether bisphenol a 75 . 3 75 . 3 ( dow quatrex 1010 ) dipentaerythritol monohydroxy 21 . 2 21 . 2pentaacrylate ( sartomer ssr399 ) 1 - benzoyl cyclohexanol 3 . 0 3 . 0keramide 1050 10 . 0 10 . 0 ( rhone poulonc ) organic air release agent 0 . 5 0 . 5 ( byk asol 50l , malinkrodt ) part bpolyoxypropylenamine 23 . 8 0 ( texaco jeffamine d230 ) 0 23 . 8aromatic amine 66 . 2 66 . 2 ( ciba geigy xuhy 350 ) aluminum oxidesilicon dioxide 2 . 0 2 . 0c14 aliphatic diacrylate 8 . 0 8 . 0 ( sartomer chemlink c2000 ) mix ratio ( a / b ) 1 . 1 / 1 1 . 1 / 1______________________________________tensile shear strength ( psi ) astm d1002substratevalox ™ to aluminumroom temp aged 737 534thermal shocked 540 8310 cycles - 55 °- 125 ° c . ______________________________________ on mixing equal parts of parts a and b below , a mixture is produced which , when applied to potentiometer assemblies ( i . e . mepco electra ) and cured according to the cure schedule below , gives a seal which can withstand extensive thermal shock of - 60 ° c . to 150 ° c . without showing any delamination from the valox housing or any cracking within the sealant material . ______________________________________part adiglycydylether of bisphenol a 34 . 78 % epi - rex 5048 ( aliphatic triglycidyl 34 . 78ether ) 1 - benzoyl cyclohexanol 1 . 83byk 052 wetting agent 0 . 18dipentaerythritol monohydroxy 19 . 22pentaccrylate ( sartomer , sr399 ) pennco black dispersion ( carbon black 0 . 40in trpdga * 20 % w ) keramide 1050 ( rhone - poulenc ) 9 . 15part bjeffamine d230 23 . 8 ( polyoxypropylene diamine ) sartomer sr2000 8 . 0 ( c14 aliphatic diol diacrylate ) silicon dioxide 1 . 0alumina 67 . 2cure schedule : immobilization 10 sec uv 70 , 000 w cm . sup . 2cure 10 minutes 250 ° f . ______________________________________ * tripropylene glycol diacrylate while preferred and illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications , variations and other embodiments are possible , and accordingly all such apparent embodiments are to be regarded as being within the scope of the invention which is defined as set forth in the accompanying claims .	2
the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying figures and embodiments . as shown in fig7 , a double - sided led structure of this embodiment , comprising a metal substrate , insulating structures 005 and 005 ′, a first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 , a second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′, p - type metal contact layers 003 and 003 ′, n - type metal contact layers 004 and 004 ′, wherein , a gapless junction is made between the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 and the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ and the metal substrate through insulating structures 005 and 005 ′. specifically , the metal substrate is divided into a first conduction region 007 and a second conduction region 006 , wherein , the insulating structures 005 and 005 ′ run through the metal substrate and extend towards two sides to separate the first conduction region 007 and the second conduction region 006 of the metal substrate . a first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 is over front surface of the metal substrate , comprising at least a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer from up to bottom , which constitute a pn junction . a second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ is over back surface of the metal substrate , comprising at least a third semiconductor layer and a fourth semiconductor layer from bottom to up , which constitute a pn junction . the p - type metal contact layers 003 and 003 ′ form over surfaces of the second semiconductor layer and the fourth semiconductor layer , and the n - type metal contact layers 004 and 004 ′ form over surfaces of the first semiconductor layer and the fourth semiconductor layer respectively , wherein , bottom surfaces of the p - type metal contact layer 003 and the n - type metal contact layer 004 are on a same level surface , and upper surfaces of the p - type metal contact layer 003 ′ and the n - type metal contact layer 004 ′ are on a same level surface . in this double - sided led structure , the first semiconductor layer connects to the first conduction region 007 of the metal substrate through the n - type metal contact layer 004 ; the second semiconductor layer connects to the second conduction region 006 of the metal substrate through the p - type metal contact layer 003 ; the third semiconductor layer connects to the first conduction region 007 of the metal substrate through the n - type metal contact layer 004 ′; and the fourth semiconductor layer connects to the p - type metal contact layer 003 ′ of the metal substrate through the second conduction region 006 . after the first conduction region 007 and the second conduction region 006 are energized , current at the same time flows into the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer and the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer , thus realizing double - sided light emitting from the front and back sides of the metal substrate . a detailed description will be given to the above structure in combination with fabrication methods . as shown in fig1 , taking a first ingan / gan - based light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 and a second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ grown over the sapphire ( al 2 o 3 ) substrates 001 and 001 ′, wherein , the light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 comprises successively a first semiconductor layer ( an n - type semiconductor layer ), an active layer and a second semiconductor layer ( a p - type semiconductor layer ), and the light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ comprises successively a third semiconductor layer ( an n - type semiconductor layer ), an active layer and a fourth semiconductor layer ( a p - type semiconductor layer ). as shown in fig2 , patterning surfaces of the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers through yellow light and etching respectively , wherein , surface of the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 is divided into a first electrode region 009 , a second electrode region 010 and an isolation region 011 , and surface of the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ is divided into a third electrode region 009 ′, a fourth electrode region 010 ′ and an isolation region 011 ′. as shown in fig3 , evaporating p - type contact metals 003 and 003 ′ made of cr / pt / au in the second electrode region 010 on surface of the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 and in the fourth electrode region 010 ′ on surface of the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ respectively through yellow light and coating . as shown in fig4 , evaporating n - type contact metals 004 and 004 ′ made of al / ti / pt / au in the first electrode region 009 on surface of the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 and in the third electrode region 009 ′ on surface of the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer 002 ′ respectively through yellow light and coating to enable that the n - type contact metal 004 and the p - type contact metal 003 are on the same level surface , and the n - type contact metal 004 ′ and the p - type contact metal 003 ′ are on the same level surface . as shown in fig5 , fabricating insulating structures 005 and 005 ′ made of bcb in the isolation regions on surfaces of the first and second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers through filling , the surface of which is higher than surfaces of the p - type contact metals 003 and 003 ′. as shown in fig6 , placing the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers 002 and 002 ′ in a parallel and symmetric way and forming a cu metal substrate between the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers with no gap through electroplating , wherein , the bcb insulating structure runs through the metal substrate and divides the metal substrate into a first conduction region 007 and a second conduction region 006 , in which , the first semiconductor layer connects to the first conduction region 007 through the n - type metal contact layer 004 ; the second semiconductor layer connects to the second conduction region 006 through the p - type metal contact layer 003 ; the third semiconductor layer connects to the first conduction region 007 through the n - type metal contact layer 004 ′; and the fourth semiconductor layer connects to the second conduction region 006 through the p - type metal contact layer 003 ′. to ensure no gap between insulating structures , it is allowed to have little compression for the insulating structure after para - position , to avoid short circuit between the first conduction region 007 and the second conduction region 006 over the metal substrate . as shown in fig7 , removing the two sapphire growth substrates 001 exposed at the outermost layer to expose the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers 002 and 002 ′. specifically , expose the first semiconductor layer ( the n - type semiconductor layer ) and the third semiconductor layer ( the n - type semiconductor layer ). roughening or regular patterns can be fabricated over the n - type semiconductor layer through etching or grinding to increase light extraction efficiency . after further positioning and cutting for grain patters , a led of double - sided light extraction can be obtained . the chip structure of double - sided light extraction fabricated as above has a light - emitting angle of 150 degrees or above requiring no future wire bonding in addition , it has good light extraction and dissipation functions . different from embodiment 1 , in the vertical led of double - sided light emitting of this embodiment , the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer comprises successively a first semiconductor layer ( an n - type semiconductor layer ), an active layer and a second semiconductor layer ( a p - type semiconductor layer ), and the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer comprises successively a third semiconductor layer ( a p - type semiconductor layer ), an active layer and a fourth semiconductor layer ( an n - type semiconductor layer ); accordingly , the first semiconductor layer ( the n - type semiconductor layer ) connects to the first conduction region through the n - type metal contact layer , the second semiconductor layer ( the p - type semiconductor layer ) connects to the second conduction region through the p - type metal contact layer ; the third semiconductor layer ( the p - type semiconductor layer ) connects to the first conduction region through the p - type metal contact layer ; and the fourth semiconductor layer ( the n - type semiconductor layer ) connects to the second conduction region through the n - type metal contact layer . in this way , after the first conduction region and the second conduction region are energized , current also flows into the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers ; the first light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer and the second light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer are electronically connected through inversely - parallel connection and constitute an ac - led , thereby realizing alternative light emitting at front and back sides of the metal substrate . different from embodiment 1 , in the vertical led of double - sided light emitting of this embodiment , while fabricating the insulating structure , only a thick insulating structure is fabricated in the isolation region on one of the light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers and the isolation region of the other light - emitting epitaxial laminated layer has no insulating structure . in this way , after parallel placement and para - positioning of the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers , the single insulating structure can run through the metal substrate and a gapless structure can be formed between the two light - emitting epitaxial laminated layers and the metal substrate . all references referred to in the present disclosure are incorporated by reference in their entirety . although specific embodiments have been described above in detail , the description is merely for purposes of illustration . it should be appreciated , therefore , that many aspects described above are not intended as required or essential elements unless explicitly stated otherwise . various modifications of , and equivalent acts corresponding to , the disclosed aspects of the exemplary embodiments , in addition to those described above , can be made by a person of ordinary skill in the art , having the benefit of the present disclosure , without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure defined in the following claims , the scope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalent structures .	7
optical switches matrix are described herein . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth ( e . g ., such as logic resource partitioning / sharing / duplication implementations , types and interrelationships of system components , and logic partitioning / integration choices ). however , it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known circuits , software instruction sequences , structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description . references in the specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ an example embodiment ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature , structure , or characteristic , but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature , structure , or characteristic . moreover , such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . further , when a particular feature , structure , or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment , it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature , structure , or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described . in the following description and claims , the terms “ coupled ” and “ connected ,” along with their derivatives , may be used . it should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other . rather , in particular embodiments , “ connected ” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other ( e . g ., physically , electrically , optically , etc .). “ coupled ” may similarly mean that two or more elements are in direct contact ( physically , electrically , optically , etc .). however , “ coupled ” may alternatively mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other , but yet still co - operate or interact with each other . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary optical switch fabric according to one embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 , exemplary switch fabric 100 includes , but is not limited to , an optical switch matrix ( also referred to as an optical switch array ) 102 having multiple switching elements to receive multiple input optical fibers 101 , one or more variable optical attenuators ( voas ) 103 , and one or more photonic detectors 105 to monitor , via one or more tap mechanisms 104 , the optical signals traveling along multiple output optical fibers 106 . in one embodiment , the switch matrix 102 may be an 8 × 8 switch matrix that routes any one of the optical signals received by the input fibers 101 to any one of the output fibers 106 using multiple optoelectrical switches , such as , for example , directional couplers , boa couplers , digital - optical - switches , and x or y switches . in a typical embodiment , the switches ( also referred to as optical cross - connect switches , switching elements , switching nodes , and / or switches ) employed in the exemplary switch matrix 102 may be able to perform one microsecond operation ( or shorter in time ) with fully integrated variable optical attenuation and output optical power monitoring , which enables constant output power operation over multiple channels . in one embodiment , the switches employed within the switch matrix 102 may be manufactured using a semiconductor material ( e . g ., silicon or the like ) and local manipulation of the refractive index by the carrier - induced plasma effect generated by appropriately placed electrodes and current injected from the application of a forward - biased voltage ( closely related are the pockels and kerr effects that rely upon strong electric fields rather than strong electrical currents ). the switches may possess multiple functionality , such as , for example , attenuation , and power monitoring , etc . for example , according to one embodiment , at least one of the switching elements that make up the switching matrix may be capable of partially switching to divert a portion of an optical signal to one output port while routing the remaining portion of the optical signal to another output port . note that although components 102 - 104 are shown as separate functional blocks , it will be appreciated that these components are integrated within each other on a single substrate ( e . g ., single integrated chip ). fig2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of an optical switch matrix according to one embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , a crossbar architecture is employed . a 2 × 2 tir ( total internal reflection ) x - switch enables directly any of the architectures that possess a matrix layout of intersecting “ rows ” and “ columns ” of waveguides . in a particular embodiment , the exemplary crossbar architecture is designed based on the tir x - switch for a pitch of 127 μm , where each switch employs dual electrodes . fig3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary switching performance of a switch matrix according to one embodiment . in this embodiment , as an example , optical signals are applied to seven of the inputs , but they may be applied to some or all eight inputs . note that fig2 and 3 are shown for illustrating purposes only . the techniques described herein may be applied to a variety of switch matrix having different layouts . further detailed information regarding layouts of a switch matrix may be found in a co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 867 , 948 , entitled “ optical switch matrix ”, filed jun . 14 , 2004 , assigned to a common assignee of the present application , which is hereby incorporated by reference . in one embodiment , the main portion of the physical design is a waveguide chip ( e . g ., planar lightwave circuit ). the complete module may include at least one of the following functional elements and attributes : waveguide 2 × 2 switches , waveguide variable optical attenuators ( voas ), low - loss waveguides , low - scatter waveguide crossings , means of tapping the optical signal for optical power monitoring , integrated photodetectors ( end - fire or fiber coupled as alternatives ), multi - fiber optical connections to the multi - waveguide chip , low - loss optical coupling between smf fiber and the waveguide chip for input and output , chip - level electrodes and wire - bond pads , including electrical connects , wire bonds for package - to - chip electrical connects , hermetic package presuming the need owing to integrated photodetectors , and reliability for telecom applications ( e . g ., gr - 1209 and gr - 1221 compliance , operating lifetime of 20 years ). in one embodiment , the simulation work may be performed relied on the soref model for the magnitude of the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index in silicon that can be changed by the presence of charge carriers by current injection . for example , for wavelength λ = 1 . 55 micron ( μm ), for the real part of the refractive - index change , the empirical formula may be illustrated as follows : for the imaginary - index change expressed as a coefficient of induced absorption in units of cm − 1 , the related formula may be illustrated as follows : δα = δα e + δα h = 8 . 5 × 10 - 18 ⁢ ( δ ⁢ ⁢ n e ) + 6 . 0 × 10 - 18 ⁢ ( δ ⁢ ⁢ n h ) ( 2 ) fig4 a is a diagram illustrating a plot of the real and imaginary parts of the refractive - index change as a function of carrier density corresponding to the above two formulas , where δn lm = δα ( λ / 4π ). fig4 b is a diagram illustrating a plot of the absorption in units of db / cm as a function of carrier density corresponding to the above formula ( 2 ). in one embodiment , high reflectivity owing to carrier induced index change is needed , where the phenomena employed is total internal reflection ( tir ). measurements are performed to measure the reflectivity of a region of high carrier injection , and to use this measurement of the reflectivity to infer the magnitude of the refractive index change . fig5 a is a block diagram illustrating a conceptual experiment of tir . the reflection is not anticipated to be 100 % as for tir in a loss - less material system , but reduced owing to the presence of a carrier - induced absorption ( e . g ., an imaginary - part of the refractive index ). the plot of the reflectivity of a step - index boundary is shown in fig5 b . referring to fig5 b , the standard fresnel equations is utilized for specular reflection , where the required refractive indices of silicon are taken from the above formulas . as shown in fig5 b , intensity reflectivity as a function of the angle of incidence approaching grazing incidence ( i . e ., approaching 90 °) upon a step - index boundary of carrier - induced index change . note that the absorption owing to carrier injection diminishes the reflectivity from demonstrating total internal reflection ( tir ) within the silicon . according to one embodiment , electrodes may be used to drive the carrier injection that have edge field effects which lead to index gradients rather than the idealized step - index considered in the previous subsection . in one embodiment , the size scale of these gradients ( carrier - diffusion distance ) may be designed to match the size scale of the fundamental mode as shown in fig9 a and 9b . the gradients of the index change depend upon the specific geometry of the electrode in connection with the geometry of the silicon waveguide . an soi ( silicon on insulator ) slab waveguide with coplanar electrodes may be used in design of the tir x - switch . fig6 a is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary optical switch having coplanar electrodes according to one embodiment of the invention . note that the size and dimension of fig6 a is shown for the purposes of illustration only . other configurations may be utilized . alternatively , parallel - plate electrode geometry as shown in fig6 b may be utilized according to certain embodiments . it is useful to note that under simplifying conditions analytic expressions might be developed to approximate the edge effects ( size - scale of the gradients ) in the induced index change , which would further enable simplified technical specification of the electrodes and waveguide geometry to produce the phenomena of tir in silicon . referring back to fig5 a , according to one embodiment , the grazing angle may be designed with approximately 3 ° ( e . g ., 87 ° angle of incidence measured from the surface normal ), including angles ranging approximately from 1 ° to 10 °. for any angle of grazing incidence , the reflected optical power depends upon the applied bias voltage or , hence , the carrier density n . as the bias voltage ( e . g ., carrier density ) is increased , the reflectivity should be seen to increase . high reflection ( e . g ., “ attenuated ” tir ) may occur as the bias setting is further increased beyond some characteristic value for the particular angle of incidence as shown in fig7 , which is a diagram illustrating an exemplary plot of intensity reflectivity as a function of the carrier density owing to current injection , according to one embodiment . according to one embodiment , low - optical - loss waveguide crossings are designed based upon the use of large ridge waveguides . the waveguides are weakly guiding for the fundamental optical mode ( e . g ., the effective mode index is close to the numerical value for the large - slab waveguide modes ). in one embodiment , the preferred material system is silicon on insulator ( soi ). fig8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary waveguide crossing of an optical switch according to one embodiment . in a particular embodiment , the etch - depth e is approximately 1 . 5 μm , where this ranges from approximately 3 μm down to 1 μm . in a further embodiment , ridge width w may be approximately 10 μm and height h may be approximately 10 μm . the indices of refraction are the known values for pure materials at a wavelength of approximately 1 . 55 μm , which persist to be valid for wavelength ranging within the s , c , and l itu - communication wavelength bands for the optical carrier wave . note that the parameters used in fig8 are shown for purposes of illustration only . it will be appreciated that other dimensions and / or configurations may also be utilized . fig9 a and 9b are diagrams illustrating contour plots of the profiles for the semi - vector te and tm fundamental modes . according to one embodiment , the performance of waveguide crossings may be designed based upon this specific soi ridge waveguide . the propagation computed using the beam propagation method ( bpm ) is shown in fig1 according to one embodiment . in beamprop ™ 5 from rsoft design , inc ., the selected commercial bpm software , file - power monitors measure the optical mode power throughout the waveguide crossing . these file power monitors use the same electric field as is used to form the launch field for the simulations . the resulting insertion loss ( il ) is approximately 0 . 21 db and the isolation is approximately − 60 . 1 db . in one embodiment , the isolation may be degraded . the definitions uses for il , isolation , and crosstalk are shown in fig1 . according to one embodiment , asymmetric y - branches in addition to waveguide crossings may be utilized , as shown in fig1 . the numerical simulation results are shown in fig1 a and 13b for the il and crosstalk . as shown in fig1 a and 13b , the il of the asymmetric y - branches is lower than the il for a waveguide crossing . the crosstalk for a waveguide crossing also shows an oscillatory behavior that is not present for the asymmetric y - branch . fig1 a and 14b are diagrams illustrating the numerical predictions for the single case of a ridge waveguide with an etch depth of approximately 1 . 5 μm . these results were produced with a much higher numerical accuracy ( closer to convergence ), so slight discrepancies are to be noted when compared to the less accurate and scalar results shown in fig1 a and 13b . fig1 is a diagram giving the top view of the ridge - waveguide layout with three cross - sectional views to further illustrate a physical model for the 2 × 2 tir x - switch according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , the bpm is used to simulate the performance numerically . the model establishes a baseline for the performance of carrier - induced tir x - switches in silicon following the use of a large ridge waveguide . referring to fig1 , regions ( majority of the device ) 1501 represent silicon . the regions 1502 corresponding to the location of the drive electrode have an index of refraction modified by carrier - injection , which is determined by the formulas described above for the real and absorptive parts of the refractive index , respectively . note that the length of the electrode is approximately 1000 μm , and may change in value depending upon the crossing angle and amount of mode confinement ( e . g ., mode - profile width ). fig1 is a diagram illustrating exemplary results of a bpm simulation of propagation through the activated switch ( e . g ., carrier density n = 4 × 10 18 cm − 3 ). the il is approximately 0 . 83 db , where approximately 0 . 64 db of the il is due to the presence of carrier - induced absorption as detailed by the plots as shown in fig1 a . fig1 a also shows the presence of the goos - hanchen effect , which influences the optimal lateral offset of the electrode . it is anticipated that the actual gradients may influence the optimal lateral offset far greater than the goos - hanchen effect . both offset effects may continue to be present . the gradients may most likely require the electrode to be displaced to the left of the center of the waveguide - crossing vertex shown in fig1 to such an extent that the overall offset becomes positive in value . fig1 b is diagram illustrating the possible operating states of an optical switch according to one embodiment . fig1 a is diagram illustrating an exemplary performance of an optical switch having a model similar to the one shown in fig1 . referring to fig1 a , transmission ( linear scale ) normalized to the input intensity of the bar ( diverted path ) and cross ( straight - through path ) states of the 2 × 2 tir x - switch as a function of the carrier density ( bias voltage ). the results are from the use of both 2d and 3d bpm modeling . te and tm results are both included . the performance of the tir y - switch depicted in fig1 b is anticipated to be similar to that given in fig1 a when regarding the performance of the straight - through and diverted pathways of the switch . historically , the naming conventions for the cross and bar states are swapped for the tir y - switch with respect to those for the tir x - switch . according to one embodiment , relatively long electrodes are used to drive the carrier - induced index changes , which creates a high - reflection phenomena . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary electrode configurations used in an optical switch according to one embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 , a large - electrode embodiment includes the essential doping ( n + and p + ) and metallization that enables the fabrication and operation of the tir x - switch . the electrode function to drive the bar state of operation , but when powered down are also compatible with the specification of low optical loss for the passive waveguide crossing ( e . g ., the cross state of operation ). the tir effect produces optimal switching when the tir effect is longitudinally invariant , which means the tir mirror is flat . the hatched region 1901 in fig1 represents the region of desired carrier - induced refractive - index change , which is meant to correspond in width to that depicted in fig1 . it is denoted this width as w elect . in one embodiment , the carrier injection process leads to gradients of the refractive index owing to carrier diffusion . coplanar electrode geometry mitigates the effects of diffusion by sharpening the discontinuity ( tir - mirror formation ) in the refractive index . thus , the width w elect used in the bpm modeling with sharp gradients as depicted in fig1 may be regarded as the effective width owing to the presence of gradients , not the physical width of the coplanar electrodes . according to one embodiment , there are two locations for the electrode , either on top of the ridge 1902 ( i . e ., the zone not etched ) or on top of the slab 1903 ( e . g ., etched zone ) of the waveguide . since each electrode of the pair crosses over the two ridge waveguide forming the waveguide crossing , each of the electrodes can be consider to be divided into five or fewer segments , similar to an embodiment as shown in fig2 . there are at most two distinct segments on top of the ridge and three distinct segments located on the slab . a particular case is depicted in fig2 , where the n + electrode is composed of five segments and the p + electrode is composed of four segments . in order to achieve a flat tir mirror , the drive signal to each of these segments may need to be tailored . in one embodiment , this may be achieved by using a voltage divider circuit to divide the drive signal over the electrodes in some prescribed manner or individual electrical traces may deliver unique drive signals to the five electrode segments . shown in fig2 a and 21b are diagrams of certain embodiments of optical switches having of grating - edge profiles in the doping and metallization and in the doping only , respectively . these edge profiles are on both edges of a given electrode of the actual coplanar pair of electrodes . the use of the gratings is to solve a potential problem of too much crosstalk ( scattered light ) in the bar output when the switch is powered down and operating in the cross state . the origin of the increased signal in the bar output would be reflection off of a weak , but flat , index perturbation owing to the doping profile or induced strain in the material , as shown in fig2 c . the index difference would allow for a reflection to occur that directs the input light to the bar output , which is not desired for proper function of the tir x - switch . furthermore , this unwanted weak reflection would direct light to the bar output similar to the “ attenuated ” tir mirror that is established by the presence of charge carriers owing to an applied bias voltage . the grating structure ( e . g ., non - uniform surfaces or edges ) is blazed so that specular reflection off of the grating would direct the input light , not to the bar output , but to a much different angle . the light would then diffract away within the slab waveguide . the crosstalk would then be reduced greatly , if present at all . the depth of the grating notches is to be much less than the carrier diffusion length ( approximately 10 μm ), but equal to or longer than the wavelength of light ( e . g ., approximately 1 . 55 μm ). when the electrode is activated via application of a bias voltage , the blurring that occurs from carrier diffusion may effectively remove the influence of the grating and the desired tir switching may occur . the embodiments may use grating - edge profiles in the doping and metallization profiles ( e . g ., fig2 a ) or in the doping profile only ( e . g ., fig2 b ), where a uniform metallization edge - profile would be used in this second case . referring to fig2 a , the edge of electrode segment showing the possible use of a blazed grating in the doping and metallization profiles . these profiles would be occurring also for the opposite edge of the electrode segment . referring to fig2 b , the edge of electrode segment showing the possible use of a blazed grating in the doping profile and a uniform metallization profile . these profiles would be occurring also for the opposite edge of the electrode segment . some of the attributes of the electrode design may include one or more of the following : electrode for longitudinal invariant carrier injection to create a flat tir mirror ; minimum electrode dimensions for reduced drive power ; silicon doping and metallization consistent with low - loss optical propagation of a powered down ( passive ) waveguide crossing ; ridge waveguide geometries that best enable the tir switching while maintaining a low - optical - loss waveguide crossing when powered down ; and mitigate by electrode and waveguide design the impact of index gradients and carrier absorption on the reflected light owing to an imperfect carrier - induced tir mirror . in view of the properties of a reflection grating employed in designing the electrodes with the grating feature , according to one embodiment , the angle of diffraction θ m is related to the angle of incidence θ i by the following formula where a is the grating period , λ is the wavelength of light , m = 0 , ± 1 , ± 2 , ± 3 , . . . is the diffraction order . shown in fig2 d is also the definition of the grating - surface normal , which the angles are measured . the case of m = 0 corresponds to the case known as zeroth - order diffraction when the angle of diffraction θ m is equal to the angle of incidence θ i . zeroth - order diffraction ( depicted in fig2 e ) is independent of the wavelength λ and grating period a . note that this case is similar to specular reflection as depicted in fig2 c in terms of the angular relationship . according to one embodiment , the diffraction grating can be constructed such that the periodic structure has facets at an angle θ b , which is known as the blaze angle as depicted in fig2 f . this blazing of the diffraction grating improves the efficiency of higher - order diffraction ( m ≠ 0 ) and decreases the power diffracted in the zeroth order . as a result , a reflected or diffracted waves may be reduced since it would contribute to the crosstalk of the bar state . in order to assess what conditions lead to enhanced diffraction efficiency owing to blazing , we first examine the angles of incidence and reflection for the facets . specular reflection off of the flat facets with angular orientation θ b occurs for angles of incidence θ i and angles of reflection θ r given by the relation θ r + θ b = θ i − θ b when measured with respect to the grating - surface normal . when the angle of diffraction θ m matches this angle of facet specular reflection θ r , then the diffraction occurs with improved efficiency . the actual efficiency of diffraction cannot be assessed with the current approach . however , we can still find the detailed relation among the parameters of wavelength λ , grating - period a , diffraction - order m , and incidence - angle θ i . the requirement of simultaneous diffraction and facet specular reflection in the similar angular direction gives 2 a cos ( θ i − θ b ) sinθ b = mλ . ( 5 ) these relations give specific conditions for blazed diffraction once some of the parameters are fixed . in this case , when the wavelength λ is a communications - channel wavelength , it is useful to consider it as a fixed parameter . it can vary , though , with the selection of communications channel . in one embodiment , it is assumed the wavelength λ to be within the c - band , where it is customary to use the value of 1 . 55 μm as an approximate value for such an analysis . it will be useful to design the grating for use with a particular diffraction - order m , but more than one choice is possible and appropriate . in a particular embodiment , it is considered m = 1 , 2 , and 3 . the design parameters requiring determination of proper values are the grating - period a and blaze - angle θ b . these two parameters need to correspond to a grating structure that can be fabricated as shown in fig2 g , according to one embodiment . there are two grating structures that we shall consider in detail , which are depicted in fig2 h and 21i . note that these configurations are illustrated by way of examples , not by way of limitations . the case in fig2 h is a typical case where the grating depth is whereas the case in fig2 i corresponds to the maximum grating - depth that is possible without having grating facets that overlap like cresting ocean waves . we can solve eqs . ( 5 ) to give us the general relation for the grating - period a , which is and further use eq . ( 7 ) with eq . ( 8 ) to give a relation between the largest grating depth and the blaze angle , which is there is a grating - depth d owing to its relation to the characteristic carrier - diffusion distance , which it is identified to be approximately 10 μm . thus ; eq . ( 9 ) can be used to find proper values of the blaze - angle θ b for target values of the incidence - angle θ i , where the wavelength λ is approximately 1 . 55 μm . the diffraction order m is a free parameter that provides for the selection of the diffracted wave θ m with blaze - enhanced diffraction efficiency . the corresponding grating - period a is then found using eq . ( 8 ). equation ( 7 ) is also valid for relation the grating - period a to the grating - depth d and blaze - angle θ b . according to one embodiment , one of the purposes of using the blazed grating is to move light that would have been specularly reflected at an angle θ refl , when incident on a uniform surface at an angle θ inc , to a diffracted order with blaze - enhanced diffraction efficiency . the net angular displacement is θ d = θ i − θ m , where θ i corresponds to θ inc , and θ inc = θ refl . the appropriate selection of a displacement - angle θ d reduces the amount of unwanted light from coupling to the bar - state when the light is supposed to be directed solely to the cross state . following table illustrates various embodiments of grating - period a and blaze - angle θ b with the resulting displacement - angle θ d = θ i − θ m for the selected diffraction order m optimized under the assumption of a preferred grating - depth d = 10 μm and an operating wavelength λ = 1 . 55 μm . the use of the “-” is to indicate for that mode number m there is no good value that may be utilized . marked in bold font is believed to be a preferred selection of parameter values . note that the influence of blazed - grating electrodes have not been included in the performance assessment in other sections . crossing inc . m = 1 m = 2 m = 3 half angle angle a a a θ θ i ( μm ) θ b θ d ( μm ) θ b θ d ( μm ) θ b θ d 1 ° 89 ° 166 3 . 5 ° 6 . 9 ° 71 . 1 8 . 0 ° 16 . 0 ° 44 . 0 12 . 8 ° 25 . 6 ° 2 ° 88 ° 234 2 . 4 ° 4 . 9 ° 81 . 6 7 . 0 ° 14 . 0 ° 48 . 1 11 . 7 ° 23 . 5 ° 3 ° 87 ° 396 1 . 4 ° 2 . 9 ° 95 . 7 6 . 0 ° 11 . 9 ° 53 . 0 10 . 7 ° 21 . 4 ° 4 ° 86 ° 1287 0 . 4 ° 0 . 9 ° 115 . 5 5 . 0 ° 9 . 9 ° 58 . 9 9 . 6 ° 19 . 3 ° 5 ° 85 ° — — — 145 . 3 3 . 9 ° 7 . 9 ° 66 . 1 8 . 6 ° 17 . 2 ° 6 ° 84 ° — — — 195 . 5 2 . 9 ° 5 . 9 ° 75 . 3 7 . 6 ° 15 . 1 ° 7 ° 83 ° — — — 298 . 0 1 . 9 ° 3 . 8 ° 87 . 3 6 . 5 ° 13 . 1 ° 8 ° 82 ° — — — 624 . 1 0 . 9 ° 1 . 8 ° 103 . 7 5 . 5 ° 11 . 0 ° 9 ° 81 ° — — — — — — 127 . 4 4 . 5 ° 9 . 0 ° 10 ° 80 ° — — — — — — 164 . 9 3 . 5 ° 6 . 9 ° fig2 a and 22b are diagrams illustrating the possible implementations of the tir x - and y - switches as variable optical attenuators ( voas ). referring to fig2 a and 22b , the cross - state of the tir x - switch ( bar - state of the tir y - switch ) has little or no attenuation ( high - transmission ) when powered off , which means it is normally transmitting . the bar - state of the tir x - switch ( cross - state of the tir y - switch ) is highly attenuating ( opaque ) when powered off , which means it is normally blocking . referring to fig2 a , two possible implementations of the tir x - switch as a voa : ( a ) uses the cross state to provide little or no attenuation ( high - transmission ) when powered off , normally transmitting ; ( b ) uses the bar state to provide high attenuation when powered off , normally blocking . referring to fig2 b , two possible implementations of the tir y - switch as a voa : ( a ) uses the bar state to provide little or no attenuation ( high - transmission ) when powered off , normally transmitting . ( b ) uses the cross state to provide high attenuation when powered off , normally blocking . fig2 shows via the use of a db vertical scale that the attenuation ( il ) of the cross state for the tir x - switch ( bar - state of the tir y - switch ) may be higher than the attenuation of the bar state for the tir x - switch ( cross - state of the tir y - switch ). referring to fig2 , the results of fig1 a replotted on a db vertical scale ( i . e ., il ). the cross state reaches higher values of il ( attenuation ) than the bar state for the tir x - switch , and similar may occur for the tir y - switch ( swap the labeling of the cross and bar states ). the results are from the use of both 2d and 3d bpm modeling . te and tm results are both included . the critical parameter determining this possibility is the electrode - width w elect , which we examine in fig2 a via 2d bpm simulations of the behavior of the tir x - switch . similar behavior is expected for the tir y - switch . referring to fig2 a , the plots of the bar - and cross - state transmission ( linear scale ) as a function of carrier density for various values of the electrode - width w elect , for example , 2 , 5 , 10 , 20 μm , from 2d bpm simulations of the behavior of the tir x - switch . te and tm curves are both included . fig2 b illustrates the sensitive dependence of the cross - state attenuation upon the electrode - width w elect . the maximum value of attenuation reached for the cross state becomes larger than for the bar state for reasonable values of the carrier density when the electrode - width w elect is made large such as 20 μm . note that this is also consistent with efficient switching , where the minimal amount of generated carrier density is required to switch from the cross to the bar state . referring to fig2 b , the plots of the bar - and cross - state attenuation in db of the tir x - switch as a function of carrier density , which shows the sensitive dependence of the cross - state attenuation upon the electrode - width w elect . these results are from the same 2d bpm simulations of the behavior of the tir x - switch presented in fig2 a , where the legend also applies here . the use of the cross - state output is of interest for some voa applications . in the case of forming an n × n crossbar switch , it is the bar state of the tir x - switch ( cross state of the tir y - switch ) that forms the switched and attenuated output . it is anticipated that the attenuation provided by the bar state may be sufficient for most telecommunications applications . note that the maximum attenuation corresponds to the crosstalk of the waveguide crossing with no applied drive power ( e . g ., the bias voltage ). the other output port of the tir x - switch or tir y - switch can also function as a tap giving the power of the input signal as depicted in fig2 a and 25b . it is required an initial calibration of the percentage of tapped optical power as a function of the applied bias voltage ( carrier density ). then for any bias voltage , the input optical power can be calculated in firmware on the control board or using additional software . a limit of such an approach stems from the weakest signal that is detectable above the noise limit of the photonic detector . for the configurations of fig2 a ( a ) and fig2 b ( a ), the drive power ( bias voltage ) needs to be set high enough in value to achieve a sufficiently large tap signal . in order to reduce the optical loss of the output in fig2 a ( a ) and fig2 b ( a ) the electrode - width w elect should be as small as possible as indicated in fig2 b yet maintains the range of attenuation required when also used as a voa . for the configurations of fig2 a ( b ) and fig2 b ( b ), the drive power ( bias voltage ) needs to be reduced from the large value that switches the input to the cross - state output of the tir x - switch ( bar - state output of the tir y - switch ). in order to reduce the loss of the tapped optical signal of fig2 a ( b ) and fig2 b ( b ), the electrode - width w elect should again be as small as possible , yet able to provide the desired switching and / or voa functionality . referring to fig2 a , tir x - switch is used as a voa as depicted in fig2 a with the addition of a tapped output for power monitoring . it is also appropriate for use in forming an n × n crossbar switch or n × n matrix double crossbar switch with variable optical attenuation and power monitoring . referring to fig2 b , tir y - switch used as a voa as depicted in fig2 b with the addition of a tapped output for power monitoring . it is also appropriate for use in forming an n × n matrix double crossbar switch with variable optical attenuation and power monitoring . it is anticipated cases where the tapped signal may be too small to be useful for certain values of the desired cross - or bar - state output , since the tapped signal is derived from the opposite output port used for the voa / switched output . the two output ports / states are related . fig2 is a parametric plot of the bar - state output power in db plotted versus the cross - state output power in db , where implicitly it is the carrier - density parameter that is varied . multiple curves are given , which correspond to cases of different electrode - width w elect . the appropriate electrode - width w elect is the one that matches best the overall specifications , where a smaller electrode - width w elect improves the performance of the power tap and a larger electrode - width w elect improves the voa functionality for certain configurations . referring to fig2 , parametric plot of the bar - and cross - state output of the tir x - switch on db scales for various values of the electrode - width w elect , for example , 2 , 5 , 10 , 20 μm . te and tm curves are both included . it is established that the limiting case of the tir x - switch as a power splitter ( see fig2 a ) and compare it to a power splitter with no excess loss by plotting in fig2 b the parametric curves of fig2 on a linear scale . the smaller the electrode - width w elect , the closer the functionality of the tir x - switch is to that of a power splitter with linear transfer function . the tir x - switch is lossy , though , and also asymmetric in loss between the bar and cross states . referring to fig2 b , it is shown the limit of a loss - less linear transfer function , which is the limit of a perfect power splitter . it is to be noted that for small values of the electrode width , the efficiency for switching is diminished , meaning larger values of carrier density may be required to achieve switching with minimum il . similar behavior may occur for the tir y - switch . parametric plot of the bar - and cross - state transmission of the tir x - switch for various values of the electrode width , for example , 2 , 5 , 10 , 20 μm . te and tm curves are both included . from large to smaller electrode widths , the transfer function becomes progressively more linear , and approaches the functionality of a perfect power splitter ( e . g ., lossless linear transfer function ), where the cross - state output corresponds to “ output 1 ” and the bar - state output corresponds to “ output 2 ” in fig2 a regardless of employing an x or y structure . the electrode - width w elect , whether taken to be the actual width of the perfect index region in fig1 or taken to be the effective width of the carrier - injection region , determines greatly the performance of the tir x - switch for use beyond switching . the electrode - width w elect determines the character of the device as a voa and as a power tap . it is this insight that enables the design of the tir x - switch in silicon ( soi ) and in other material systems employing similar or different optical index control mechanisms . examples of other embodiments are carrier injection in inp and gaas , thermo - optic induced index change in polymer and silica ( glass ), electro - optic effect ( linear and quadratic ) in lithium niobate , lithium tantalate , electro - optic polymer , and plzt . fig2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary geometrical parameters that determine the layout and size of an n × n matrix according to one embodiment . referring to fig2 , depicted is the case of a 2 × 2 crossbar with coplanar electrodes matched to the vertex length l vertex . fig2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary geometry of the ridge region and the slab region of the waveguide according to one embodiment . the condition developed by soref [ see r . a . soref , j . schmidtchen , and k . petermann , ieee j . quantum electron ., v . 27 , n . 8 , pp . 1971 - 1974 , 1991 ] that predicts the occurrence of single and multimode propagation characteristics for large ridge waveguides is w h ≤ α + h h 1 - ( h h ) 2 ( 10 ) which is the case we are interested . note that refractive indices do not enter the formula because of an additional assumption essentially that h be much larger than the wavelength . to be clear , the refractive - index case we are considering is n f & gt ; n s and n f & gt ;& gt ; n c . the numerical - value of the dimensionless parameter α has been considered to be soref derives the value of 0 . 3 for α , but some designers have adopted the stronger condition by setting α to zero . fig3 is a diagram illustrating a plot of eq . ( 10 ), but may be regarded for h / h & gt ; 0 . 5 . note the relation e = h − h between the etch - depth e , the ridge - height h , and the slab - height h . for small crossing angles ( i . e ., θ & lt ;& lt ; 1 radian ), the structure at the waveguide crossing of a tir x - switch has a width of approximately 2w when the ridge waveguides first meet to form a sharp vertex . to insure a waveguide structure with width 2w supports a single mode , according to one embodiment , we take eq . 3 and replace w with 2w to arrive at a more restrictive functional condition : the ridge waveguide with width w is far from supporting higher - order modes . eq . 14 also serves as our definition of a “ weakly confined ” large ridge waveguide that has a large mode profile to form a low - loss and low - crosstalk waveguide crossing and hence a tir x - switch . the plot of eq . 14 is shown in fig3 , where a suitable region about this condition is indicated . it is to be understood that the desired functionality may persist for parameter values within this region . the preference , though , is for larger relative values of w , which is to reduce the amount of diffraction that occurs within a waveguide crossing . reduced diffraction may lead to a further reduction in optical loss and crosstalk . referring to fig3 , overlay of the plot of the more restrictive formula given in eq . 14 assuming α = 0 . 3 for the boundary line , which is given by the thick and solid line 3101 . the dashed outlined region indicates the region where the intended performance persists . the hatch - shaded region 3102 is the preferred region since it corresponds to larger values of w and hence reduced diffraction within the waveguide crossing . the region 3103 is the preferred relative value ( h / h , w / h )=( 0 . 85 , 1 . 0 ), and the gray squares are additional relative values of interest , namely , ( 0 . 9 , 1 . 2 ), ( 0 . 8 , 0 . 82 ), and ( 0 . 7 , 0 . 64 ) according to certain embodiments . according to certain embodiments , the design choice available is the numerical value of the ridge - height h . the numerical value h of approximately 10 μm is appropriate owing to it being compatible with the design of a large ridge waveguide that couples light efficiently to corning single - mode smf fiber . thus , for h = 10 μm , the numerical values of interest for ( h , w ) are approximately ( 9 μm , 12 μm ), ( 8 . 5 μm , 10 μm ), ( 8 μm , 8 . 2 μm ), and ( 7 μm , 6 . 4 μm ), where the preferred values are ( 8 . 5 μm , 10 μm ). the concept persists for various values of h ranging approximately from 4 μm to 16 μm . for h = 4 μm , the numerical values of interest for ( h , w ) are approximately ( 3 . 6 μm , 4 . 8 μm ), ( 3 . 4 μm , 4 μm ), ( 3 . 2 μm , 3 . 28 μm ), and ( 2 . 8 μm , 2 . 6 μm ), while for h = 16 μm , the numerical values of interest for ( h , w ) are approximately ( 14 . 4 μm , 19 . 2 μm ), ( 13 . 6 μm , 16 μm ), ( 12 . 8 μm , 13 . 1 μm ), and ( 11 . 2 μm , 10 . 2 μm ). this analysis is the basis for the numbers summarized in a table further below . it is also useful to make use of the etch - depth ratio e / h =( h − h )/ h , but it is should be noted that it is redundant when the slab - height ratio h / h is provided . following table illustrates the geometrical implications upon the size of a single 2 × 2 tir x - switch . according to one embodiment , the appropriate electrode length is related to the mode - profile width when the mode - profile width exceeds the ridge - width w , which corresponds to the case of a weakly confined mode . the maximum electrode length cannot exceed the length of the individual 2 × 2 tir x - switches within the n × n matrix prescribed for a particular value of the pitch p . thus , we can take the numerical value of the 2 × 2 length l 2 × 2 to be the upper bound of the electrode length l elect . the case of w = 10 μm is considered in table 1 , where the ratio l 2 × 2 / l vertex is approximately 6 . 4 . when examining the other cases of the width w ranging approximately from 2 . 6 μm to 19 . 2 μm , l 2 × 2 / l vertex are approximately 24 . 4 and 3 . 3 respectively . note that the tir x - switch may have a weak wavelength dependence owing to the small changes in the refractive index ( real and imaginary components ) in silicon with wavelength . there is no use of interference , which would depend sensitively upon the wavelength of operation and create strong wavelength sensitivity . thus , 2 × 2 tir x - switch may be used throughout the fiber - communication wavelengths ranging approximately from 1300 nm to 1612 nm , which is the typical approximately 1300 - nm isolated wavelength and the s ( 1491 . 69 - 1529 . 55 nm ), c ( 1529 . 75 - 1569 . 59 nm ), and l ( 1569 . 80 - 1611 . 79 nm ) bands , where c is the most prevalent in use . referring to table i shown above , length l vertex = w / sinθ of the waveguide crossing measured from vertex to vertex , which depends on the ridge - width w and the crossing half - angle θ ; length l 2 × 2 =( p / 2 )/ tanθ of each 2 × 2 tir x - switch within the n × n matrix , which depends upon the pitch p of the matrix and the crossing half - angle θ ; and overall length l n × n =( 2n − 1 ) l 2 × 2 of the n × n matrix , which is given fro the case of n = 8 . the preferred case is marked in bold . following table ii illustrates certain parameters that may be used to design an optical switch according to certain embodiments of the invention . table ii preferred embodiment ranges parameters ( approximately ) ( approximately ) wavelength 1550 nm 1300 nm - 1612 nm ratio h / h 0 . 85 0 . 7 - 0 . 9 ratio w / h 1 . 0 0 . 6 - 1 . 2 ridge - height h 10 μm 4 μm - 16 μm slab - height h 8 . 5 μm 2 . 8 μm - 14 . 4 μm ridge - width w 10 μm 2 . 6 μm - 19 . 2 μm etch - depth - ratio 0 . 15 0 . 1 - 0 . 3 e / h = ( h − h )/ h half angle , θ ( angle from 3 ° 1 °- 10 ° z - axis ) thickness of the wafer 1 mm 0 . 4 mm - 2 mm substrate insulator sio 2 0 . 4 μm 0 . 3 μm - 1 μm coplanar - electrode - length l elect . 1000 360 μm - 3600 μm ratio l elect . / l vertex 5 1 - 25 effective electrode width w elect 5 μm 1 μm - 20 μm mode - amplitude in - plane full - 16 μm 3 μm - 32 μm width at half - maximum ( approximately ) ( fwhm ) profile width note that the parameters shown in table ii are shown for purposes of illustration only . a variety of different parameters may be utilized dependent upon different design requirements . thus , optical switches have been described . in the foregoing specification , the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof . it will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense .	6
the apparatus according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings hereinafter : in fig1 and fig2 the apparatus illustrated therein comprises a hollow shaft ( 2 ) provided with a plurality of orifices ( 1 ), a speed change motor ( 3 ) for rotating said shaft ( 2 ), a packing box ( 5 ) for connecting the shaft ( 2 ) with a liquid supply pipe ( 4 ), a chamber ( 6 ) partitioned into plural chambers for accommodating an immobilized enzyme ( 11 ), a net ( 7 ) stretch - provided on the outer periphery of a column for holding the immobilized enzyme ( 11 ), a net ( 8 ) for dispersing the liquid sprayed through the orifices and allowing it to uniformly flow in the chambers ( 6 ) having accommodated the immobilized enzyme , a reaction container ( 9 ) for receiving a rotary column and stagnating the liquid for a fixed period of time , and a jacket ( 10 ) for cooling this container . the size of the dispersing net ( 8 ) is preferably about 50 to 80 meshes , while the size of the holding net ( 7 ) is preferably about 50 to 150 meshes . the part in which the immobilized enzyme is charged and rotated , that is , the column consisting of the immobilized enzyme - accommodating chambers ( 6 ), net ( 7 ) and net ( 8 ) is called a rotary column . this column is received in the reaction container . the chambers ( 6 ) preferably should be defined so as to be radial - and square - shaped by radial partition wall ( 6a ) and axial partition wall ( 6b ). the liquid - dispersing net ( 8 ) defines the bottom of each chamber ( 6 ). the immobilized enzyme is charged into the chambers of the rotary column through the steps of charging a fixed quantity of immobilized enzyme uniformly into each chamber , thereafter setting the net ( 7 ) on the outer periphery of the rotary column and securing it to the side plate ( 18 ) of the rotary column by means of a bolt ( 12 ). the reason for having partitioned the rotary column into a number of chambers is to prevent the immobilized enzyme from turning into large lumps which act to decrease the contacting area between mobilized enzyme and liquid and thereby deteriorate the reaction efficiency . in fig3 a substrate - containing aqueous liquid is supplied into a constant - temperature tank ( 13 ), cooled to a predetermined temperature by a cooling medium flowing within a jacket ( 14 ), for instance , water and then fed through a pump ( 15 ) and a pipe ( 16 ) to a reaction container ( 9 ). the flow rate is controlled by means of a valve ( 17 ). the liquid fed to the reaction container provided with the temperature controlling jacket passes through the orifice ( 1 ) located on the hollow shaft ( 2 ), is dispersed by means of the net ( 8 ), and then is introduced into the immobilized enzyme - charged chamber . the specific substance contained in the liquid and contacted with the immobilized enzyme , for instance , such as sugar , protein or fat is hydrolyzed by each enzyme . the thus treated liquid is allowed to stagnate in the reaction container ( 9 ) for a fixed period of time and then is made flow down from an overflowing pipe ( 19 ) to the constant - temperature tank ( 13 ). in the apparatus according to the present invention , the rotary column is rotated by means of the speed change motor ( 3 ) in order that the contacting degree between the immobilized enzyme and the liquid may be increased and thus the reaction efficiency may be raised , which additionally brings about the favorable result that the occurrence of channelling phenomenon can be prevented . the partly hydrolyzed liquid returned to the constant - temperature tank ( 13 ) is stirred by means of a stirrer and is again fed into the reaction container ( 9 ) by the pump ( 15 ). it is necessary that the circulating flow rate of liquid and the number of rotations of the rotary column should be controlled depending on the relation of the quantities of immobilized enzyme and chamber capacity thereof . in other words , controlling of the flow rate depending on the relation of the quantities of immobilized enzyme and the chamber capacity is critical for the reaction to be conducted in a short period time and with good efficiency . in more detail , when the percentage of immobilized enzyme quantity for the chamber capacity is high , the circulating flow rate and the nubmer of rotations of the liquid is raised so that the contraflow of the liquid may be prevented which is caused by the fact that the immobilized enzyme is dense , thereby removing the stagnation of reaction substances on the surface of the immobilized enzyme and enhancing the reaction efficiently . on the other hand , when the percentage of immobilized enzyme quantity is low , it is critical to prevent the liquid from flowing down without contacting with the immobilized enzyme by taking the following steps , that is , of reducing the circulating flow rate of the liquid so as to increase the residence time of the immobilized enzyme within the reactor and further reducing the number of rotations of the rotary column to such an extent that the immobilized enzyme charged in each chamber should not be omnipresent . when it is required to achieve the hydrolysis reaction in a short period of time using the apparatus according to the present invention or the liquid to be treated reaches an excessive quantity , we should increase the quantity of immobilized enzyme and control the circulating flow rate of liquid and the number of rotations of the rotary column . when the liquid reached a predetermined rate of reaction , the pump ( 15 ) is stopped and simultaneously the speed change motor ( 3 ) is stopped . then , a drain valve ( 21 ) of the reaction container is opened so that the liquid within the reaction container ( 9 ) may flow down from a pipe ( 22 ) to the constant - temperature tank ( 13 ). next , the reaction treated liquid within the constant - temperature tank ( 13 ) is drained , then the immobilized enzyme within the rotary column the constant temperature tank and the reaction container are washed . the constant - temperature tank may be washed using normal cip , but the immobilized enzyme must be washed using ion - exchange water , buffer solution or the like . the solids attached to the surface of the immobilized enzyme are washed away by the ion - exchange water , buffer solution or the like sprayed out the orifice provided on the hollow shaft , and additionally the solids are washed away by them also through a shower nozzle ( 23 ) and the solids attached to the outside of the rotary column . this reactor is such arranged that the supply of the washing solution such as ion - exchange water , buffer solution or the like is discontinued when it reaches a predetermined level of the container , and then the rotary column repeats its normal and reverse rotations for a fixed period of time , thereby achieving the result of washing the immobilized enzyme with high efficiency . after the passage of the fixed period of time , the drain valve is opened to discharge the soiled ion - exchange water , buffer solution or the like present within the reaction container . at this time , the rotary column is rotated at high speed so that the solids attached to the immobilized enzyme may be removed together with the ion - exchange water , buffer solution or the like . the repetition of aforesaid cycle several times can wash not only the immobilized enzyme completely but also the inside of the reaction container ( 9 ). these washing and dewatering operations can be effected automatically . the dewatered immobilized enzyme can be stored within the rotary column of the apparatus held at a fixed temperature . therefore , there is no necessity of taking the immobilized enzyme , once charged , out of the rotary column so far as the immobilized enzyme is not deteriorated in its activity . as is evident from the above explanation , the present invention eliminates the necessity of taking out the immobilized enzyme each time , whereby countermeasures for various contaminations resulting from taking the immobilized enzyme out of the apparatus may be dispensed with as well as every day operation may be simplified exceedingly . according to this figure , the apparatus is designed to dispose the reaction container above the constant - temperature tank and maintain the liquid surface uniformly by overflowing . on the other hand , it is also possible to dispose the reaction container at the same level with the constant - temperature tank by providing a level gage to the reaction container for the purpose of controlling a pump for returning the liquid from this container to the constant - temperature tank . the apparatus referred to above includes the circulation system but it is to be noted that the aforesaid circulation system is not necessarily required in the case of the present invention . taking an instance , cellulose triacetate fibers enwrapped with lactase as immobilized enzyme are used and set in each chamber of the rotary column illustrated in fig1 or fig2 . on the other hand , the solution of sterilized and then cooled skim milk is put in the constant - temperature tank illustrated in fig3 and is maintained at a temperature of about 6 ° to 7 ° c . next , the circulating pump is started for feeding the solution to the rotary column , and the lactose is hydrolyzed under the following conditions : quantity of immobilized enzyme ( total quantity , dry weight ): 250 - 500 g ( wherein the quantity of enzyme is 20 - 40 g ) as a result , there was obtained a final lactose hydrolysis rate ranging from 70 to 80 %.	2
as shown in fig1 a combination fluid collection and disposal apparatus 1 for collecting and disposing fluids aspirated from a patient from a surgical procedure includes as its principal components a collection unit 3 and a treatment unit 5 . the collection unit 3 has a vacuum port consisting of an inlet tube fitting 7 for connecting the collection unit 3 to a vacuum source ( not shown ) such as a clinical vacuum provided in a hospital which typically has a vacuum level of 25 in . hg . the collection unit 3 also has a pair of casters 9 and a pair of wheels 11 for movement of the unit 3 about the hospital and into a recess 13 in the treatment unit 5 for coupling the two units 3 and 5 together as is shown in phantom in fig1 . the collection unit 3 comprises a cabinet like housing 15 having a front panel 17 and a lower door 19 which opens to show a level meter 21 . the front panel 17 includes a plurality of vacuum gauges 23 , a main vacuum gauge 25 , an electronic digital display 27 for indicating the volume of fluids in the unit 3 , and a pair of indicator lights 29 for indicating when the collection unit 3 is either empty or filled to 80 % of its capacity . each of the vacuum gauges 23 has an associated suction port consisting of a male connector 31 for connecting a suction tube 33 thereto and a pair of vacuum regulator knobs 35 and 37 . the knob 35 regulates the vacuum while the other knob 37 is provided for quickly increasing from regulated vacuum to full vacuum . the main vacuum gauge 25 indicates the vacuum source level at the inlet 7 to the unit 3 . a knob 39 is also provided for regulating the level of vacuum from the vacuum source . a bypass door 41 on the front panel 17 has a plurality of female connectors 43 for engaging the male connectors 31 when the door 41 is closed . the door 41 also includes a male connector 45 on its opposite side and an internal network of piping 46 connected to the connectors 43 and 45 . with the door 41 in its closed position , fluids are prevented from escaping through the male connectors 31 when transporting the unit 3 . another door 47 is included on the front panel 17 for concealing a female battery charger connector 49 and an inlet wash connector 51 . the collection unit 3 also includes a quick connect drain outlet 53 located below the front panel 17 . referring now to fig9 the interior construction of the collection unit 3 is illustrated . the vacuum port 7 is connected by a vacuum line consisting of pipe 73 through the main vacuum gauge 25 , a first filter 75 , an automatic valve 77 , a second filter 79 , to a collection reservoir 81 . the filters 75 and 79 prevent fluids from entering the vacuum source . a filter for vacuum service to 10 - 6 torr with an efficiency of 99 . 9 % at 0 . 1 micron is recommended for filter 75 and a filter for vacuum service to 10 - 6 torr with an efficiency of 90 % at 0 . 1 micron is recommended for filter 79 . the reservoir 81 preferably has a 30 liter capacity and may be made of stainless steel , fiberglass , or any other suitable material . a vacuum gauge 83 , within the housing 15 of the collection unit 3 , is connected between the second filter 79 and the reservoir 81 . the difference between the two vacuum gauges 25 and 83 determines the filter maintenance cycle . the suction ports 31 are connected to reservoir 81 by suction lines 84 . a master vacuum regulator 85 and a valve 87 are connected between an inlet 89 in the reservoir 81 and the suction ports 31 . valve 87 is controlled by adjusting the knob 39 . additionally , a plurality of vacuum regulators 91 and valves 93 with their corresponding vacuum gauges 23 are connected between each connector 31 and the master regulator 85 . valves 93 may be controlled by adjusting their associated knobs 35 and 37 located on the front panel 17 . the master vacuum regulator 85 is adjusted to maintain the vacuum level at node 95 approximately 50 to 100 mm hg higher than the vacuum level at any of the connectors 31 . by maintaining the master vacuum regulator 85 at this vacuum level , finer control of the vacuum level at each of the connectors 31 is achieved . a pair of drain holes 97 in the bottom of the reservoir 81 are connected to the drain outlet 53 through a network of pipes 99 having a check valve 101 . although only a single drain - hole is necessary , a second hole is provided for redundancy . the check valve 101 prevents any fluids from re - entering the reservoir 81 after passing into the pipes 99 . also connected to the reservoir 81 is the level meter 21 and its associated hardware . the hardware includes an external pressure pipe 103 connected to the reservoir 81 , a tank fitting 105 mounted on top of the reservoir 81 and a bubbling bottle 107 both of which are connected to the level meter 21 , and a transducer / transmitter unit 109 which is connected to both the level meter 21 and the pipe 103 . a rechargeable battery 111 connected to the battery charger connector 49 powers the transducer / transmitter unit 109 . an output 113 from the unit 109 which indicates the liquid level in the reservoir 81 is sent to the display 27 . an additional pair of outputs 115 and 117 may be provided from the unit 109 for connecting to the lights 29 to indicate either the reservoir 81 is filled to 80 % of its capacity or the reservoir 81 is empty . additionally , a speaker ( not shown ) may be connected to the output 115 to audibly indicate when the reservoir is filled to 80 % of its capacity . the level meter 21 measures the fluid in the reservoir 81 in the following manner . the pipe 103 is purged with air and the pressure in the pipe 103 will increase only until all the fluid in the reservoir 81 is evacuated . after the fluid is evacuated any additional amount of air in the pipe 103 will bubble out freely through the pipe 103 . the resulting head pressure of the fluid returns to the level meter 21 and raises indicating fluid in the meter 21 to the corresponding depth of the fluid in the reservoir 81 . a specimen canister 118 , shown in phantom in fig9 may be attached to any of the connectors 31 to collect a sample of the aspirated fluids for subsequent testing . the vacuum regulator 91 , which is identical to the main vacuum regulator 85 , is further illustrated in fig1 . the regulator 91 comprises a body 119 having an interior chamber 121 , an inlet pipe 123 connected to one of the connectors 31 , a diaphragm or sleeve 125 connected to the inlet pipe 123 and an outlet pipe 127 which is in turn connected to node 95 . a retaining cap 129 is screwed onto the body 119 , and a vacuum tight seal 131 is included at each end of the diaphragm 125 . a pipe 133 is attached to the body 119 and connected to the vacuum source for providing a vacuum path from the vacuum source to the interior chamber 121 . the body 119 , the cap 129 , and all the pipes 123 , 127 , and 133 are constructed of stainless steel . the diaphragm 125 is preferred to be of an elastic material which is suitable for pressure and vacuum applications such as viton ( registered trademark of e . i . du pont de nemours and co .). to select the desired vacuum level in the vacuum path of the regulator 91 for suctioning fluids through the regulator 91 into the reservoir 81 , knob 35 is manually adjusted to control the vacuum on the outer surface of the diaphragm 125 . the vacuum level in the pipe 133 and the chamber 121 is always greater than the vacuum level in the diaphragm 125 . the treatment unit 5 comprises a floor mounted cabinet like housing 55 having a front panel 57 which includes a pair of indicator lights 59 and 61 for indicating the start and completion of the treatment cycle . the panel 57 may be opened to expose the interior of the unit 5 for servicing and a lock 63 is provided for securing the panel 57 . the recess 13 is sized and shaped to receive the collection unit 3 and included in the recess 13 are a pair of female connectors 65 and 67 for coupling with the male connectors 45 and 51 , another female connector 69 for coupling with the outlet 53 , and a male battery charger connector 71 for coupling with the connector 49 . the interior construction of the treatment unit 5 is shown in fig1 . the treatment unit 5 has a washing fluid port , preferably comprising a source of hot water 135 and a source of cold water 137 . a thermostatic mixing valve 139 which is operated by a controller time clock circuit 141 blends the hot and cold water to a predetermined temperature of about 68 degrees fahrenheit . the water branches off into two directions at a tee 143 . one branch directs the water through a flow regulator 145 , a back flow preventer 147 , and an automatic valve 149 into a mixing tank 151 . the water in the other branch flows through a flow regulator 153 and a back flow preventer 155 into a receiving tank 157 . a plurality of containers 159 are provided for containing a disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite . the disinfectant is sent through a metering pump 161 which has a dial 163 for selecting the desired amount of disinfectant to be injected into the mixing tank 151 to be mixed with the water . a recommended amount of disinfectant is 500 ppm . a check valve 165 is connected between the pump 161 and the tank 151 to prevent any water from entering the pump 161 . a supply of compressed air 167 flows through an automatic valve 169 and a check valve 171 into the tank 151 to flush the water and disinfectant from the tank 151 . the mixture of water and disinfectant is piped through the connectors 65 and 67 and their corresponding mating connectors 45 and 51 into the collection unit 3 and out of the unit 3 through the drain connector 53 and back into the treatment unit 5 through connector 69 . this mixture then flows into the receiving tank 157 and out through an opening 173 in the bottom of the tank 157 which is connected by a pipe 175 having a valve 177 to the main sewer line ( not shown ) when the valve 177 is opened . any of the mixture left in the wash lines 174 and 176 drains through drain line 178 into the receiving tank 157 . a test draw off 179 is also provided with the tank 157 for withdrawing a sample of the water in the tank 157 for testing purposes . the draw off 179 includes a pipe 181 having a valve 183 connected to an opening 185 in the tank 157 . the controller circuit 141 is electrically connected to mixing valve 139 , automatic valve 149 , metering pump 161 , and automatic valve 169 to operate the valves and the pump . the controller circuit 141 is also connected to indicator lights 59 and 61 to indicate when the treatment unit 5 is operating and when it has completed its operation . a wall plug ( not shown ) plugged into a wall outlet powers the controller unit 141 and a battery charger ( not shown ) connected to the controller unit 141 which charges the power source 111 . additionally , the receiving tank 157 is vented to the atmosphere by vent 187 . water is allowed to continuously flow from the water sources 135 and 137 through flow regulator 153 and back flow preventer 155 into the tank 157 to maintain a trap seal 189 to prevent sewer gas infiltration into the treatment unit 5 and the collection unit 3 . a constant flow rate of 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 gallon per minute is required to maintain the seal 189 . the constant flow also helps to prevent coagulation of the fluids in the sewer line . a gravity drain 191 is also provided in the receiving tank 157 . whenever fluids are to be aspirated from a patient , the collection unit 3 of the present invention is rolled into an operating room and the system empty indicator 29 is checked to be certain the unit 3 is empty and ready for operation . once the unit 3 is connected to the vacuum source in the room , the main vacuum gauge 25 indicates the level of vacuum from the vacuum source . door 41 is opened to uncover the male connectors 31 and suction tubes 33 are inserted on the connectors 31 . knobs 35 are manually adjusted to set the desired vacuum level for all of the tubes 33 . the unit 3 is now operational and fluid may be aspirated through each of the . tubes 33 from the patient to be collected in the reservoir 81 . also during the procedure , a specimen canister 118 may be inserted between the suction tube 33 and the connector 31 to collect a quantity of fluids for subsequent testing . during surgery if a sudden increase in vacuum is necessary on one tube , knob 37 may be turned to immediately increase the vacuum level to that at node 95 . after the procedure is completed , the unit 3 is disconnected from the vacuum source and the suction tubes 33 are disconnected from the connectors 31 . the volume of fluid collected by the unit 3 may be recorded by viewing the digital display 27 or the level meter 21 . the bypass door 41 is closed to insure that no fluids spill out when the unit 3 is moved . the unit 3 is then rolled into the room where the treatment unit 5 is located . the two units 3 and 5 are mated by the coupling together of the wash connectors 45 and 65 , 51 and 57 , drain connectors 53 and 69 , and battery charger connectors 49 and 71 . the treatment unit 5 senses when the connections have been completed and the wash cycle is activated . any misalignment between the units 3 and 5 will deactivate the wash cycle once it is initiated . the wash cycle begins with the controller unit 141 opening the mixing valve 139 , the automatic valve 149 , and starting the metering pump 161 to inject disinfectant into the mixing tank 151 . this cycle is timed by the controller unit 141 for any selected length of time . the mixture of water and disinfectant in the mixing tank 151 flows into the collection unit 3 to purge the reservoir 81 of any fluids and to disinfect the collection unit 3 . the fluids and the mixture drain through the drain connectors 53 and 69 into the receiving tank 157 and then into the main sewer line . upon completion of the timed wash cycle the automatic valve 149 closes and the pump 161 stops . automatic valve 169 opens for a preselected length of time to send compressed air into the two units 3 and 5 to force all fluids out of the units 3 and 5 . at the end of this cycle , light 61 is activated to indicate the collection unit 3 has been emptied and disinfected and is ready for use . as various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	0
a fracturing process using a method of the present invention is represented in fig1 a . this includes pumping a fracturing fluid 2 into a well 4 such that a fracture 6 in an adjacent formation 8 forms and pressure signals are generated . the fracturing fluid 2 can be of any suitable type known in the art , and it is pumped into the well 4 in any suitable manner known in the art . in fig1 a , the placement of the fracturing fluid is shown as occurring through a tubing string 10 that extends into a region of the well 4 that is isolated in known manner by suitable known sealing devices 12 , 14 ( for example , packers ). this isolated region enables the fracturing fluid 2 to be exerted against the desired portion of the formation 8 and thereby initiate and extend the fracture 6 ( only one wing of which fracture is shown in that a fracture typically extends in two ( typically opposite ) directions from the wellbore ). the present invention is not limited to any particular fracturing fluid or fracturing fluid placement technique ; therefore , other fracturing fluid and delivery can be used . one non - limiting example is of the type represented in fig1 b ; here , fracturing fluid is pumped through tubing string 10 outside an inner tubing string 10 a ( in the fig1 b application , tubing string 10 a can be referred to as a “ deadstring ”) disposed within the tubing string 10 . in the fig1 b representation , pressure is sensed through the deadstring . another non - limiting example is hydrajet fracturing technology , with which fractures can be placed in cased or open vertical , deviated or horizontal well sections without the use of sealing devices such as packers and bridge plugs . in this process , represented in fig1 c , a dual - flow system is used in which both outer tubing string 10 and inner tubing string 10 a deliver fracturing fluid through a hydrajet tool , which can also function as a perforating tool ( when the hole is cased or lined ) and as a sealing device using the bernoulli principle . the sealing provided is a dynamic sealing process achieved by fluid velocity . this velocity , which is created through the jetting tool , propels fluid at velocities greater than 650 feet / second . therefore , according to bernoulli , pressures around the jet are quite low . depending on local conditions , annular fluid may enter the high - velocity fluid stream into the fracture , or , because the sealing is not absolute , the jet fluid may leak off into the annulus . the fracturing method of the present invention , with whatever fracturing fluid and delivery that may be selected , further comprises sensing pressure signals that arise during the pumping of the fracturing fluid and resultant fracture creation . sensing of pressure can occur using any suitable technique . for example , sensing can occur downhole with real - time data telemetry to the surface or delayed transfer ( for example , by data storage downhole and retrieval of the downhole sensing device or by data storage downhole and later telemetry to the surface ). such downhole sensing can be in any suitable location typically selected dependent on the specific fracturing fluid placement technique used ( for example , in the tubing string ( see , for example , fig1 a ); in the isolated region ( see , for example , fig1 b ); or in the annulus if it communicates with the pressure ( see , for example , fig1 c ). alternatively or additionally , sensing can occur at the surface . consider , for example , that the fluid delivery system is typically the largest supplier of sound / pressure waves inside the wellbore . these pressure waves are delivered downhole by high - pressure fluids . in at least the hydrajet fracturing process , high - pressure fluid energy is transformed into high kinetic energy , and a high - frequency pressure wave is mixed into this accumulation of sound energy . in conventional fracturing technologies , these pressure / sound waves are transmitted through the treating string , but in the hydrajet fracturing approach , the annulus may serve as the better transmission conduit . in other jobs , downhole gauge readings may provide the better data to evaluate . in general , however , any sensing technique and equipment suitable for detecting the desired pressure signal ( s ) with adequate sensitivity / resolution can be used . whatever pressure sensing is used , the pressure signal is provided to the surface , typically in the form of an electrical signal , as indicated by reference numeral 16 in fig1 . it is known that the pressure to be sensed can change over time and that the pressure can include pressure components of various frequencies . certain of these frequencies might be amplified by certain shape factors and dimensions of the well cavity and the fracture . for example , as the fracture 6 of the fig1 illustrations grows , dominating frequencies within the composite pressure may change during the fracturing process . as a fracture develops , typically certain frequency components are amplified and the complex mixture of pressure / sound waves is transmitted back to the surface . thus , in accordance with the present invention , the fracturing method being described with reference to the fig1 illustrations also comprises , as indicated at reference numeral 18 , determining frequencies at various times of the sensed pressure signals and determining from such data at least one characteristic of the fracture 6 formed by the fracturing process . this can be performed , at least in part , using a suitable computer 20 that provides an output signal to be used to control the overall fracturing process , such as controlling the pumping of the fracturing fluid or the formulating of the fracturing fluid , for example . an example of such a computer 20 includes types of conventional data acquisition systems used at well sites in the oil and gas industry as known in the art , but programmed ( in software or firmware ) using known programming techniques to implement the desired functions of the present invention as described herein . in accordance with the present invention , fracture behavior , including positioning of sand or proppants , can be used by such computer 20 to determine whether or not to increase flow rate or decrease proppant flow when the fracture is trying to close or screening out prematurely , or to decrease flow rate or increase proppant flow when screenout is desired . in using the computer 20 , for example , in accordance with the present invention , the computer 20 receives pressure data obtained over time from the well undergoing the fracturing process ( well 4 in the illustrations of fig1 ). receiving such pressure data is indicated in fig2 by reference numeral 22 . using the present invention , such data is transformed to frequency data at selected sampling times related to the time aspect of the pressure data ; this is indicated in fig2 by the reference numeral 24 . from the frequency data , frequency related changes over time are identified as indicated at reference numeral 26 in fig2 . in a particular implementation of the present invention , decreasing or increasing (“ or ” being inclusive as encompassing either or both ) frequency sections are identified , which decreasing / increasing is used to determine one or more characteristics of the fracture as indicated by reference numeral 27 in fig2 . in making a frequency analysis of the pressure data by transforming the pressure - time data into frequency data , frequency spectrum data is created in response to pressure in the well sensed over time during the fracturing process performed on the well . many transform methods are known in the mathematical and engineering world , such as hilbert , wigner and radon transforms , and of course fourier transforms . fourier transform methods are popular in the engineering world and are particularly suitable in the present invention . in a particular implementation , this includes performing in the computer 20 ( for the fig1 example ) a short time fourier transform ( stft ) on the pressure data received in the computer ; this provides frequency data for selected times of the pressure data . wavelet technology can also be used , such as by being performed before doing the transform but in a manner to focus the later applied transform and analysis on a selected frequency range . to use the frequency data in accordance with a particular implementation of the present invention , the aforementioned increasing or decreasing sections are identified . this identification can be performed within the computer 20 , for example , such as using suitable programming to compare respective frequency spectra over the selected time slices used during the transformation from pressure to frequency data . another identification technique includes obtaining a graphical output , such as can be provided from suitably programmed computer 20 , for example , that creates a plot of the frequencies of short bursts at the various times using the stft approach . for example , fourier transformation is performed on a set of data points from the pressure data at a time n to the pressure data at a time m ( p n to p m ), the next one for p n + k to p m + k where k is greater than 1 , etc . for the number of pressure “ slices ” desired . one specific type of plot is a waterfall plot , such as of a type described further below . note that a waterfall plot helps the human mind capture the phenomenon ; while computers may not need such methods to do its decision making steps . in a particular implementation of the present invention , determining at least one characteristic of the fracture from the frequency data includes determining , in response to a declining frequency defined by the frequency spectrum data , that the fracture is being extended by the fracturing process . this can be obtained , for example , from a waterfall plot mentioned above if in such plot there is a section of declining frequency over a period of time . another characteristic that can be determined is related to an increasing frequency . that is , determining at least one characteristic of the fracture includes determining , in response to an increasing frequency defined by the frequency spectrum data , that the fracture is not being extended by the fracturing process . such increasing frequency information has been specifically related both to a fracture closing and to proppant backing up in the fracture ( such as in a tip screenout event ). this can be obtained , for example , from a waterfall plot mentioned above if in such plot there is a section of increasing frequency over a period of time . the foregoing has considered the present invention in the context of a fracturing method . following is more detailed information relevant to this , as well as to specifically the fracture monitoring method portion of the present invention . some important aspects of a fracture stimulation process are the measured depth of the well and the fact that fractures increase the size of the contained cavity or control volume . fracture closure decreases this volume . additionally , the sand or proppant filling the fracture reduces the void space . however , the measured depth of the well remains the same during the stimulation process . therefore , a natural frequency component related to the well depth is defined by the following equation : where f is frequency , c is the speed of sound in the fluid in the well , and md is measured depth . data exhibiting frequencies lower than the one calculated in accordance with the above equation is taken as coming from inside the fracture because a frequency lower than the measured distance - related natural frequency indicates a larger distance than the measured depth of the well . on the other hand , frequencies higher than the natural frequency associated with the measured depth could be random noise or noise reflected from inside the fracture to the wellbore wall ( that is , a distance shorter than the measured depth ). fracture growth or closure or packing of sand is a continuous process during which changing pressures occur downhole . the present invention obtains frequencies from such pressures using numerous transformed data sets , such as in a particular implementation using several fourier charts created as a function of time . in accordance with the present invention , such stacked charts , or waterfall plots , quickly illustrate trends or movements in the fracture , allowing them to be identified quickly . to facilitate the transform analysis , suitable filtering can be used to focus on selected , significant frequency ranges , for example . wavelet technology , for example , can be used . particularly suitable applications , but not limiting ones , include when pressure data is too complex , too noisy , or continually changing with time . wavelets have been used in geological studies in which sound traveling through complex structures is evaluated differently from the present invention to determine the actual shape , construction , and composition of the formation . pressure transients from a wellbore have also been evaluated differently from the present invention by using wavelet technology . in the present invention , it is contemplated that wavelets can allow closer investigation into a suspected data set or can validate a supposition created using the aforementioned fourier analysis of the present invention , for example . well a was a vertical well that was proppant stimulated through the annulus . this well was about 8 , 408 feet deep ( measured depth / true vertical depth ). using the speed of sound through diesel fluid at about 3 , 800 feet / second and the equation set forth above , the natural frequency at the wellbore is approximately 0 . 226 hz ( f = 3 , 800 /( 2 × 8 , 408 )). fig3 shows the waterfall plot of the fourier transform charts obtained using pressure data for well a sensed through the annulus for an arrangement as in fig1 b . each chart section of fig3 was computed with a 16 - second interval between each waterfall element . that is , each curve in the drawing represents one stft chart of a time slot in time . the wellbore depth / length ( natural ) frequency component is shown as a straight dotted line 28 in fig3 . in this waterfall plot , locations are identified where a certain frequency amplitude exceeds a certain threshold ; and the frequency movement or trend is then tracked as time progresses . note that in the fourier plot , amplitudes ( or energy level ) of lower frequency signals are greater than for higher frequencies . this is due to the fact that fluids in the wellbore tend to dampen or filter out high frequencies quickly . in the plot , we define points where frequency energy level begins to be noticeable as a “ frequency front ” or “ wave front ”. with a short time interval , trends can be easily identified . in fig3 , these trends are represented by a solid line 30 that follows the frequency front . identification of these trends may sometimes be difficult , and faster data - collection rates may be necessary . in many fracturing jobs , pressure data is obtained at one data set per second . considering the natural frequency equation given above and sampling rate , frequency detection limitations , even faster sampling may be needed in shallow wells ( such as wells less than 3 , 800 feet deep for a speed of sound in fluid factor of 3 , 800 feet / second ). fracture extension or growth ( increased true cavity depth ) on the plot of fig3 ( and subsequently illustrated waterfall plots ) is defined as frequency reductions , while closure or proppant front progression to the wellbore ( decreased true cavity depth ) is defined by frequency increase . the solid line 30 in fig3 follows these variations and indicates that fracture development occurs after the 500 - second point . for example , line segment 30 a read against the frequency scale indicates a decrease from above 0 . 226 hz to about 0 . 12 hz , so there is fracture extension during the corresponding time ; and line segment 30 b read against the frequency scale indicates an increase back to about 0 . 226 hz , so there is fracture closure or proppant buildup during the corresponding time . the substantially unchanging frequency segment of line 30 between segments 30 a and 30 b indicates unchanging boundaries ( for example , the fracture is not extending , or it is extending but sand is building up at the same velocity so that the boundary appears to be not extending ). additionally , a few minor closures or minor screenouts occur throughout the job . the pressure data used for fig3 was the annulus pressure data . well a also had open production tubing ( as at tubing string 10 a in fig1 b ) through which bottomhole data was recorded . because the fluid column did not change , downhole pressure could be recorded accurately . obtaining the fourier transform plots ( every 16 seconds ) on this data set results in the plot shown in fig4 . the resulting plot is much cleaner and noise effects are minimized as pressure pulses from the pumps , for example , have to travel a long distance from surface to downhole . the frequency trend is presented as a solid line 32 in this chart . the generation of the microfracture at the beginning of the job is also quite apparent in fig4 . note that fig4 is similar to fig3 with the exception that the data is much cleaner . as each wave front depends largely upon the identifiable threshold , the fourier wave front represented by lines 30 , 32 seems only to indicate the fracture creation qualitatively . note that this threshold can easily be changed by using different amplification schemes ; so that the absolute value is definitely suspect as to quantitatively measuring a downhole feature or condition . well b was a vertical well with depth of 6 , 952 feet and treated using the same manner and same installation as well a . during this time , the recording equipment was placed in the dead string ( tubing ) while fracturing was done through the annulus . the stimulation treatment was performed so that a screenout would occur at the end of the job to improve fracture conductivity . the stft stacked chart or waterfall plot obtained as part of the present invention is shown in fig5 . the natural frequency related to the wellbore depth and a sound speed of 3 , 800 feet / second as above can be computed as 0 . 273 hz , as illustrated with the dotted line 34 . note that the sound speed changes from fluid to fluid and also is very dependent upon pressure and compressibility . additionally , the extending of the fracture is clearly represented by this plot ( see frequency front ; as frequencies get lower ), as is a massive screenout at the end of the job ( frequency suddenly gets higher prior to the end of the job , significantly exceeding the 0 . 273 hz line 34 , as indicated by reference number 35 ). as seen in fig3 through 5 , the plots are quite straightforward in conventional fracturing technologies . with “ conventional fracturing ” it assumes that , as in fig1 a and 1b , a single stream of fluid is pumped in a tubing ( typically the production tubing , for example ) which is open ended within the wellbore or pumped straight into the wellbore when the tubing does not exist or if no packer assemblies are installed at the end of the production tubing . an “ unconventional ” or “ new ” fracturing technique is discussed in the next paragraph . although the plots are still qualitative in nature , they are relatively clean from other noises . in another example discussed below , jetting energy contributes a tremendous amount of noise , thus making evaluation more difficult . a relatively new fracturing technique , known as hydrajet fracturing ( for example , one such technique is provided by halliburton energy services under the mark “ surgifrac ”), employs two different flow streams , one through the tubing and the other through the annulus as represented in fig1 c . the inner tubing flow stream is pumped at tremendously high pressures and high flow rates ( high horsepower ) through jetting equipment ; while the annulus flow stream between the inner and outer tubing strings is pumped at lower pressures and lower horsepower . each of these fluid streams contributes to the noise in the system . as there is a high pressure differential across the hydrajet tool jet nozzles , fluid is accelerated to a very high velocity ( up to 600 - 700 feet / second ) which causes tremendous shearing action between the jet and the wellbore fluid ; this creates tremendously high levels of noise in the system . in addition to this , the jet impacting on the wellbore walls substantially increases the noise levels , which can mask other noise components which may be needed to analyze using the present invention . unlike conventional techniques , this new technique also generates multiple fractures at many locations in the well , and each of these fractures contributes some noise components which may affect analytical capabilities . following are two examples of the present invention as later applied to data from two hydrajet fracture jobs . well c was slightly deviated and had a measured depth of about 10 , 300 feet . lease crude was used as the primary treatment fluid . using a speed of sound of approximately 4 , 000 feet / second , a wellbore natural frequency of about 0 . 2 hz is obtained . the fracture development can be observed in the fourier transform chart in fig6 , which was created based on the previously obtained pressure data for well c . as busy as fig6 is , confirming what actually happened may be done as shown by the line representing the frequency or wave front as done earlier . however , throughout the plot , there are occasionally high level bursts of noise which seems like white noise ( having all frequencies present ). to investigate further , wavelets are used . using wavelet technology , the input signal ( here , the pressure data ) is decomposed into two sectors , which decomposition occurs in known manner to effectively filter using a selected wavelet function high / low pass filter . each of these sectors are further decomposed into two sectors . after a few levels of such decompositions , sectors become sufficiently narrow or focused as to their frequency ranges ; and for this application , a stacked plot using wavelets that were derived around the 0 . 2 hz sector is shown in fig7 note that , as discussed earlier , the wellbore natural frequency is about 0 . 2 . by selecting the area around 0 . 2 , noise elements with frequencies around 0 . 2 are amplified while the others are impeded to essentially zero . essentially , frequencies away from the wellbore basic frequencies are eliminated or filtered by use of wavelet technology to improve clarity as fractures extend from the wellbore . known wavelet filters include gaussian , mexican hat , morlets , daubechies , and many more forms well known in the art , and the present invention is not limited to any particular wavelet filter . using this filtering the effects of the high level , lower frequencies , are drastically reduced ; and frequencies of interest ( such as the frequency front discussed earlier ) are now represented by frequency peaks . from the frequency peaks , we can identify slow movements of these peaks in the stacked plots and these moving peaks can be seen as ridges . using these ridges can give better quantitative definition to the selected results ( quantitatively as to relationship to frequency in the plot and possibly as to quantitative analysis or information that can be derived therefrom ). in fig7 , the tremendous amount of “ stray ” noise coming from turbulence , etc ., causes a flurry of peaks which makes the selection of the “ real ” ridge difficult . however , concentrating on ridges that originate from the 0 . 2 area ( which is the wellbore surface ) the fracture development is clearly demonstrated by arrow 36 , until the perturbation by an experiment that had been performed on the well ( two successive reductions of annular flow rate by 1 . 5 barrels / minute each ). arrow 36 marks a declining ridge of the waterfall plot , thereby indicating fracture growth ; arrow 38 marks an increasing ridge , thereby indicating screenout due to the experiment ; and arrow 40 indicates a subsequent fracture growth period , when annular flow rate had been restored . an interesting phenomenon exists during the “ flow perturbation ” experiment . to show this more clearly , a stacked wavelet plot was created and focused around the time the flow perturbations were made ( that is , a portion of the plot of slices shown in fig7 was focused on ). again , frequencies away from the wellbore basic frequencies are eliminated or filtered . this plot is shown in fig8 and 9 ( which have their own time references , thus marked differently than in fig7 ). fig8 shows the plot region indicating that the fracture starts to close , while fig9 shows the other side of this plot as screenout is in progress . the high peaks in these plots form an almost straight ridge on the left side of fig8 and on the right side of fig9 , which is observed from the other side of fig8 . the other peak also forms a straight ridge ; and this ridge is quite straight , centering and staying stationary at 0 . 2 ( thus probably reflecting from the wellbore fracture entry correlated to our earlier mentioned wellbore function ; note that this stationary behavior at 0 . 2 can be better seen from fig9 ). the ridge formed by the high peaks moves slowly toward the lower frequency . in fig8 , an apparent ridge connects to the tall ridge on the left , which probably relates to the fracture extension . this is indicated by arrow 42 a . at the time corresponding with the end of the arrow 42 a , the flow rate was reduced by 1 . 5 barrels per minute ( bpm ) and suddenly , the ridge stayed stationary if not slightly moving to a higher frequency . it can be theorized that the fracture is extending a little , but counteracted by sand packing ( front distance remains the same ). when the flow is again reduced by 1 . 5 bpm , the frequency peak suddenly increases rapidly , even exceeding the 0 . 2 frequency . this indicates sudden closure of the fracture combined with sand screenout rapidly moving in the direction of the wellbore , and some of the sand , after a few seconds , starts to “ populate ” the wellbore . this is indicated by arrow 42 b in fig8 and 9 . the flow rate was again increased , and immediately the ridge moved back to below the 0 . 2 mark ( see arrow 42 c in fig9 ). one aspect of these two plots of fig8 and 9 is that the wellbore frequency and the fracture - tip frequency have high peaks and their values are fixed during the stoppage . as soon as sand buildup becomes significant , the frequency is replaced by a weaker front , which may indicate that the sand pack is not yet consolidated . well d was a horizontal well stimulated using hydrajet fracturing technology . the well &# 39 ; s true vertical depth was approximately 6 , 500 feet with measured depth of about 8 , 704 feet . a first fracturing treatment produced the annulus pressure and the downhole proppant concentration data as shown in fig1 . a stacked fourier plot created later from this data of fig1 for this stimulation stage is shown in fig1 . solid line 44 identifies the fracture tip movement or the proppant front movement . sharp peaks , such as at 48 , identify tremendous white noise , which often indicates something major has occurred , such as initial fracture development . in the beginning , good fracture growth is shown to have been obtained ; however , as a certain fracture length was achieved , leakoff became substantial and the fracture slowly stopped growing as indicated by the graph at reference numeral 50 . the boost pressure was increased to stagnation pressure , which reopened the fracture ( more white nose ) as indicated at reference numeral 52 in the plot of fig1 . in general , a good , but not large , fracture trend occurred , shown by arrow 46 in fig1 . after the first fracture was completed , the coiled tubing moved the jetting tool to a second fracture location . the annulus pressure and downhole proppant concentrations for this second fracturing are plotted in fig1 . in this stage , no distinct difficulties are observable in the fracture development , as indicated by the left movement of solid line 54 in fig1 , which figure shows a waterfall plot later developed from the data of fig1 . toward the end of the stage , there seems to be a confusing situation — one curve shows more extension ( see reference numeral 56 ), but the peaks 58 on the right side of the figure could also be interpreted as the continuation of the curve . in this case , a late minor screenout may have occurred at the end of the stage . a third fracture of well d is shown in fig1 and 15 , and a fourth stage of fracturing in well d is shown in fig1 and 17 . in fig1 and 17 , the fracture fronts are indicated to grow as planned , as observed by the solid fracture front line 62 ( fig1 ) and 66 ( fig1 ). note again in the present invention , that fractures are taken to grow if the front line moves to the low frequency side of the wellbore natural frequency line ( dotted lines 60 , 64 in fig1 , 17 , respectively ) fig1 and 19 relate to a fifth fracturing in well d , with fig1 representing recorded pressure and proppant concentration data at the time , and fig1 showing a later developed waterfall plot using the earlier data . fig1 indicates that something happened during this job because proppant concentrations suddenly jump to about 12 . 5 pounds per gallon ( lb / gal ). fig1 shows that screenout occurred almost instantaneously after the sudden increase of proppant concentration downhole . this is evident by the curve 68 moving rapidly to the right ( no evidence of staying within the left side of the dotted line ) and also the tremendous noise activities 70 at high frequencies . from the foregoing , a particular implementation of the present invention includes using a waterfall plot to identify at least one of a declining ridge section for a selected frequency range over a period of time and an increasing ridge section for the selected frequency range . in at least some applications , using the waterfall plot includes identifying a section of declining frequency over a first period of time and a section of increasing frequency over a second period of time . this information indicates either fracture growth ( declining ridge ) or fracture growth stoppage such as , for example , closure or screenout ( increasing ridge ). 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 preferred embodiments of the invention have been described for the purpose of this disclosure , changes in the construction and arrangement of parts and the performance of steps can be made by those skilled in the art , which changes are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims .	4
illustrated in fig2 and 3 is an apparatus 10 adapted to perform both waterjet and edm machining operations on components , such as in the repair of an air - cooled airfoil to closely duplicate the contours and cooling holes of the original in accordance with a preferred aspect of this invention . while the apparatus 10 and the process performed by the apparatus 10 will be discussed in reference to repairing air - cooled nozzle partitions ( such as the partitions 52 of fig1 ), the apparatus 10 can be used to perform similar repair operations on other types of hardware , including various air - cooled components of other turbomachinery . the apparatus 10 includes a multi - axis head 12 suspended from a gantry 14 , and an edm unit 16 and a waterjet unit 18 mounted to the head 12 . aside from the edm unit 16 and its associated equipment and controls , the apparatus 10 , including the head 12 and waterjet unit 18 , can be of a type commercially available . more preferably , the apparatus 10 is a modified adaptation of a waterjet cutting system equipped with a five - axis waterjet head that is commercially available from par systems under the name vectorâ ®. the par system waterjet cutting system provides a desirable and convenient foundation from the apparatus 10 of this invention can be built . various features of this cutting system advantageously used in the apparatus 10 include a pressure capability of about 60 , 000 psi ( about 4130 bar ), a linear positioning accuracy of about +/− 0 . 003 inch ( about +/− 75 micrometers ), and the versatility of a five - axis positioning capability , which is particularly advantageous in view of the complex three - dimensional contours of airfoils . however , while the apparatus 10 is depicted in fig2 and 3 as being based on the par systems waterjet cutting system , various other configurations are possible for the apparatus 10 . fig2 shows the apparatus 10 as including a controller 20 , which can be of a type provided with the par system waterjet cutting system , e . g ., preferably pc - based with standard cnc programming capability to control the movement of the head 12 using absolute and relative point coordinate data . a single handheld remote pendant 44 is provided with which the movement of the multi - axis head 12 can be controlled by a single operator . the controller 20 preferably stores coordinate data for the particular airfoil ( not shown ) to be processed , so that the head 12 can be operated to precisely position the edm unit 16 , and optionally the water jet unit 18 , relative to the surface contours of the airfoil . the waterjet unit 18 shown in fig3 includes a waterjet nozzle 22 mounted to the multi - axis head 12 . the nozzle 22 can be of any suitable type capable of discharging a jet stream capable of cutting through the material of the airfoil , e . g ., nickel - base and cobalt - base superalloys commercially - known under the names gtd - 222 and fsx - 414 , respectively . a high - pressure fluid line 24 delivers water ( or another suitable fluid ) to the nozzle 22 . a separate supply line 26 is provided for delivering to the nozzle 22 an abrasive media ( e . g ., garnet ) of a type known and used to promote the cutting action of waterjets . the edm unit 16 is shown as being supported on a side of the multi - axis head 12 opposite the waterjet nozzle 22 . as with the waterjet unit 18 , the edm unit 16 can be of a type commercially available . more preferably , the edm unit 16 is adapted from an edm electrode machine commercially available from ann arbor machine , inc . while a particular type and configuration for the edm unit 16 is represented in fig3 it is foreseeable that various other configurations and types could be used . in the repair of airfoils such as the nozzle segment 50 of fig1 the edm unit 16 is intended to restore the cooling holes in a weld - repaired section of the airfoil such that the contours and cooling holes of the repaired section closely duplicate that of the original airfoil . it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to appropriately identify operational parameters for the edm unit 16 that render the unit 16 capable of quickly penetrating the airfoil material to consistently produce accurately - sized cooling holes without distorting the surrounding material . fig3 shows the edm unit 16 as comprising an edm head 28 modified to include a quick - position adapter plate 29 . the adapter plate 29 is secured with two quick - snap bushing and plug sets 31 to a second adapter plate 30 bolted to the multi - axis head 12 . the bushing and plug sets 31 enable the quick - position adapter plate to be quickly released from the adapter plate 30 , so that the edm head 28 can be can be readily removed from the head 12 . as a result of the manner in which the quick - position adapter plate 29 is mounted , the head 28 generally has an inverted l - shape . an electrode guide 32 is mounted to the edm head 28 , with the lower end of the guide 32 projecting below the lower end of the head 28 . the guide 32 can be of a conventional type for supporting one or more edm electrodes 33 . a power source 34 is shown mounted to an upper end of the head 28 , by which voltage and current are supplied to the electrode 33 . the electrode 33 may be formed of graphite or another suitable material ( e . g ., brass ), and preferably has a cross - sectional shape corresponding to the desired shape of the cooling holes to be machined in the airfoil . with the multi - axis head 12 , the electrode 33 can be precisely and repeatably positioned a specified distance from the surface of an airfoil to be machined , establishing a spark gap that is typically on the order of about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 003 inch ( about 25 to about 75 micrometers ). the power source 34 is operated to cause a charge to build up on the electrode 33 , which when sufficient causes an electrical current to jump the spark gap . charge buildup and discharge is achieved by providing a suitable dielectric electrical - discharge medium between the electrode 33 and airfoil , such that material is removed from the airfoil by a sparking discharge action while the airfoil surface is being flushed with the medium . the medium can be delivered to the electrode - to - airfoil spark gap via appropriate plumbing through the center of the electrode 33 to the cutting contact surface . while oils have been widely used for this purpose , the present invention preferably makes use of partially deionized water . as used herein , partially deionized water has an electrical resistance that is greater than that of tap water , but less than that of pure distilled water . a preferred range for the electrical resistance of the water used with the present invention is about 1000 to about 1500 ohms per centimeter . according to commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 489 , 582 to roedl et al ., partially deionized water is a desirable medium for the edm machining of cooling holes in air - cooled airfoils because , in addition to cooling the airfoil and aiding in removing the residual material machined therefrom , water is less likely to plug the cooling holes in comparison to oil - base media . using partially deionized water as the machining medium , suitable edm machining results can be achieved with the apparatus 10 of this invention by operating the power source 34 to supply an applied voltage of about 480 vac to about 40 vdc operational at the tip of the electrode 33 with an applied current capable of generating about 120 amperes . in addition to its airfoil surface being flushed with partially deionized water , the nozzle segment is preferably immersed in a bath of partially deionized water during machining . for this purpose , fig2 shows the apparatus 10 as including a catch tank system 38 comprising an edm tank 42 within a larger tank 40 , the latter of which collects spent water from the waterjet operation . as such , the tank 40 can generally be of a type conventionally used in waterjet cutting systems , such as the par system unit discussed above . the edm tank 42 is preferably adapted to be placed within the larger tank 40 when needed for the edm operation , so that the edm head 28 can be positioned over the edm tank 42 , with a workpiece holder 36 ( schematically represented in fig3 ), nozzle segment , and lower end of the electrode 33 submersed in the edm tank 42 so that partially deionized water within the tank 42 is present in the spark gap between the electrode 33 and the surface of the partition being machined . the edm tank 42 collects the partially deionized water used in the edm operation , and then delivers the collected water to a deionizing system ( not shown ) that supplies the edm operation . the edm tank 42 is preferably equipped with a float valve ( not shown ) for controlling the water level within the tank 42 , and sensors ( not shown ) for monitoring the electrical resistance of the partially deionized water . as discussed above , the apparatus 10 is particularly adapted to repair air - cooled nozzle segments of a gas turbine engine . the section of a nozzle segment 50 represented in fig1 comprises multiple partitions 52 ( airfoils ), each of which is at last partially hollow , with cooling holes 60 present in the airfoil wall generally along the trailing edges 58 of the partitions 52 . in service , cooling air is forced into the hollow interior of the partitions 52 and exits through the cooling holes 60 , with the effect that the temperature of each partition 52 is minimized through a combination of heat transfer and film cooling . when repair of a partition 52 is necessary , the region most likely to need replacement is the airfoil trailing edge 58 , encompassing the region in which the cooling holes 60 are present , though any surface region of a partition 52 may require repair , from the trailing edge 58 forward to the leading edge 56 , and the suction and pressure surfaces therebetween . removal of a damaged portion of a partition is performed after the nozzle segment is removed from the turbomachine in which it is installed . the nozzle segment is placed on an appropriate support or fixture ( e . g ., a platform or a specially adapted workpiece holder similar to the holder 36 of fig3 ) in the waterjet tank 40 . the edm tank 42 is preferably removed from the waterjet tank 40 for this part of the operation , so as to permit relatively conventional operation of the waterjet unit 18 . the operator then controls the position of the waterjet nozzle 22 relative to the nozzle segment through the controller 20 and pendant 44 . depending on the particular application , the waterjet nozzle 22 is typically positioned about 0 . 25 to about 0 . 30 cm from the surface of the partition ( or another region of the segment that requires repair ), and then traversed across the surface of the partition to cut a preselected damaged region from the partition using waterjet parameters ( e . g ., pressure , jet diameter and traversal rate ) appropriate for the partition ( e . g ., based on material , thickness , etc .). during this operation , the operator can use the pendant 44 to visually position the waterjet nozzle 22 relative to the surface being cut . alternatively , the controller 20 could be used to control the movement of the multi - axis head 12 so that the waterjet nozzle 22 is precisely positioned and moved relative to the surface contours of the partition , based on the stored coordinate data of the nozzle 22 . once the intended damaged region is removed ( e . g ., the trailing edge of the partition ), the nozzle segment is removed from the apparatus 10 and undergoes a welding repair operation by which a replacement section is fabricated , such as by building up a weldment or welding a preformed insert in place . in either case , the welding operation preferably yields a replacement section that is as close as practical to the final aerodynamic shape desired for the partition , though additional grinding , etc ., may be necessary for this purpose . however , the cooling holes having the appropriate shape and size required to achieve adequate air cooling of the partition cannot be readily produced or maintained during the welding repair operation . for this purpose , the nozzle segment is placed on the workpiece holder 36 of the edm tank 42 , which has now been positioned within the larger waterjet tank 40 , and the multi - axis head 12 is operated with the pendant 44 and controller 20 to appropriately control the position and orientation of the electrode 33 relative to the surface of the partition before operating the edm unit 16 to electrical - discharge machine the desired cooling holes in the replacement section of the partition . as previously noted , the edm operation is performed while partially deionized water is present as the dielectric medium between the replacement section and the electrode 33 . as with the waterjet cutting operation , the multi - axis head 12 is controlled during this step of the operation , though at this time the movement of the multi - axis head 12 is controlled to precisely position and move the electrode 33 relative to surface contours of the partition based on the stored coordinate data that precisely locates the surface of the partition relative to the electrode 33 . while the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment , it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art . therefore , the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims .	8
with reference next to fig1 there is shown an excavator operative cab 10 having an operator seat 12 with an upright seat back 13 . two control consoles 14 and 15 straddle the seat 12 . several equipment operating foot pedals are mounted in front of the seat upon the cab floor 16 . two switch panels 18 straddle the seat back 13 . console 14 has a manual control stick 19 . console 15 has a forward control stick 20 located aside a forward portion of the seat 12 and a rear control stick 22 located aside a mid portion of the stick . the forward control stick 20 is mounted on a front top portion 24 of the console 15 so that it is on an inclined plane that slopes downwardly toward the front of the cab . the rear control stick 22 is mounted on a midpart 25 of the console top that slopes downwardly towards the rear of the cab from the front portion 24 . the forward control stick 20 includes bellows that extend along a forward incline at a normal angle with the console top portion 24 . a handle extends uprightly from the top of the bellows . thus the unshown control rod within the bellows and handle has an angular jog or bend where it emerges from the bellows . the handle may be moved omnidirectionally in a conventional joy - stick manner . the rear control stick 22 has bellows that are mounted uprightly on the rearwardly inclined console top portion 25 . a handle extends upright from the bellows . this handle however has a pad at its top with a generally flat , level top surface and with rounded front and rear surfaces 27 . it also has a button support protrusion that projects towards the front of the seat 12 . an electric switch button may be mounted on this protrusion that may be thumb activated with the hand that grips the pad . alternatively this pad may be used as a support for the forearm of the operator . preferably the rear control stick is also omnidirectionally operated as a conventional joy stick . the forward and rear control sticks are mounted fore and aft of each other beside the seat 12 at a spacing for an operator to grip the forward control stick while his forearm is supported atop the rear control stick with his or her arm generally level . thus , the top of the pad 26 of the rear control stick 22 is located at about the height of the bottom of the hand gripping portion of the forward control stick handle . each of the control sticks has conventional transducer boxes mounted to the undersurface of the top wall of the hollow console 15 . within these boxes manual position sensors sense the angle of the stick and in response thereto operate valves in pilot or control hydraulic lines . a set of pilot hydraulic lines thus extend downwardly from each box . since the lower portions of the sticks are on convergent axes at an acute angle with one another , this enables their hydraulic pilot lines also to converge as two bundles . at their convergence they merge together into an open end of a single conduit that extends out of the console to the power hydraulic system of the equipment in a space conserving manner . with reference next to fig2 it may be visualized how an operator may manipulate the control sticks while seated on seat 12 . on the leftmost illustration of the series , the operator is shown gripping the handle of the forward control stick 20 with his forearm resting atop the pad 26 of the rear control stick 22 . note that his wrist is not cocked with the handle in its neutral upright position . in other words , his hand is in an ergonomically neutral position when the control handle is in its mechanically neutral position . he may now move the handle fore and aft and laterally while his forearm remains supported on the rear control stick . moreover , he can simultaneously move the rear control stick laterally by exerting firm downward and lateral pressure on the pad . he may also move the two control sticks simultaneously forwardly and rearwardly with his one arm in unison . as shown in the center and right side illustrations of fig2 the operator may release the forward control stick and move his hand to a position gripping the pad of the rear control stick . in doing so he simply lifts his forearm slightly off the pad and rotates his wrist some 90 degrees as shown by the arrows . note that while gripping the rear control stick pad that his forearm is once again nearly level in a natural position even though the elbow has somewhat realigned the arm so that the forearm and upper arm have moved from a slightly obtuse angular relation to one that is more right angular . a modified version of the rear control stick is shown in fig3 . here the rear control stick 29 does not have the pad 26 . its top thus does not provide a good , comfortable support for the forearm . other than that this arrangement does possess the attributes of the other embodiment but also enables the operator to change control grips between the two control sticks without rotation of his hand . it thus is seen that an operator cab is now provided for an excavator or other earth working equipment with improved manual controls . while the invention has been shown and described in its preferred form , it should be realized that many modifications , changes , additions and deletions , in addition to those expressly recited , may be made thereto without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .	6
as shown in the accompanying figures , the compaction roller of the present invention has a rear section comprising a frame unit 3 supporting a rear cylindrical drum 1 on its axis ends ( not shown ). the rear section is connected to a front section also having a frame unit 4 supporting a front cylindrical drum 2 via its axis ends ( not shown ). the front section and the rear section are connected via a pivot joining means 12 allowing the rear section to pivot or rotate about an axis that is approximately parallel to the direction of travel . the compactor has a connection means 5 for fixedly attaching the front section to self propelled machinery . the rear section may also contain a stabilizer bar 7 connected to the rear section via a swivel joint 8 . the stabilizer provides enhanced stability to the rear section by providing a second attachment point to the self - propelled machinery that the roller is side - mounted to . the compactor may also contain a transport means 6 . the transport means in the figures are hooks that allow the shoulder roller to be conveniently lifted , moved , transported , or stored using any piece of machinery or other device capable of fitting underneath the hooks in order to move or hold the compactor . many other designs for the transport means allowing the compactor to be lifted could be used but hooks have been found to be particularly convenient to the present inventors . the rollers or drums 1 and 2 used in the present invention are not strictly limited and can be essentially any rollers capable of compacting the type of materials used in roadway and roadway shoulder construction ( e . g . asphalt , gravel , etc .). the rollers can be vibratory or non - vibratory and many such rollers are commercially available as will be known to one skill in the art . preferably at least the rear roller is a vibratory roller . the size of the drum can also vary widely depending on the application . commercially available drums useful as the rear drum in the present invention typically have a width in the range of 24 to 48 inches . drums useful as the front drum in the invention will generally be smaller than the rear drum and can range preferably from 12 to 36 inches . the prototype made by the inventors has a 36 inch rear drum and an 18 inch front drum . in a preferred embodiment , the front drum is a non - vibratory drum and is about half the size of the rear drum which is vibratory . the inventors have found that this embodiment allows a lot of versatility in performing compacting operations of various types . the frames of the front 4 and rear 3 sections are illustrated in the figures as having a particular shape . however , the specific design of the frames can vary significantly in the broader scope of the invention . the frames of the present invention must serve three basic purposes . first they must support the rollers . many frame designs are known for this purpose , most or all have a means for supporting the axis ends of the drums . in a typical embodiment ( not shown in the figures ), both front and rear frame assemblies will contain support brackets ( often disc or semi - circular shaped ) proximate to the drum ends having a receiving means containing bearings for receiving the axis of the drum assemblies . the second requirement of the frame assemblies is that they must provide for a joining means 12 between the two sections . third , they must allow for side - mounting to a vehicle or other machinery as discussed in more detail below . optionally , the frames can provide for any supporting devices or mechanisms . many such devices are possibly ; some examples include hydraulics , vibration equipment , scrapers , deflectors , ballasts , park brakes , water systems etc . within these parameters , the specific design of the frame can take on many shapes as will be apparent to those familiar with compaction machinery and other construction equipment . the front and rear sections are connected via a pivot joining means 12 shown particularly in fig2 and 3 . the rear section extends a connector 9 from the rear frame 3 into the pivot / axle joint 12 . the connector shaft 9 has an axis which is generally parallel to the direction of travel of the roller ( i . e . the axis is parallel to a line that is perpendicular to the axis of the rear drum 1 ). in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the joining means 12 and the rear frame connector 9 are designed such that the rear frame and drum can rotate about the axis of the connector shaft 9 . theoretically , this rotation could be up to about 90 degrees in either direction ( clockwise or counterclockwise ) relative to the front frame 4 and drum 2 which will be generally kept level with the roadway surface . however , practically speaking compacting sloped shoulders approaching or much beyond 45 degrees from the roadway surface is not very practical . optionally , stops can be provided on the joint to limit the amount of rotation if desired . in a simple embodiment of the connection joint 12 , the joint is made by a shaft 9 passing through a cylindrical female receptacle 12 containing an internal circumferential ring of bearings or bushings ( not shown ) allowing rotation about the shaft 9 axis . the shaft is held in the female receptacle capping the end ( e . g . with a nut ) of the shaft 9 . this is not shown in the figures . the female receptacle of the joining means 12 is also fixedly connected to the front frame so that the shaft 9 and rear section rotate relative to the front section . in the embodiment shown in the figures , joining means 12 is connected to the shaft 5 that receives the attachment means ( 10 & amp ; 11 ) and the joint 12 and shaft 5 are together fixedly connected to the front frame assembly via mounting bracket 13 . in a preferred embodiment , the joint 12 and connector shaft 5 are connected to the front frame almost entirely along their length for maximum support and durability . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that different types of connections to the front frame can be made and the female receptacle can even be part of the front frame . the critical feature is that the rear frame must be able to rotate about an axis that is approximately parallel to the direction of travel . other joint designs that allow this rotation are within the scope of the invention . finally , note that fig4 and 5 show the rear assembly rotated in a clockwise manner relative to the front assembly when viewed from the front . however , the rear drum could just as easily be rotated in the counter - clockwise direction . the direction and amount of rotation will be highly dependent on the specification operation being performed . the pivot joint mechanism described above is the simple method used to create the pivot joint 12 of the prototype of the invention . however , other designs allowing the rear section to rotate about an axis parallel to the direction of travel are possible and are included as part of the present invention . the rotation allowed by the pivot joint 12 is illustrated in fig4 and 5 . this feature is an important part of the present invention as it allows the roller to compact two different surfaces at the same time , each surface on their own plane and thus having different slopes . this is the feature that makes the present invention especially applicable as a shoulder roller . the roadway and its shoulder often lie on two different planes with the roadway level or near level and the shoulder gradually sloped down and away from the roadway . the shoulder roller of the present invention can pinch the edge of a roadway with the front drum and simultaneously compact the shoulder with the rear drum . prior to the present invention this required two or more passes with a compactor and was less safe because the operator of the compactor had to drive on the sloped shoulder . with the present invention , the driver remains on a leveler and safer roadway , free from a tipping hazard . since the roller compactor of the invention is an attachment , there must also be a means for attaching the compactor to a propelled piece of machinery . in the prototype of the invention as represented by the figures , this attachment means is a shaft 5 that is connected to both the female receptacle of the pivot joint 12 and the rear portion of the front frame 4 . this shaft is generally parallel to the axis of the front drum and the rear drum ( when on a level surface and not rotated ). the shaft 5 is generally perpendicular to shaft 9 and does not rotate as does shaft 9 . thus , shaft 5 is fixed relative to the front section and while fig2 and 3 show that the shaft 5 is connected in two discrete locations , the shaft preferably is connected all along its length and may even be incorporated into the front frame itself . the primary feature of this attachment means is that it is capable of rigidly attaching the front section of the compactor to a propelled machinery in a side mounted fashion . many designs are possible to make this connection . in the embodiment represented by the figures , the connector shaft 5 receives the attachment arm 10 which is connected to the mounting plate 11 . the attachment arm slides in the attachment shaft 5 and is held securely by a drop pin put through aligned holes ( not shown ) in the end of the attachment arm and the end of the shaft 5 near joint 12 . the mounting plate 11 can be attached to a self propelled machinery ( not shown ) in a known fashion common in construction machinery attachments . the particular means of attaching the mounting plate 11 to the self - propelled machinery is not a critical part of the invention and will depend highly upon the type of machinery used to drive the compactor . in fact , the mounting means may not even be a plate at all as other methods are common . the mounting plate 11 shown in fig6 and 7 was used by the present inventors to attach the compactor to the front of a case skid steer . the compactor was also attached to the side of the skid steer with stabilizer 7 for added stability to the rear section . the stabilizer is connected to the skid steer via a bolt and mounting plate . the stabilizer is especially useful in environments where the slope of the shoulder is more severe . however , in non - severe slope environments , it may not be needed . those familiar with earth handling and other vehicles will immediately recognize that other attachment options are possible depending upon the type of vehicle being used and other factors . an important feature of the attachment is that it allows the compactor to operate on the road shoulder while the operator is driving the propelled machinery on the roadway . this is the intended meaning of the term “ side - mount ” used in the present application . even though the mounting plate 11 is attached to the front of the skid steer in our example the actual compactor is positioned generally to the side of the skid steer via the attachment arm 10 . the self - propelled machinery used to drive the compactor of the invention can be any piece of machinery that can be driven and can be attached to the compactor . in addition to the preferred skid steers , this includes backhoes , industrial and farm tractors , graders , pickup trucks , wheel loaders , dump trucks , and bull dozers ( including rubber - track bull dozers ). the inventors have found that front loaders ( e . g . skid steers ) are particularly convenient for attaching the shoulder roller . skid steers are available through a number of manufacturers including john deere , case , and caterpillar . finally , while not illustrated in the drawings , an additional connection from the self - propelled vehicle to the side - mounted shoulder roller is typically present . these connections are hydraulic lines and / or other lines that run the vibration means on the roller . these connections are optional as it is possible for the roller to have a self contain vibration means or no vibration mechanism at all . an additional embodiment of the invention adds a hydraulic pressure cylinder connected to rear frame and to the front frame or something fixedly connected to the front frame . this adds the capability of forcing the rear drum to maintain a specific pivot angle relative to the front section . thus , the pivot degree could be hydraulically determined and not freely determined by the surface being compacted . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various alterations in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . in particular , the invention is not limited to the specific narrow embodiment set forth in the attached drawings as the specific design of the frames , drums , joining means , and attachment means can vary significantly within the parameters set forth in this application .	4
the development of fixtures of the type which are especially adapted for low voltage applications has evolved to the point where the electrical devices or plugs are provided in a faceplate that is mounted to a separate subassembly that may comprise a mounting bracket and fastening hardware that allows the installer to first mount the bracket in a wall opening , typically a sheetrock wall , and later after installing the wiring , provide a faceplate with the appropriate plug or jack or cable connector hardware that is to be secured to the internal wiring within the wall , and finally , the installer secures the faceplate to the previously installed mounting bracket hardware . the present invention seeks to avoid the need for separate mounting brackets and associated fastening hardware , and instead provides such structure in a unique faceplate assembly . as shown in fig1 and 2 , a faceplate 10 has a generally rectangular configuration typical of faceplates generally . however , the faceplate 10 defines a front opening 10a for receiving one or more conventional inserts that support connective devices , such as telecommunication jacks , coaxial cable connectors , or other plugs . however , the faceplate 10 further includes rearwardly projecting flanges 10b as well as rearwardly projecting legs 10c that cooperate to engage the opening provided in the sheetrock wall in order to locate the faceplate 10 in the wall opening without need for a previously installed mounting bracket and associated fastening devices . the faceplate 10 includes a generally rectangular outer frame which is adapted to overlie the wall around a wall opening . the wall opening or more specifically , the wall structure defining the opening is indicated generally at w in fig2 and 3 . thus , the faceplate 10 has a frame portion surrounding this wall opening so that the backside of the faceplate abuts the outer surface of the wall structure as does a conventional faceplate . unlike a conventional faceplate , however , the faceplate 10 can be seen to include rearwardly projecting flanges 10b and rearwardly projecting legs 10c that enter the wall opening w , and serve to position the faceplate in the wall structure as has been accomplished previously by separate mounting brackets and associated hardware . in further accordance with the present invention , the faceplate 10 defines rearwardly projecting bosses 10d , 10d provided alongside the rearwardly projecting legs 10c , 10c . each of these bosses 10d has a through opening which is adapted to slidably receive a screw fastener s ( best shown in fig2 ) so that the head h of the screw fastener s ( best shown in fig1 ) can be accessed by the installer for rotation of the screw fastener in its associated boss 10d of the faceplate 10 . at least one mounting arm 12 is provided on each of the fasteners s , s associated with each of the bosses 10d , 10d so that each such arm is movably mounted relative to the faceplate and more particularly on the backside thereof , for swinging movement between first positions , such as that shown for the upper mounting arm 12 in fig2 and 3 , to second positions , such as shown for the lower arm 12 of fig3 . this latter position for the arm 12 of fig3 is achieved only after the faceplate assembly has itself been provided in the wall opening as a result of swinging the arm 12 to its second position as shown in fig3 . more particularly , this arm 12 must be unthreaded relative to fastener s so as to achieve a clearance spacing between the pad portion 12a of the leg and the inside surface of the sheetrock defining the wall opening w . at that point , the arm 12 can be rotated to the solid line position shown for it in fig3 behind the sheetrock and clamped in place as a result of clock - wise tightening movement for the conventional threaded fastener s that supports it in this orientation . fig7 , and 9 illustrate the faceplate with its integrally formed , rearwardly projecting flanges and legs 10b and 10c respectively . fig9 a , 10 and 11 illustrate the configuration of the swinging arms 12 . each arm 12 has a free end portion defining a pad 12a that is adapted to engage the backside of the sheetrock in the wall opening where the device of the present invention is to be mounted . more particularly , the arm 12 further includes a pivoted end portion 12b that defines an opening 12c which is configured to threadably receive the screw fastener s , and thereby provide for movement of the mounting arm 12 not only in the swinging motion described earlier , but also in the axial direction defined by the screw itself for purposes of positioning the arm 12 during mounting of the device of the present invention in a wall opening , and for clamping of the arm 12 against the backside of the sheetrock wall structure as described previously . an important feature of the present feature can be attributed to the fact that the screw fasteners s , s which anchor the faceplate of the invention in the wall opening are accessible from the front of the faceplate as a result of each of the screw fasteners s being readily accessed by the installer ( see fig1 and the head h of each of the screws s , all as referred to previously ). as a result of this unique fixture or faceplate assembly , the installer can quickly and easily provide the faceplate assembly with any derived combination of low voltage electrical connection devices 15a , 15b , 15c , as suggested in fig1 . these devices include telephone jacks 14 , coaxial cable connectors 16 and audio style input / output jacks 18 . inserts or covers 20 , 20 are provided in the rectangular recesses 10d , 10d provided at opposite ends of the frame opening itself to cover the screw heads h , h of the fasteners s , s . each device 15a , 15b and 15c has resilient wings ( not shown ) for engaging ribs 10e , 10e provided on the longer sides of the frame opening 10a as best shown in fig1 . various modifications of the structure illustrated in the drawings and described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , the rearwardly projecting flanges 10b may be of different configuration , and may or may not be provided on the long sides of the rectangular faceplate illustrated . where , for example , faceplates of different configuration are to be provided for , it will be apparent that these rearwardly projecting flanges 10b will also be of different geometry . the depth of the rearwardly projecting legs 10c of the faceplate 10 is such as to assure sufficient axial movement for the mounting arm 12 on its associated screw fastener s . each leg affords an abutment against which the arms can act during the process of tightening the screw s and thereby drawing the pad 12a against the rear face of the sheetrock . thus , the maximum thickness of the sheetrock encountered by the installer determines the depth to which the legs 10c must extend in order to serve their intended function . while preferred embodiments have been shown and described , various modifications and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of example , and not by limitation .	8
as shown in fig1 an assembly 1 is disclosed which is formed of a plurality of polymeric sheets or sheet webs 10 and 12 wherein the sheets can be of a polyvinylchloride , polyolefin or other flexible , liquid - tight , and biocompatible material . the sheets are formed into a reservoir 20 capable of containing a medicament or a suitable diluent or other fluid . reservoir 20 is defined by a plurality of welded seals 22 , 24 , 26 , and 28 wherein the seals are operative to separate the reservoir 20 from the rest of the bag assembly 1 . seals 22 , 24 , 26 , and 28 are preferentially made by radio - frequency welding , but may be made by any other suitable process for making parenteral fluid delivery bags . the reservoir is further defined by a peripheral seal 30 which is formed about the outer edge of the bag assembly 1 and is operative to enclose the outer edges of reservoir 20 in cooperation with seals 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 . the perimeter seal 30 also defines , in cooperation with the first upper reservoir seal 24 and the second upper reservoir seal 28 , a first hanging aperture 32 and a second hanging aperture 34 which are operative to engage a bag hanger 200 , as shown in fig2 thereby orienting the bag assembly 1 correctly for administration of the fluid or medicament contained in , or introduced to , reservoir 20 . line set 40 is formed integral or unitary with reservoir 20 and bag assembly 1 , and is in fluid communication with reservoir 20 via port 41 . the integral line set 40 is co - formed with bag 1 and is releasably attached thereto by a tearable seal 50 . to deploy the line set 40 , an operator , such as a nurse , would grasp the distal end 78 of the line set 40 and draw the distal end 78 away from the bag assembly 1 , thereby releasing the tear seal 50 of the line set 40 and drawing the line set 40 out of the line set aperture 42 defined by the bag web 60 to which the line set 40 is attached via tear seal 50 . in the pictured embodiment , line set 40 is spiral wound within web 60 , and displays a continuous spiral tear seal 50 . the instant invention contemplates a variety of line set layouts within web 60 , including , but not limited to , sinusoidal or folded s - shaped arrangements when the line set 40 is undeployed . line set 40 is composed of a first envelope section 40a and a second envelope section 40b . in this embodiment the envelope sections are formed from sheets 10 and 12 , out of which the rest of the bag assembly 1 is also formed . in an embodiment , line set 40 , consisting of envelopes 40a and 40b , is formed by sealing the first envelope 40a to the second envelope 40b forming fluid seal 52 . exterior to the fluid seal 52 is tear seal 50 as aforedescribed , thereby allowing deployment of line set 40 whilst maintaining integrity of the line set 40 . the distal end or terminus 79 of the line set 40 is fused or otherwise connected to an appropriate connector or fitment 80 which may be a septum , or luer fitting , or frangible connector , or some other connector or combination thereof suitable for intravenous delivery of fluids . additionally , line set 40 is filled with fluid also resident in chamber 20 , thereby eliminating the necessity of purging the line set of air as aforementioned . associated with the chamber 20 , and in fluid communication therewith , is a fill port 85 through which fluid is introduced into the chamber 20 . fill port 85 is subsequently sealed by plug 88 , thereby closing off port 85 and fill tube 87 . alternatively , and preferred , the line set 40 may be used as a fill port prior to connecting the appropriate connector 80 to the line set 40 . in an embodiment herein preferred , also associated with chamber 10 , is a medicament introduction port 110 which is attached to bag 1 at support ring 100 . support ring 100 is formed with the rest of bag 1 and is operative to support introduction port 110 in a suitable position for administering a medicament from another container into chamber 20 . in the preferred embodiment , introduction port 110 is a spike connector , wherein the spike connector 110 has a connector cup 112 in contact with support ring 100 and a cup bottom 114 , the exterior side of which is in contact with the interior of chamber 20 . also associated with connector 110 is an interior spike 130 , said spike 130 being in fluid communication with chamber 20 subsequent to opening frangible plug 132 . in operation , protective film 120 is removed exposing spike connector 130 . a suitable medicament containing vial 136 is impaled on spike connector 130 . then frangible 132 is broken , allowing fluid communication between chamber 10 and the medicament containing vial 136 , allowing the medicament in vial 136 to be introduced to a patient via line set 40 . in the alternate embodiment of the invention a first fluid containing bag 200 has wrapped therearound a substantially helically wound line set 210 which is in fluid communication with the bag 200 by means of a fluid orifice 212 . the line set 210 joins a second drainage line set 214 at a wye - junction 216 wherein the second leg of the wye 218 is integral with a drainage line 220 which is helically wound about drainage bag 222 and is formed integral therewith . drainage line 220 is in fluid communication with drainage bag 222 by means of a drain orifice 224 at the proximal end 226 of the drain line 220 . the base of wye - junction 216 defines a common delivery and drain line 228 , the distal end of which comprises an appropriate fitment 230 . inserted within the delivery line 220 and the drain line 228 are frangible plugs 232 , 234 which are operative to provide a uni - directional flow of fluid from the delivery bag 200 to the patient and subsequently from the patient into drain bag 222 . in operation in this embodiment of the invention an operator would deploy both the delivery line 220 and the drain line 228 . the operator would then break the delivery line frangible plug after connecting the fitment to the patient thereby allowing fluid to flow from the delivery bag 200 to the patient . when the delivery therapy is complete , the operator would then break frangible plug 234 which is associated with drain line 228 thereby allowing fluid to drain from the patient into the receiving or drain bag 222 . the aforewritten detailed description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the instant invention and is not meant to present limitations on the instant invention aside from those in the claims appended hereto .	0
the invention relates to a method for the prevention of aldol condensation and polymer formation from a hydrocarbyl aldehyde . tarry constituents and high - boiling byproducts are often formed from hydrocarbyl aldehydes . these high - boiling byproducts which result from aldol condensation accumulate in the aldehyde or solution thereof , necessitating its purification . it is an object of this invention to prevent the formation of high - boiling byproducts in hydrocarbyl aldehydes . it is an additional object of this invention to provide an inhibitor to reduce the amount of polymer and high - boiling byproducts formed in hydrocarbyl aldehydes . other and related objects will be apparent from the following description of the invention . we have now found that aldol condensation and the formation of tars and high - boiling byproducts from hydrocarbyl aldehydes apparently proceeds by a free radical mechanism . it is believed that this free radical mechanism is initiated or propagated by peroxide radicals formed by reaction with oxygen - containing impurities or contaminants that are unavoidably introduced into the aldehyde or solutions thereof . we have further found that the incorporation in the reaction medium of various metals or metal cations having oxidation potentials more positive than - 0 . 20 volts and , preferably , from - 0 . 20 to + 0 . 41 volts , substantially reduces and prevents aldol condensation and polymer formation . as used herein , values of the oxidation potentials are standard oxidation potentials which refer to the hydrogen - hydrogen ion couple as zero and are expressed for unit activities and a temperature of 25 ° c . the various metals that can be used and , for multivalent metals , the cations that can be used , include the following : cadmium ( cd °), indium ( in °), tantalum ( tl °), cobalt ( co °), nickel ( ni °), molybdenum ( mo °), tin ( sn °), lead ( pb °), copper ( cu °), chromous ( cr + + ), titanous ( ti + + ), vanadous ( v + + ), stannous ( su + + ), and cuprous ( cu + ). it is believed that these inhibitors function by providing an oxidizable substrate , i . e ., contribute an electron to the free radical initiator or propagating agent of the aldo or polymer condensation . this contribution of an electron pairs the lone electron of the free radical , thereby destroying its activity and results in oxidation of the metal inhibitor to a higher oxidation state . the activity of the inhibitor in the reaction medium can be maintained during extended , continuous processing or storage by periodically or intermittently reducing the higher oxidation state for the inhibiting metal to its effective low oxidation state of reuse . this can be accomplished by subjecting all or a portion of the liquid containing the inhibitor to a reducing treatment . typically , temperatures from 30 ° to about 200 ° c . and sufficient pressures to maintain the solution in liquid phase can be used for the reducing treatment . pressures from 1 to about 100 atmospheres , absolute , can be used . in a preferred embodiment , copper is used as the inhibitor , e . g ., a soluble cuprous salt is incorporated in the aldehyde or solution thereof . the cuprous salt is oxidized to a cupric salt by the free radicals which , in the absence of the cuprous salt would initiate aldol or polymer condensation . the resultant cupric salt , however , is a strong oxidizing agent and readily oxidizes carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide with reduction to the cuprous salt , which is thus available for further reaction with free radicals . a suitable reducing treatment , therefore , comprises the treatment of all or a portion of the solution with carbon monoxide . hydrogen can also be used , if desired , to treat the solution and thereby retain some of the copper salt in the cuprous state . preferably , a slight amount of water from 0 . 1 to 50 weight percent of the liquid can be incorporated in the liquid during such treatments to insure the oxidation of the carbon monoxide or hydrogen and reduction of any cupric salts to the effective cuprous inhibitor . various hydrocarbyl aldehydes can be inhibited in accordance with the invention . the aldehyde is preferably a liquid , either neat or dissolved in a suitable solvent and the inhibitor is added to the liquid . the aldehyde can be any hydrocarbyl , saturated , aliphatic , monoaldehyde , i . e ., an alkanal , having from 2 to about 25 carbons , preferably from 3 to about 20 carbons . the aldehyde can be straight chained or can have various side chains and a branched structure provided that the alpha - carbon have at least one hydrogen . this hydrogen , of course , is necessary to render the aldehyde susceptible to aldol condensation . examples of suitable aldehydes are : acetaldehyde , propionaldehyde , butyraldehyde , isobutyraldehyde , pentanal , hexanal , 2 - methylpentanal , 2 - ethylhexanal , octanal , propylhexanal , decanal , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- dimethylnonanal , dodecanal , undecanal , 6 - propyldecanal , tetradecanal , 7 - amyldecanal , hexadecanal , 4 - ethyltridecanal , octadecanal - 1 , 5 , 5 &# 39 ;- dipropyldodecanal - 1 , etc . of the preceding , the straight chained aldehydes having from 3 to about 20 carbons are preferred and those having from 3 to about 17 carbons are most preferred for the inhibition treatment by this invention . mixtures of two or more of these aldehydes can be treated . the hydrocarbyl aldehyde is treated by addition of the inhibitor under liquid phase conditions and , when the aldehyde is liquid at the addition conditions , it can be treated neat , i . e ., in absence of a solvent . if desired , however , the aldehyde can be dissolved in any suitable organic liquid ; preferably , organic solvents which are inert to the inhibitor are employed . examples of suitable solvents which can be used in accordance with our invention include hydrocarbons such as the aromatic , aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbons , ethers , esters , ketones , etc . examples of suitable hydrocarbons that can be employed as solvents include aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene , xylene , ethylbenzene , tetralin , etc . ; aliphatic hydrocarbons such as butane , pentane , isopentane , hexane , isohexane , heptane , octane , isooctane , naphtha , gasoline , kerosene , mineral oil , etc . ; alicyclic hydrocarbons , e . g ., cyclopentane , cyclohexane , methylcyclopentane , decalin , indane , etc . various alkyl and aryl ketones can also be employed as the solvent , e . g ., acetone , methylethyl ketone , diethyl ketone , diisopropyl ketone , ethyl - n - butyl ketone , methyl - n - amyl ketone , cyclohexanone , diisobutyl ketone , etc . ethers can also be employed as the solvent , e . g ., diisopropyl ether , di - n - butyl ether , ethylene glycol diisobutyl ether , methyl - o - tolyl ether , ethylene glycol dibutyl ether , diisoamyl ether , methyl p - tolyl ether , methyl m - tolyl ether , dichloroethyl ether , ethylene glycol diisoamyl ether , diethylene glycol diethyl ether , ethylbenzyl ether , diethylene glycol diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether , ethylene glycol dibutyl ether , ethylene glycol diphenyl ether , triethylene glycol diethyl ether , diethylene glycol di - n - hexyl ether , tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether , tetraethylene glycol dibutyl ether , etc . various esters can also be employed as the solvent , e . g ., ethyl formate , methyl acetate , ethyl acetate , n - propyl formate , ispropyl acetate , ethyl propionate , n - propyl acetate , sec - butyl acetate , isobutyl acetate , ethyl n - butyrate , n - butyl acetate , isoamyl acetate , n - amyl acetate , ethyl formate , ethylene glycol diacetate , glycol diformate , cyclohexyl acetate , furfuryl acetate , isoamyl n - butyrate , diethyl oxalate , isoamyl isovalerate , methyl benzoate , diethyl maleate , valerolactone , ethyl benzoate , methyl salicyclate , n - propyl benzoate , n - dibutyl oxalate , n - butyl benzoate , diisoamyl phthalate , dimethyl phthalate , diethyl phthalate , benzyl benzoate , n - dibutyl phthalate , etc . a preferred class of ester solvents includes the lactones , e . g ., butyrolactone , valerolactone , and their derivatives having lower ( c 1 - c 5 ) alkyl substituents . alcohols can also be employed as a solvent . preferably tertiary alcohols are employed since these materials are substantially non - reactive of aldehydes . examples of alcohols that can be employed as solvents include the aliphatic and alicyclic alcohols such as methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , butanol , t - butanol , t - amyl alcohol , hexanol , cyclohexanol , etc . the inhibitor which can be incorporated in the reaction medium to prevent or to reduce the amount of aldol condensation polymers and byproducts can be a metal or metal cation having an oxidation potential more positive than - 0 . 20 volts and , preferably , having an oxidation potential between - 0 . 20 and + 0 . 41 volts . examples of suitable inhibitors and their oxidation potentials are the following : ______________________________________cd ° cd . sup .+. sup .+ + 2e + 0 . 403in ° in . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 3e + 0 . 342tl ° tl . sup .+ + 1e + 0 . 336co ° co . sup .+. sup .+ + 2e + 0 . 277ni ° ni . sup .+. sup .+ + 2e + 0 . 250mo ° mo . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 3e + 0 . 2sn ° sn . sup .+. sup .+ + 2e + 0 . 136pb ° pb . sup .+. sup .+ + 2e + 0 . 126cu ° cu . sup .+ + 1e - 0 . 337cr . sup .+. sup .+ cr . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 1e + 0 . 41ti . sup .+. sup .+ ti . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 1e + 0 . 37v . sup .+. sup .+ v . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 1e + 0 . 255sn . sup .+. sup .+ sn . sup .+. sup .+. sup .+. sup .+ + 2e - 0 . 15cu . sup .+ cu . sup .+. sup .+ + 1e - 0 . 153______________________________________ the metal can be incorporated in the reaction medium in a low valency state , preferably as a soluble salt or can be added as an oxide or finely divided metal . the particular anion associated with the salt is chemically not significant and any anion which is chemically inert to the aldehyde can be used . to insure activity of the aldol inhibitors , the inhibitor should be soluble and , therefore , the anion should not precipitate the inhibitor . suitable anions from which a candidate can be chosen include : nitrate , sulfate , halide , carboxylate of c 1 to c 12 acids , alkyl and aryl sulfonates , etc . examples of suitable salts include : cuprous chloride , cuprous nitrate , cuprous sulfate , cuprous bromide , stannous chloride , stannous citrate , stannous iodide , stannous sulfate , vanadous chloride , vanadous fluoride , vanadous sulfate , titanous bromide , titanous chloride , titanous sulfate , titanous iodide , chromous sulfate , chromous bromide , chromous chloride , chromous acetate , chromous bromide , etc . when the metal or an oxide is added , it is preferably added in a finely divided state since it had a very limited solubility and a fine degree of subdivision will provide adequate surface area for inhibition . generally , solids passing about a 20 mesh screen and , preferably , passing a 100 mesh screen are used . other forms such as metal shavings , foil , wire or rod can also be used . examples of suitable oxides are : cuprous oxide , chromous oxide , stannous oxide , vanadous oxide , titanium mono - oxide , etc . the aforementioned inhibitor of the aldol condensation and polymer formation is incorporated in the aldehyde or its solution to provide , calculated as the metal , from about 0 . 001 to about 2 . 5 weight percent ; preferably from about 0 . 005 to about 1 . 0 ; and most preferably from about 0 . 01 to about 0 . 1 weight percent of the aldehyde present . the preferred inhibitors are salts of the metal cations rather than the free metals since the salts have solubility in the reaction medium at both the reduced and oxidized states . the inhibiting effect of a reduced metal , cadmium , was determined by purifying n - butyraldehyde by distillation through a 40 - plate column to remove extraneous material and some of the potential aldol condensation initiators . a sample of one milliliter of the purified aldehyde was placed in a one inch section of 3 percent chromium , 6 percent nickel , stainless steel tubing and capped . another sample was similarly prepared , however , about 0 . 05 grams of cadmium metal shavings were placed in the second metal tubing before capping . the two tubes were stored about 45 hours in a bath maintained at 110 ° c . the tubes were removed and analyzed for polymers by gas chromatography . there was only 30 percent polymer in the liquid from the tube containing the cadmium metal and 70 weight percent in the liquid from the tube having no cadmium metal contained therein . the experiment was repeated using cuprous chloride as the inhibitor by charging about 0 . 01 gram of cuprous chloride to a tube containing about 1 gram of n - butyraldehyde which was purified by redistillation from ferrous sulfate to remove peroxide . the flask was stored over night at 110 ° c , together with a similar tube of similarly purified butyraldehyde containing no additive . after about 22 hours of aging , the tube containing no cuprous chloride had 8 . 2 percent polymer while that containing the cuprous chloride had 6 . 1 percent polymer . substantially the same results are achieved when the reaction medium is charged with 5 . 0 grams of titanous fluoride , or 2 grams of stannous chloride , or 8 . 0 grams of molybdenous acetate , or 2 . 5 grams of vanadous chloride . the preceding examples are solely to illustrate a mode of practice of the invention and are not to be construed as unduly limiting thereof . instead , it is intended that the invention be defined by the steps and reagents and their obvious equivalents set forth in the following claims :	2
an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 and 2 are schematic views showing art image forming apparatus , e . g ., a scanner printer . an arrangement of the apparatus will be described below . in fig2 document table ( transparent glass ) 2 on which a document is placed is formed on the front side of the upper surface of image forming apparatus body ( to be referred to as an apparatus body hereinafter ) 1 so as to be inclined downward toward the front side . stationary scale 2a used as a reference for setting a document is arranged on cassette table 2 . in addition , openable document cover 3 is arranged near document table 2 . referring to fig1 printing section 4 is formed on a rear portion of apparatus body 1 . printing section 4 is covered with cover 5 pivotally mounted on apparatus body 1 . insertion port 5a is formed in cover 5 near the center of pivotal movement of document cover 3 so as to allow insertion of paper as an image receiving member . in addition , print key 6 and operating member 7 are formed in part of apparatus body 1 near one end of cover 5 in the longitudinal direction . print key 6 designates the start of printing . operating member 7 releases a locked state of a thermal head when multicolor printing ( to be described later ) is to be performed . in addition , for example , density setting section 8 for setting a printing density is formed on part of apparatus body 1 near the other end of cover 5 in the longitudinal direction . fig3 shows a state wherein document cover is detached from apparatus body 1 . a document is placed on document table 2 , and an optical system consisting of light source 9 constituted by , e . g ., a light - emitting diode , and mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 is reciprocated along the lower surface of document table 2 in directions indicated by arrows a and b ( fig4 ), thereby exposing / scanning the document . in this case , mirrors 11 and 12 are moved at a speed 1 / 2 that of mirror 10 so as to maintain a certain length of an optical path . driving means for this optical system will be described later . light emitted from light source 9 and reflected by the document is guided to lens block 13 through mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 . the light converged by lens block 13 is focused on image sensor 14 constituted by a ccd line sensor and is converted into an electrical signal . filter unit fl is arranged between image sensor 14 and lens block 13 . filter unit fl can be freely moved in / out from the optical path by its up - and - down movement . filter unit fl will be described in detail later . an output signal from image sensor 14 is supplied to printing section 4 through a control section ( to be described later ) arranged on printed wiring board 15 . lens block 13 , image sensor 14 , and printed wiring board 15 are shielded from light by light shielding member 16 ( fig4 ) arranged in apparatus body 1 . fig5 shows mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 . mirror 12 for guiding light reflected by a document finally to lens block 13 is cut at a portion near the bottom of apparatus body 1 . this cut portion is non - reflective . with this arrangement , document table 2 , light source 9 , and mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 can be arranged so as to be inclined in accordance with the inclination of the cut portion of mirror 12 , thereby contributing to reducing the profile of apparatus body 1 . referring to fig6 conveying path 17 is formed in apparatus body 1 on the side of printing section 4 so as to communicate with insertion port 5a . paper discharge port 18 is formed in cover 5 so as to communicate with conveying path 17 . thermal head 19 is arranged midway along conveying path 17 along the moving direction of the optical system . a plurality of heating resistor elements 19j are arranged on thermal head 19 along the longitudinal direction . platen roller 20 is urged against thermal head 19 . platen roller 20 is rotated by a driver ( to be described later ) in the direction indicated by an arrow in fig6 during printing in accordance with the movement of the optical system . consequently , paper ( e . g ., heat - sensitive paper ) inserted from insertion port 5a into conveying path 17 is urged against thermal head 19 by platen roller 20 during printing and is moved in the direction indicated by arrow c in fig6 . in this state , a print signal is supplied from the above signal processing section to thermal head 19 so that an image corresponding the an image on the document set on document table 2 is printed on paper p . paper p on which the image is formed in this manner is discharged from discharge port 18 upon rotation of platen roller 20 . storage section 22 for storing battery 21 as a power source is formed in an inner bottom portion of apparatus body 1 on the side of printing 4 . fig7 shows a driver for the optical system and platen roller 20 . light source 9 and mirror 10 ( fig3 and 4 ) are arranged on first carriage 31a , whereas mirrors 11 and 12 ( refer to fig3 and 4 ) are arranged on second carriage 31b . first and second carriages 31a and 31b are guided by guide rails 32a and 32b and can be moved parallel to each other . endless belt 33 is arranged near guide rail 32a . first carriage 31a is fixed to an intermediate portion of endless belt 33 . both the end portions of belt 33 are hooked around pulleys 34 and 35 . of the pulleys , pulley 34 is rotated by pulse motor 38 through gears 36 and 37 . pulleys 39 and 40 are rotatably arranged on first and second carriages 31a and 31b on the guide rail 32a side . wire 41 is connected between pulleys 39 and 40 . one end of wire 41 is fixed to stationary portion 42 , and the other end of wire 41 is fixed to stationary portion 42 through coil spring 43 . in this arrangement , when pulse motor 38 is rotated , first carriage 31a is moved upon rotation of belt 33 . upon this movement , second carriage 31b is also moved . in this case , since pulleys 39 and 40 serve as movable pulleys , second carriage 31b is moved at a speed 1 / 2 that of first carriage 31a in the same direction . note that the moving direction of first and second carriages 3la and 31b is controlled by changing the rotating direction of pulse motor 38 . the power of pulse motor 38 is transmitted to platen roller 20 through bevel gears 44 and 45 , and gears 46 and 47 . accordingly , platen roller 20 is rotated in accordance with the operations of first and second carriages 31a and 31b . a case wherein an image is printed on plain paper by using the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described blow . in this case , ribbon cassette 52 is attached to thermal head 19 . when operating member 7 is depressed while cover 5 is open as shown in fig8 lock member 51 which locked one end of thermal head 19 is released from thermal head 19 . the other end of thermal head 19 is pivotally supported so that when lock member 51 is released , read 19 can be pivoted in the direction indicated by arrow d in fig9 . in this state , ribbon cassette 52 is attached from the side of one end of thermal head 19 as shown in fig1 , and then they are integrally pivoted in the direction indicated by arrow e in fig1 . with this operation , thermal head 19 is locked by lock member 51 again , and ribbon cassette 52 is attached to head 19 , as shown in fig1 and 12 . ribbon cassette 52 is detachable from thermal head 19 when pulled upward therefrom . fig1 shows ribbon cassette 52 . ink ribbon 53 which is wound around bobbins 52a and 52b at its both ends is stored in cassette 52 . as ink ribbon 53 , a monochrome ink ribbon containing only black ink or a specific one of other color inks is used , or a full - color ink ribbon having a size slightly larger than the maximum size of paper to be printed and containing , e . g ., yellow ink , magenta ink , cyan ink , and black ink ( not shown ) which are arranged in this order is used . a type of ink ribbon stored in cassette 52 can be detected by a known method . for example , a plurality of projections representing code data corresponding to the type of ink ribbon are formed on one side surface of cassette 52 , and are detected by a cassette sensor ( to be described later ) constituted by , e . g ., microswitches , which is mounted on apparatus body 1 . recess portion 52c in which head 19 is fitted is formed in cassette 52 . projections 52d and 52e on which head 19 is fitted are formed on recess portion 52c . fig1 shows a state wherein cassette 52 is attached to head 19 . thermal head 19 is constituted by head box 19a , head base 19b , and the like . grooves 19c and 19d to be fitted on projections 52d and 52e formed on recess portion 52c ( fig1 ) of cassette 52 are formed in the outer surface of head box 19a . in addition , a plurality of heating resistor elements 19j are arranged on head base 19b , and one end thereof in the transverse direction is attached to head box 19a through , e . g ., elastic member 19e . projection 19f is formed on the other end of head base 19b in the transverse direction . projection 19f is loosely engaged with recess 19g formed in head box 19a . with this arrangement , head base 19b is engaged with head box 19a so as to be slightly pivotal . housing portion 19h is formed at the central portion of head box 19a in the longitudinal direction . as shown in fig1 , coil springs 19i are housed at equal intervals in housing portion 19h at the both ends and the center of head base 19b in the longitudinal direction . therefore , the respective portions of head base 19b are brought into contact with platen roller 20 by coil springs 19i substantially with a uniform pressure . instead of coil springs 19i , other flexible elements such as leaf springs are also used . fig1 shows an arrangement of platen roller 20 . as described above , platen roller 20 can be brought into contact with or separated from thermal head 19 . more specifically , roller 20 is in contact with head 19 in a ready state prior to printing and during printing , as shown in fig1 . however , in full - color printing , when printing in one color is finished and the next ink is moved to a start position of printing , roller 20 is separated from head 19 , as shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a moving unit of platen roller 20 . platen roller 20 and gears 46 and 47 for driving roller 20 are rotatably held by u - shaped hold member 61 . shafts 62 are attached to the opposite end portions of hold member 61 . shafts 62 serve as the fulcrums on which hold member 61 can be freely pivoted . spring 63 for biasing roller 20 toward head 19 is attached to one end portion of hold member 61 in the longitudinal direction . solenoid plunger 64 for separating hold member 61 from head 19 against the biasing force of spring 63 is attached to the other end portion of hold member 61 in the longitudinal direction . fig1 shows a moving unit according to another embodiment . the same reference numerals in fig9 denote the same parts as in fig1 . in the abovedescribed embodiment , hold member 61 is driven by solenoid plunger 64 . in this embodiment , however , projection 65 is formed on the other end portion of hold member 61 in the longitudinal direction , and cam 66 is brought into contact with projection 65 . cam 66 is driven by motor 68 through reduction gear mechanism 67 . with this arrangement , roller 20 can be moved in the same manner as in the above embodiment . as shown in fig1 and 17 , plate - like press members 71 and 72 are arranged near roller 20 so as to restrict the motion of paper p in association with an operation of roller 20 . fig2 shows an arrangement of press members 71 and 72 . press members 71 and 72 are arranged along roller 20 . moving units for members 71 and 72 are mounted on their two end portions . although fig2 shown only the moving unit mounted on one end portion of members 71 and 72 , an identical unit is mounted on the other end portion of members 71 and 72 . the proximal ends of press members 71 and 72 are pivotally supported on the distal ends of support members 73 and 74 . contact portions 75 and 76 are formed on the distal ends of support members 73 and 74 . press members 71 and 72 are brought into contact with contact portions 75 and 76 so as to be separated from roller 20 . the proximal ends of support members 73 and 74 are fixed to pivot shafts 77 and 78 which are pivotally arranged near roller 20 . the proximal ends of levers 79 and 80 are fixed on pivot shafts 77 and 78 . with this arrangement , levers 79 and 80 , and support members 73 and 74 can be integrally actuated . in addition , support members 73 and 74 are always biased by a spring ( not shown ) in a direction in which their distal ends are separated from each other . the distal ends of levers 79 and 80 can be brought into contact with shaft 20a of roller 20 . furthermore , springs 81 and 82 are connected across intermediate portions of levers 79 and 80 , and distal end portions of press members 71 and 72 . press members 71 and 72 are always biased by springs 81 and 82 toward contact portions 75 and 76 . in the above arrangement , platen roller 20 is in contact with thermal head 19 in a ready state prior to printing and during printing , as shown in fig1 . in this state , since shaft 20a of roller 20 is moved above pivot shafts 77 and 78 , support members 73 and 74 are moved in a direction in which their distal ends are separated from each other . consequently , the distal ends of press members 71 and 72 are separated from roller 20 . in the above state , when paper p is inserted from insertion port 5a shown in fig2 the leading edge of paper p is moved along the the lower surface of press member 71 and is set between roller 20 and ink ribbon 53 . in full - color printing , when printing in one color is completed , platen roller 20 is separated from thermal shown in fig1 , and then levers 79 and 80 are pushed downward by shaft 20a of roller 20 . as a result , support members 73 and 74 are pivoted in a direction in which their distal ends come close to each other , and the distal ends of press members 71 and 72 are brought into contact with the surface of roller 20 , thereby holding paper p . at this time , press members 71 and 72 are separated from contact portions 75 and 76 of support members 73 and 74 , and paper p is held by the biasing force of springs 81 and 82 . fig2 shows a driving section of ink ribbon 53 . gear 91 is mounted on bobbin 52b of ribbon cassette 52 . gears 92 and 93 are sequentially meshed with gear 91 . gears 91 to 93 are housed in , e . g ., cassette 52 . when cassette 52 is attached to thermal head 19 , gear 93 is meshed with gear 94 arranged in apparatus body 1 . gear 94 is rotated by pulse motor 95 , which drives ink ribbon 53 . cassette sensor 96 constituted by a plurality of microswitches is attached to apparatus body 1 . code data consisting of a plurality of projections which are formed on the outer surface of ribbon cassette 52 and adapted to represent a type of ink ribbon is read by cassette sensor 96 . in addition , ribbon sensor 97 for detecting a type of ink is arranged in apparatus body 1 midway along the conveying path of ink ribbon 53 . ribbon sensor 97 is constituted by , e . g ., a known photocoupler . ribbon sensor 97 detects code data bc consisting of bar codes which are formed on one edge of the full - color ink ribbon so as to correspond to inks of the respective colors as shown in fig2 . fig2 shows filter unit fl which is used when full - color printing is to be performed . filters fa , fb , and fc for a plurality of colors corresponding to the colors of ink in ink ribbon 53 are vertically arranged in , e . g ., frame member 100 . the order of arrangement of filters fa to fc coincides with the order of arrangement of inks in ink ribbon 53 . for example , solenoid plunger 101 capable of setting the position of filter unit fl in a stepwise manner is attached to frame member 100 . when full - color printing is to be performed , filters fa to fc are sequentially inserted in the optical path of image sensor 14 in accordance with the colors of inks in ink ribbon 53 by using solenoid plunger 101 . with operation , a document is exposed / scanned in units of colors of filters fa to fc . in other words , a document image is converted by image sensor 14 into an electrical signal in units of light beams transmitted through filters fa to fc . note that the moving unit of filter fl is not limited to solenoid plunger 101 , and may be constituted by , e . g ., a cam / ratchet mechanism driven by a motor . control section 111 controls the overall image forming apparatus . print key 6 and density setting section 8 constituted by a variable resistor are connected to control section 111 . light source 9 is connected to control section 111 through driver 112 . image sensor 14 and thermal head 19 are connected to control section 111 through amplifier 113 and head driver 114 , respectively . furthermore , pulse motors 38 and 95 are connected to control section 111 through motor driver 115 . solenoid plungers 64 and 101 are connected to control section 111 through solenoid driver 116 . moreover , buffer memory 117 for storing image data corresponding to a number of lines which is supplied from image sensor 14 , cassette sensor 96 for detecting that ink ribbon 52 is attached and the type of this ribbon cassette , and ribbon sensor 97 for detecting a type of ink in a full - color ink ribbon are connected to control section 111 . an image forming operation when heat - sensitive paper is used will be described first . in this case , while a document is set on document table 2 , paper , e . g ., a heat - sensitive paper , is inserted from insertion port 5a . when print key 6 is operated in this state , driver 112 and motor driver 115 are controlled by control section 111 , light source 9 is turned on , and pulse motor 38 is driven in the forward direction . subsequently , first and second carriages 31a and 31b are moved from a home position shown in fig5 and the document set on document table 2 is exposed / scanned . in accordance with this exposure / scanning operation , a document image is sequentially converted by image sensor 14 into electrical signals . in this way , image data to be printed are generated . image data output from image sensor 14 are stored in buffer memory 117 through amplifier 113 and control section 111 . the image data stored in buffer memory 117 in units of several lines are sequentially read out in unit of lines , and are supplied to thermal head 19 through control section 111 and head driver 114 . the paper inserted into insertion port 5a is moved by platen roller 20 which is rotated by pulse motor 38 in synchronism with first and second carriages 31a and 31b . at this time , an image corresponding to the document image is printed by thermal head 19 . after the exposure / scanning operation of the document and the printing by thermal head 19 are completed , the paper is discharged outside apparatus body 1 . thereafter , pulse motor 38 is reversely rotated , and first and second carriages 31a and 31b are restored to the home position . a printing operation using a ribbon cassette will be described below . when printing is to be performed by using a ribbon cassette , operating member 7 of apparatus body 1 is operated while cover 5 is open , so that thermal head 19 is released and ribbon cassette 52 is attached to head 19 . then , head 19 is closed again to integrally attach ribbon cassette 52 to apparatus body 1 . in this state , paper is inserted from insertion port 5a , a document is set on document table 2 , and print key 6 is operated . at this time , control section 111 detects that the cassette is attached by receiving an output from cassette sensor 96 , and discriminates the type of ribbon cassette 52 . when it is discriminated that a monochrome ink ribbon is stored in ribbon cassette 52 , a document image is exposed / scanned in the same manner as in the operation wherein the heat - sensitive paper is used . subsequently , ink of ink ribbon 53 driven by pulse motor 95 is heated / melted by thermal head 19 , and an image is formed on the paper . when control section 111 discriminates that ink ribbon 53 stored in ribbon cassette 52 is for full - color printing , the following operation is performed . first , pulse motor 95 is operated . while discriminating an output signal from ribbon sensor 97 , control section 111 moves ink of a first color in ink ribbon 53 to a printing position . subsequently , solenoid plunger 101 is operated , and filter fa in filter unit fl corresponding to the first ink color is inserted in the optical path of image sensor 14 . in this state , light source 9 is turned on , and the document is exposed / scanned in the same manner as described above . in accordance with this exposure / scanning operation , platen roller 20 and ink ribbon 53 are driven , and at the same time , thermal head 19 is operated in accordance with image data output from image sensor 14 , thereby forming an image on the paper using the first ink . when , for example , the first ink is yellow ( y ), the yellow ink is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig2 , and printing is performed . when the exposure / scanning operation of the document is completed , while first and second carriages 31a and 31b are stopped at the same position , solenoid plunger 64 is operated to separate platen roller 20 from thermal held 19 . in this case , the paper is held on roller 20 by press members 71 and 72 so as not to be shifted . in this state , motor 95 is driven to transfer the second ink ( magenta ( m )), and a rear portion of the second ink is set at the start position of printing . in addition , solenoid plunger 101 is biased , and filter fb corresponding to the color of the second ink is inserted in the optical path of image sensor 14 . in this state , solenoid plunger 64 is deenergized , and platen roller 20 is brought into contact with thermal head 19 . thereafter , light source 9 is turned on , and pulse motors 38 and 95 are reversely rotated to expose / scan the document in the reverse direction . at the same time , ink ribbon 53 and the paper are reversely conveyed , and an image is formed by using the second color ink . in this way , a color image is formed on the paper while the paper is moving forward , and another color image on the paper while the paper is moving backward . when the image forming operation using the second ink is completed in this manner , solenoid plunger 64 is is energized to separate platen roller 20 from thermal head 19 , and the third ink ( cyan ( c )) is set at & amp ; he printing start position . in addition , solenoid plunger 101 is energized , and filter fc corresponding to the color of the third ink is inserted in the optical path of image sensor 14 . in this state , light source 9 is turned on , and motors 38 and 95 are rotated forwardly so as to expose / scan the document in the forward direction , thereby forming an image using the third ink . subsequently , an image forming operation using the fourth ink ( black ( bk )) is performed in the same manner as in the operation using the second ink . when this operation is finished , all the printing operations are completed . note that when inks of three colors are set in the ink ribbon , if an image forming operation using the third ink is finished , all the image forming operations are completed . as described above , according to the present invention , mirror 12 is cut at a portion which does not influence the formation of an image . with this arrangement , light source 9 , and mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 constituting the optical system can be arranged so as to be inclined , and hence document table 2 can be inclined . therefore , the size of apparatus body 1 can be reduced . the optical system is constituted by light source 9 , mirrors 10 , 11 , and 12 , lens block 13 , and image sensor 14 without using a color contact sensor as in the conventional apparatus . therefore , the manufacturing cost can be decreased . in addition , according to the present invention , platen 20 is arranged above thermal head 19 . with this arrangement , paper as an image receiving member can be set from the front side with respect to insertion portion 5a formed in the upper surface of apparatus body 1 . therefore , setting of paper is facilitated as compared with the conventional apparatus wherein paper is set from the rear side of the platen roller . moreover , since the paper can be conveyed in a substantially linear state , only , a small resistance is present in conveying the paper . when printing is performed by reciprocating paper especially in full - color printing , this arrangement can prevent any positional shift of the paper , and hence reduce color misregistration . therefore , printing quality can be improved . furthermore , according to the present invention , plate - like press members 71 and 72 are arranged near platen roller 20 . with this arrangement , when platen roller 20 is separated from thermal head 19 , paper is urged against platen roller 20 by press members 71 and 72 . therefore , a space required to arrange parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional apparatus wherein paper is urged against the platen roller by a roller . moreover , if press members 71 and 72 are used , since the urging position of the paper with respect to platen roller 20 can be set near the printing section of thermal head 19 , an area in which printing cannot be performed can be reduced as compared with the case wherein a roller is used . furthermore , according to the present invention , when full color printing is to be performed , paper is reciprocated , and the optical system is reciprocated in accordance with the moving direction of the paper . therefore , the number of times of moving paper can be decreased to half that in the conventional one - way printing wherein paper is restored to the printing start position every time a printing operation using one color is completed . therefore , a positional shift of paper can be prevented and the printing speed can be increased . in addition , according to the present invention , a plurality of springs 19i are arranged at equal intervals in head box 19a constituting thermal head 19 , and head base 19b is urged by springs 19i toward platen roller 20 . with this arrangement , the respective parts of thermal head 19 can be brought into contact with platen 20 with an equal pressure , and hence uneven printing can be prevented . moreover , housing portion 19h for housing springs 19i of head box 19a is positioned between bobbins 52a and 52b of ribbon cassette 52 . this arrangement can prevent an increase in size of ribbon cassette 52 . moreover , according to the present invention , when full - color printing is to be performed , filters fa to fc in filter fl are sequentially inserted in the optical path of image sensor 14 in accordance with the colors of inks in ink ribbon 53 . with this operation , an optical image input through filters fa to fc in subjected to photoelectrical conversion by image sensor 14 . thereafter , printing is performed by supplying the converted output to thermal head 19 without color image processing . therefore , the cost can be greatly decreased as compared with the conventional apparatus wherein printing is performed after performing color image processing by using the color contact sensor . note that the present invention is not limited to the above - described embodiment , and various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
the teachings provide for performing measurements downhole using a gravitational accelerometer . the gravitational accelerometer may also be referred to as a “ gravimeter ” or a “ sensor .” gravitational acceleration measured can be correlated to a variety of parameters such as a “ true vertical depth ” ( tvd ) of a borehole . referring to fig1 , a well logging instrument 10 is shown disposed in a borehole 2 . the borehole 2 is drilled through earth 7 and penetrates formations 4 , which include various formation bedding planes 4 a - 4 e . the logging instrument 10 is typically lowered into and withdrawn from the borehole 2 by use of an armored electrical cable 6 or similar conveyance as is known in the art . a gravimeter 5 is shown disposed within the logging instrument 10 . in typical embodiments , the borehole 2 includes materials such as would be found in oil exploration , including a mixture of liquids such as water , drilling fluid , mud , oil and formation fluids that are indigenous to the various formations . one skilled in the art will recognize that the various features as may be encountered in a subsurface environment may be referred to as “ formations .” accordingly , it should be considered that while the term “ formation ” generally refers to geologic formations of interest , that the term “ formations ,” as used herein , may , in some instances , include any geologic points of interest ( such as a survey area ). for the purposes of this discussion , it is assumed that the borehole 2 is vertical and that the formations 4 are horizontal . the gravimeter however can be applied equally well in deviated or horizontal wells or with the formation bedding planes 4 a - 4 e at any arbitrary angle . the gravimeter is equally suited for use in lwd applications and in open - borehole and cased - borehole wireline applications . in lwd applications , the apparatus may be disposed in a drilling collar . typically , in lwd applications , the gravimeter is de - activated while a drill bit is turning . accuracy of measurements taken while the drill bit is turning may be significantly reduced due to vibrations . the gravimeter may be activated to measure the gravitational acceleration while the drill bit is temporarily stopped . the natural laws of physics dictate that the gravitational acceleration at a location is determined by various factors . such factors include a size and an orientation of masses surrounding the location . a direction and a distance describe orientation of each mass relative to the location . in the downhole environment , gravitational acceleration includes contributions from masses of the geologic formations . it is known that gravity varies with depth . as one might imagine , as the logging instrument 10 moves down the borehole , orientation of the logging instrument 10 varies with respect to the formations 4 . the gravitational acceleration varies due to the variations in the orientation . the gravimeter 5 measures the gravitational acceleration at selected points along the borehole 2 . therefore , the gravimeter 5 provides for determining orientation of the logging instrument 10 . generally , output of the gravimeter 5 is correlated to the borehole depth . the output is referred to as the true vertical depth because the gravitational acceleration typically does not vary with horizontal deviations of the borehole or stretching of the wireline . by measuring the true vertical depth , the gravitational accelerometer can account for the horizontal deviations and the logging instrument not moving smoothly through the borehole . additionally , the gravimeter 5 may be used to monitor injection media stored in the reservoirs to enhance recovery of the hydrocarbons . for example , the gravimeter 5 can measure changes in gravitational acceleration due to the mass of injected water and / or carbon dioxide . typically , a bulk density of the geologic formation is used to correlate the gravitational acceleration with the tvd . there are several ways to determine the bulk density . one way is to assume an average based upon known geologic data in a region adjacent to the borehole . another way is to measure porosity of the formation using a nuclear magnetic resonance logging tool for example . knowing the porosity , the bulk density can be computed using 2 . 67 gm / cc as an average grain density . the teachings provide for the gravimeter 5 based on an optical cavity . the optical cavity resonates light of a particular frequency for a period of time . the frequency at which the light resonates is dependent on optical parameters of the optical cavity . a change in gravitational force , associated with a change in the gravitational acceleration , imposed upon the optical cavity can change the optical parameters of the optical cavity . changing the optical parameters results in a shift of the frequency at which the light resonates ( referred to as a resonant frequency ). the change in gravitational force is related to the shift in the resonant frequency . the change in gravitational acceleration can be determined because the change in gravitational acceleration is related to the change in the gravitational force . before the gravimeter 5 is discussed in detail , certain definitions are provided . the term “ optical cavity ” or “ optical resonator ” relates to a device that can contain light of a certain frequency for a period of time . typically , the light is contained by being reflected by reflective surfaces internal to the optical cavity . only a certain frequency or frequencies of light are contained within the optical resonator while other frequencies are suppressed by effects such as destructive interference . the terms “ q ” and “ quality - factor ” relate to a ratio of energy stored in the optical resonator to the energy lost in one cycle . in general , an optical resonator with a high quality factor , q , has a higher sensitivity to changes in optical parameters than an optical resonator with a low quality factor , q . the term “ evanescent wave coupling ” relates to a process by which electromagnatic waves are transmitted from one medium to another by means of evanescent ( or decaying ) electromagnetic field ( s ). this is usually accomplished by placing two or more waveguides close together so that the evanescent field does not decay much in the vicinity of the other waveguide . assuming the receiving waveguide can support mode ( s ) of the appropriate frequency , the evanescent field gives rise to propagating wave mode ( s ), thereby connecting ( or coupling ) the wave from one waveguide to the next . the term “ single mode ” relates to the transmission of a single ray ( a narrow band of the optical spectrum ) of light . typically , single mode transmission does not exhibit dispersion resulting from multiple spatial modes . the term “ absolute standard ” relates to a reference standard that is calibrated to absolute gravitational acceleration . the term “ proof mass ” relates to a known mass upon which a force acting can be measured . in order to measure gravitational acceleration in a downhole environment , the gravimeter 5 must exhibit a high degree of sensitivity . the gravimeter 5 disclosed herein for downhole use has a resolution typically on the order of parts per billion . generally , to achieve parts per billion resolution , the optical cavity has a quality factor , q , on the order of 10 8 . the high quality factor characterizes that light will reflect in the optical cavity for a high number of cycles . because each cycle presents an opportunity for recognizing a change in the resonant frequency , the high quality factor , q , reflects that the gravimeter 5 has a high resolution . fig2 illustrates exemplary aspects of the gravimeter 5 . referring to fig2 a , a broadband light source 21 provides broadband light 22 to an optical cavity 20 . an exemplary embodiment of the broadband light source 22 is a laser . the broadband light source 21 is coupled to the optical cavity 20 via a waveguide 25 . the optical cavity 20 resonates a certain wavelength ( at a corresponding resonant frequency ) of the broadband light 22 . a resonant light output 24 exits the optical cavity 20 at the resonant frequency . a photodetector 23 detects the resonant frequency of the resonant light output 24 . typically , the photodetector 23 includes a spectrum analyzer . the photodetector 23 is coupled to the optical cavity 20 by the waveguide 25 . the resonant frequency is determined by optical parameters of the optical cavity 20 . one example of an optical parameter includes geometry of the optical cavity 20 . fig2 b is an exemplary graph of intensity versus wavelength for the broadband light 22 . referring to fig2 b , the broadband light 22 includes wavelengths from λ 1 to λ 3 . fig2 c is an exemplary graph of the resonant light output 24 . referring to fig2 c , the resonant light output 24 has a resonance at the resonant frequency , λ 2 . referring to fig2 a , an influence on the optical parameters is a gravitational force 26 . the gravitational force 26 is related to the gravitational acceleration at the optical cavity 20 . if the gravimeter 5 moves to a different location where the gravitational acceleration is different , then the gravitational force 26 applied to the optical cavity 20 will also change . a result of the change in the gravitational force 26 is that the optical parameters will change and , therefore , the resonant frequency , λ 2 , will change . for example , the change in the gravitational force 26 may change a flexure of the optical cavity 20 . the change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 , can be correlated to the change in gravitational acceleration . the gravitational force 26 acting alone upon the optical cavity 20 may not be sufficient to flex the optical cavity 20 . the optical cavity 20 will not respond directly to a change in the zero hertz frequency component of gravitational acceleration but only to oscillations with frequencies greater than zero hertz . typically , to flex the optical cavity 20 , a proof mass is connected to the optical cavity 20 . the gravitational force 26 acting upon the proof mass provides sufficient force to flex the optical cavity 20 . the proof mass may be connected to the optical cavity 20 by at least one of a flexible connection such as a string and a rigid connection such as a lever . a connection between the proof mass and the optical cavity 20 may provide for mechanically amplifying the gravitational force 26 . the gravitational force 26 acting upon the proof mass is related to the gravitational acceleration at the proof mass 30 . therefore , by measuring the gravitational force 26 acting upon the proof mass , the gravimeter 5 can measure the gravitational acceleration at the gravimeter 5 . fig3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a proof mass 33 connected to the optical cavity 20 . referring to fig3 , the optical cavity 20 that is flexed by the gravitational force 26 acting upon the proof mass 33 is depicted with solid lines while the optical cavity 20 that is not flexed is depicted with dashed lines . several embodiments of optical resonators are known . one class of embodiments with a quality factor , q , high enough to measure gravitational acceleration is solid - state . the optical cavities 20 fabricated using solid - state technology may be of a nano - scale size . there are several benefits to fabricating the optical cavities 20 with solid - state technology . among these , the optical cavity 20 can have a high quality factor , q , that relates to high sensitivity . the solid - state optical cavity 20 can have a small nano - scale volume to ensure a single mode of operation for a broad range of wavelengths , λ . a small cavity size enables large - scale integration . finally , a high q to volume ratio ensures a high strength of interaction between light and matter within the optical cavity 20 . some embodiments of the optical resonators are manufactured with techniques , such as photolithography , known in the solid - state arts . the optical cavity 20 in the solid - state may be based on a photonic crystal . fig4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a photonic crystal 30 . referring to fig4 , the photonic crystal 30 may be two - dimensional in that light is confined to a plane or three - dimensional . for teaching purposes , the discussion herein is focused on two - dimensional photonic crystals . the photonic crystal 30 is a structure made from a dielectric material having a dielectric constant . an exemplary embodiment of the dielectric material is silicon . the structure for silicon contains periodic changes of the dielectric constant . the majority of the periodic changes typically occur in a pattern . distances at which the periodic changes occur are of the order of the wavelength of light . a thickness “ t ” of the photonic crystal 30 is also on the order of the wavelength of light . light is prevented from escaping in directions normal to the plane by a total - internal - reflection at an interface between the photonic crystal and a cladding layer . the broadband light 22 enters a side of the photonic crystal 30 . with an appropriate pattern of periodic changes of the dielectric constant , the photonic crystal will act as a filter allowing the resonant light output 24 to exit on another side . a change in the gravitational force 26 acting on the photonic crystal 30 will cause a change to the pattern of the periodic changes of the dielectric constant . the change in the pattern will in turn cause a change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 , of the photonic crystal 30 . the change in the gravitational force 26 can be determined from the change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 . also , a change in the gravitational acceleration can be determined from the change in the gravitational force 26 . referring to fig4 , the periodic changes of the dielectric constant may be caused by air holes 31 fabricated in the photonic crystal . the air holes are generally normal to the plane of the photonic crystal 30 . typically , the air holes 31 are placed in a triangular - lattice pattern . a diameter of the air hole 31 and a distance between the air holes 31 are selected to provide an appropriate resonant frequency , λ 2 , for measuring changes in the gravitational acceleration . the quality factor , q , of the photonic crystal 30 may be increased by introducing a defect to the pattern . typically , the defect occurs towards the center of the photonic crystal 30 . the defect may include at least one of a change in spacing between the air holes 31 and some air holes 31 being deleted from the pattern . referring to fig4 , light enters and exits the photonic crystal 30 via the waveguides 25 . an example of the waveguide 25 is an optical fiber . fig5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the photonic crystal 30 with a pattern defect in a center region of the photonic crystal 30 . in this embodiment , several of the air holes 31 are deleted in the center region . fig6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the photonic crystal 30 with another pattern defect . referring to fig6 , the photonic crystal 30 includes a “ line - defect waveguide .” the line - defect waveguide is formed by alternating patterns of the air holes 31 in three regions of the photonic crystal 30 . the three regions are labeled , referring to fig6 , a first region 51 , a second region 52 , and a third region 53 . the spacing between the air holes 31 in the first region 51 and the third region 53 is the same . the spacing between the air holes 31 in the second region 52 is different from the spacing in the first region 51 and the third region 53 . the line - defect waveguide provides for a high quality factor , q , and the resonant light output 24 with a narrow frequency bandwidth . the photonic crystals 30 with the line - defect waveguide are typically referred to as “ photonic double heterostructures .” another embodiment of the optical cavity 20 is referred to as a “ microring .” fig7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a microring 60 . the nicroring 60 includes an optical toroid 61 . referring to fig7 a , light circulates around the optical toroid 61 . light is confined in the optical toroid 61 by total - internal - reflection by the walls of the optical toroid 61 . referring to fig7 b , typically , the diameter “ d ” of the optical toroid 61 can be on the order of 60 μm or smaller . operation of the microring with continuous circulation of light is referred to as “ whispering gallery mode .” in the whispering gallery mode , the microring 60 may have a quality factor , q , on the order of 10 8 or greater . as with other optical cavities 20 , light will resonate at a frequency , λ 2 , depending on the optical parameters of the optical toroid 61 . a change in the gravitational force 26 acting upon the optical toroid 61 will cause the resonant frequency , λ 2 , to change . the change in the gravitational force 26 can be determined from the change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 . also , a change in the gravitational acceleration can be determined from the change in the gravitational force 26 . an exemplary embodiment of the microring 60 may be fabricated from at least one of a polymer and a silicon - on - insulator substrate . typically , the waveguide 25 is used with the microring 60 . referring to fig7 a , the broadband light 22 enters the waveguide 25 . a portion of the broadband light 22 will enter the optical toroid 61 via evanescent wave coupling . light within the optical toroid 61 will resonate at the resonant frequency , λ 2 . a portion of the light resonating within the optical toroid 61 will exit the optical toroid 61 as the resonant light output 24 via another waveguide 25 . one exemplary embodiment of the waveguide 25 for use with the microring 60 is a tapered optical fiber . another embodiment of the optical cavity 20 using the whispering gallery mode is referred to as a “ microsphere .” fig8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a microsphere 70 . in the whispering gallery mode , light circulates in a thin annular region inside the surface of the microsphere 70 . referring to fig8 , the thin annular region is near an equator 71 of the microsphere 70 . the diameter of the microsphere 70 can be on the order of 20 μm or smaller . the microsphere 70 can have a quality factor , q , on the order of 10 9 or greater . an exemplary embodiment of the microsphere 70 is fabricated from fused silica . as with the microring 60 , light in the microsphere 70 will resonate at a resonant frequency , λ 2 , depending on the optical parameters of the microsphere 70 . a change in the gravitational force 26 acting upon the microsphere 70 will cause the optical parameters to change with a resulting change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 . as discussed above , the change in the gravitational force 26 and the change in the gravitational acceleration can be determined from the change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 . the tapered optical fiber is typically used as the waveguide 25 in conjunction with the microsphere 70 . the tapered optical fiber is coupled to a side of the microsphere 70 by evanescent wave coupling . typically , the well logging instrument 10 includes adaptations as may be necessary to provide for operation during drilling or after a drilling process has been undertaken . referring to fig9 , an apparatus for implementing the teachings herein is depicted . in fig9 , the apparatus includes a computer 80 coupled to the well logging instrument 10 . typically , the computer 80 includes components as necessary to provide for the real time processing of data from the well logging instrument 10 . exemplary components include , without limitation , at least one processor , storage , memory , input devices , output devices and the like . as these components are known to those skilled in the art , these are neither depicted in any detail nor discussed further herein . typically , the teachings herein are reduced to an algorithm that is stored on machine - readable media . the algorithm is implemented by the computer 80 and provides operators with desired output . the output is typically generated on a real - time basis . the gravimeter 5 may be used to provide real - time measurements of gravitational acceleration . as used herein , generation of data in “ real - time ” is taken to mean generation of data at a rate that is useful or adequate for making decisions during or concurrent with processes such as production , experimentation , verification , and other types of surveys or uses as may be opted for by a user or operator . as a non - limiting example , real - time measurements and calculations may provide users with information necessary to make desired adjustments during the drilling process . in one embodiment , adjustments are enabled on a continuous basis ( at the rate of drilling ), while in another embodiment , adjustments may require periodic cessation of drilling for assessment of data . accordingly , it should be recognized that “ real - time ” is to be taken in context , and does not necessarily indicate the instantaneous determination of data , or make any other suggestions about the temporal frequency of data collection and determination . a high degree of quality control over the data may be realized during implementation of the teachings herein . for example , quality control may be achieved through known techniques of iterative processing and data comparison . accordingly , it is contemplated that additional correction factors and other aspects for real - time processing may be used . advantageously , the user may apply a desired quality control tolerance to the data , and thus draw a balance between rapidity of determination of the data and a degree of quality in the data . fig1 presents an exemplary method 90 for measuring gravitational acceleration in the borehole 2 . the method 90 calls for using the gravimeter 5 incorporating the optical cavity 20 . a first step 91 calls for taking a first measurement of the resonant frequency of the optical cavity 20 . typically , the first measurement is a reference measurement against which other measurements of gravitational acceleration are compared . if the reference measurement is calibrated to a standard of gravitational acceleration , then subsequent measurements may be referenced to the standard of gravitational acceleration . if the standard is an absolute standard , then the subsequent measurements will provide “ absolute gravitational acceleration .” the reference measurement in the first step 91 may be with respect to a known tvd of the borehole 2 at a reference point . a second step 92 calls for talking a second measurement of the resonant frequency of the optical cavity 20 . the second step 92 may be performed at a location different from where the first step 91 was performed or at the same location . for example , the second step 92 may be performed deeper in the borehole 2 from where the first step 91 was performed . as another example , the second step 92 may be performed at the same location where the first step 91 was performed but at a later time . a third step 93 calls for comparing the measurement from the first step 91 to the measurement from the second step 92 . the tvd at a location in the borehole 2 may be determined by at least one of determining the absolute gravitational acceleration at the location and relating a change in gravitational acceleration to a difference in depth from the known tvd at the reference point discussed above . when the first step 91 and the second step 92 are performed at the same location , then the third step 93 may be used to monitor the hydrocarbon reservoirs after the injection of injection media such as at least one of water and carbon dioxide . the discussion above concerning the optical cavities 20 is with respect to the exemplary embodiments presented . for example , fig4 illustrates a two - port configuration and fig7 and 8 illustrate four - port configurations . the optical cavities 20 may be used in the gravimeters 5 in configurations with any number of ports . referring to fig7 and 8 , light emitted from through ports , for example , may be analyzed for resonance changes ( or shifts ). for example , referring to fig7 a , through port light 62 exits the through port and may be analyzed for resonance shifts . fig7 c illustrates an exemplary spectrum of the through port light 62 . referring to fig7 c , the spectrum includes a decrease in intensity at the resonant frequency λ 2 . in certain embodiments , the gravimeter 5 may be disposed in more than one logging instrument 10 . in these embodiments the responses from the gravimeters 5 may be combined to produce a composite response . using multiple instruments 10 to produce the composite response is considered inherent to the teachings herein and a part of the invention disclosed . the gravimeter 5 may be used to measure relative gravitational acceleration and absolute gravitational acceleration . measurement of relative gravitational acceleration involves comparing the resonant frequency , λ 2 , of the optical cavity 20 from two measurements . the relative gravitational acceleration relates to a change in the resonant frequency , λ 2 , with respect to a previous measurement of gravitational acceleration . measurement of absolute gravitational acceleration involves calibrating the gravimeter 5 to an absolute standard of gravitational acceleration to provide a calibration point . the calibration involves correlating the absolute standard to the resonant frequency , λ 2 , of the optical cavity 20 . the absolute gravitational acceleration at a different location can then be measured by determining a difference in the resonant frequency , λ 2 , from the calibration point . besides measuring gravitational acceleration , the gravimeter 5 ( or sensor 5 ) may be used to measure acceleration that the sensor 5 may undergo . in embodiments of the sensor 5 used as an accelerometer , the proof mass 33 may not be required . a force of acceleration imposed upon the optical cavity 20 may be of a sufficient magnitude to cause the optical cavity 20 to flex . one example of acceleration that the sensor 5 can measure is a vibration . the optical cavity can measure the amplitude and frequency of the vibration . the sensor 5 may be built for measuring accelerations that are at least one of direction independent and specific to certain axes . the optical cavity 20 may be designed to measure acceleration in one , two or three axes . for example , the microring 60 can measure acceleration in two axes that are planar with the optical toroid 61 . different combinations of the optical cavity 20 may be incorporated into the sensor 5 . for example , the sensor 5 can measure acceleration in three axes by employing one optical cavity 20 for measuring acceleration in planar directions and one optical cavity 20 for measuring acceleration in one dimension orthogonal to the planar directions . fig1 presents an exemplary method 100 for producing the logging instrument 10 for measuring acceleration . a first step 101 calls for selecting at least one sensor 5 that includes the broadband light source 21 , the optical cavity 20 , and the photodetector 23 . a second step 102 calls for placing the sensor 5 into the logging instrument 10 . in support of the teachings herein , various analysis components may be used , including digital and / or analog systems . the system may have components such as a processor , storage media , memory , input , output , communications link ( wired , wireless , pulsed mud , optical or other ), user interfaces , software programs , signal processors ( digital or analog ) and other such components ( such as resistors , capacitors , inductors and others ) to provide for operation and analyses of the apparatus and methods disclosed herein in any of several manners well - appreciated in the art . it is considered that these teachings may be , but need not be , implemented in conjunction with a set of computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable medium , including memory ( roms , rams ), optical ( cd - roms ), or magnetic ( disks , hard drives ), or any other type that when executed causes a computer to implement the method of the present invention . these instructions may provide for equipment operation , control , data collection and analysis and other functions deemed relevant by a system designer , owner , user or other such personnel , in addition to the functions described in this disclosure . further , various other components may be included and called upon for providing for aspects of the teachings herein . for example , a sample line , sample storage , sample chamber , sample exhaust , pump , piston , power supply ( e . g ., at least one of a generator , a remote supply and a battery ), vacuum supply , pressure supply , refrigeration ( i . e ., cooling ) unit or supply , heating component , motive force ( such as a translational force , propulsional force or a rotational force ), magnet , electromagnet , sensor , electrode , transmitter , receiver , transceiver , controller , optical unit , electrical unit or electromechanical unit may be included in support of the various aspects discussed herein or in support of other functions beyond this disclosure . one skilled in the art will recognize that the various components or technologies may provide certain necessary or beneficial functionality or features . accordingly , these functions and features as may be needed in support of the appended claims and variations thereof , are recognized as being inherently included as a part of the teachings herein and a part of the invention disclosed . while the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to adapt a particular instrument , situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims .	6
referring now to fig1 through 6 the present invention will be described in detail , wherein : fig1 is a schematic view of signal transmitter and sensor circuits of the present invention ; fig2 illustrates the frequency modulated magnetic field realized by the remote superconducting quantum interference device of fig1 ; fig3 schematically illustrates a chip having therein a plurality of circuits to be tested in which each circuit is provided with the present invention for determining the current in each such circuit ; fig4 schematically illustrates a wafer level test assembly employing the present invention ; fig5 illustrates the housing detail of the superconducting quantum interference device used in the wafer level test assembly of fig4 and fig6 illustrates a package level test assembly employing the present invention . with reference now to the drawings and especially fig1 and 2 , there is schematically shown , in fig1 , a circuit 10 coupled between to a voltage supply 35 and ground 12 through a magnetic field concentrating loop 14 . when the circuit 10 is activated it draws a current idd from the voltage source 35 through the concentrating loop 14 and a magnetic field is generated adjacent the loop . a magnetic field sensor 19 , such as a hall effect sensor is positioned adjacent to the concentrating loop 14 and within the generated magnetic field created by the current through the conducting loop 14 . this generated magnetic field will cause the sensor . 19 to produce a hall voltage h v that is proportional to the current through the loop 14 , i . e . v h ∝ idd . this generated hall voltage h v is fed to the first input 21 of a strobed or gated amplifier 20 . simultaneously , a selected frequency f , is delivered from the ring oscillator 23 driven by a suitable enable signal from a suitable enable signal source 24 , is applied to the second input 22 of the gated amplifier 20 to create a pulsed current i out indicated by arrow 27 . this pulsed current flow i out flows through a second concentrating loop 25 coupled to ground 12 . and generates a strobed magnetic field 26 . this strobed magnetic field 26 is now detected by squid 28 . the squid 28 measures the amplitude modulated magnetic field 26 and generates the frequency modulated output signal 29 shown in fig2 whose amplitude is directly proportional to the current flow i dd through the first concentrating loop 14 . the squid 28 is a commercially available device designed to measure extremely weak magnetic signals , and may be either designed for radio frequencies measurements or for direct current measurements . basically a squid is a josephson junction device , formed of two different superconductors , e . g . a top layer formed of lead with 10 % gold or indium and a bottom layer of niobium , separated by an electron tunneling barrier . such squids are sensitive enough to detect a change of magnetic energy 100 billion times weaker than the electromagnetic energy required to move a compass needle . because they are so sensitive they are extremely efficient remote sensors and need not come in contact with a system that they are testing . a radio frequency squid is made up of a josephson junction mounted on a superconducting ring such that when an oscillating current is applied to an external circuit , its voltage changes as an effect of the interaction between it and the ring . the magnetic flux is then measured . the direct current ( dc ) squid is much more sensitive and consists of two josephson junctions employed in parallel so that electrons tunneling through the junctions demonstrate quantum interference , dependent upon the strength of the magnetic field within a loop and thus demonstrate resistance in response to even tiny variations in a magnetic field . this is the feature that enables the detection of such minute changes in magnetic fields . fig3 schematically illustrates a chip having therein a plurality of circuits to be tested . each circuit employs the present invention to determine the current in each circuit . in this fig3 there is shown , for example , four separate circuits 30 , 31 , 32 , and 33 each of which is coupled to a voltage source 35 , via a respective magnetic concentration loop 30 a , 31 a , 32 a , 33 a , and to ground 36 . thus when each circuit is active a respective current exists between the voltage source 35 and ground 36 via its respective concentration loop , i . e ., in circuit 30 the current idd 1 passes through the loop 30 a , in circuit 31 the current idd 2 , passes through the loop 31 a , in circuit 32 the current idd 3 passes through the loop 32 a , and in circuit 33 the current idd 4 passes through the loop 33 a . it is to be understood that although only four such circuits are shown in the present , that as a practical matter when testing a semiconductor chip that many different circuits or portions thereof may need to be checked and measured . further more , the currents drawn by or existing in each circuit or portion thereof can be different from the current existing in any other circuit . thus , during test , it is necessary to correctly establish the value of the current in each circuit or portion thereof . that is all the currents , idd 1 , 1 dd 2 , idd 3 and idd 4 need to be measured . the present invention does so by placing a respective magnetic concentration loop 30 a , 31 a , 32 a , and 33 a in each circuit or portion whose current is to be determined and placing a respective hall effect sensor in each respective concentration loop . thus , in fig3 , a hall sensor 19 a is placed in concentration loop 30 a , sensor 19 b is placed in concentration loop 31 a , sensor 19 c is placed in concentration loop 32 a , and sensor 19 d is placed in concentration loop , 33 a . the signal from each respective hall - effect device 19 a , 19 b , 19 c , and 19 d is fed to the first input of a respective gated amplifier . thus the output of hall - effect device 19 a , is fed to the first input 21 a of a respective gated amplifier 20 a , the output of hall - effect device 19 b , is fed to the first input 21 b of a respective gated amplifier 20 b , the output of hall - effect device 19 c is fed to the first input 21 c of a respective gated amplifier 20 c , and the output of hall - effect device 19 d , is fed to the first input 21 d of a respective gated amplifier 20 d . the other input of each amplifier 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , and 20 d is coupled to a respective ring oscillator 23 a , 23 b , 23 c , and 23 d so that a respective frequency f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , and f 4 may be generated by each respective ring oscillator into each respective amplifier 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , and 20 d . these frequencies f 1 , f 2 f 3 , and f 4 cause the output of each respective amplifier 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , and 20 d to pulse at the frequency applied to the amplifier . the output of each amplifier 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , and 20 d is in turn coupled to ground through a respective magnetic field concentrator 25 a , 25 b , 25 c , and 25 d to produce around each magnetic field concentrator 25 a , 25 b , 25 c , and 25 d , a respective pulsating magnetic field b f1 , b f2 , b f3 , and b f4 . each magnetic field b f1 , b f2 , b f3 , and b f4 is pulsating at the frequency applied to its respective amplifier . thus the magnetic field b f1 produced around concentrator 25 a is pulsating at the frequency f 1 ; the magnetic field b f2 produced around concentrator 25 b is pulsating at the frequency f 2 , the magnetic field b f3 produced around concentrator 25 c is pulsating at the frequency f 3 , and the magnetic field b f4 produced around concentrator 25 d is pulsating at the frequency f 4 . these pulsating magnetic fields b f1 , b f2 , b f3 , and b f4 are detected by the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 , c and 28 d respectively . the information detected by each respective squid sensor 28 a , 28 b , 28 , c and 28 d is transmitted to a lock - in amplifier 30 that is synchronized with the frequencies f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , and f 4 so that output of the lock - in amplifier 30 can be set to provide an output indicative of each respective current idd 1 , 1 dd 2 , idd 3 or idd 4 . fig4 is a sectional view of a schematically illustrated wafer level test assembly employing the present invention . in fig4 , a wafer 41 is shown mounted on a wafer chuck 42 . the wafer 41 contains a plurality of chips such as chips 41 a , 41 b , 41 c , 41 d and 41 e . for purposes of illustration only it will be presumed that chip 41 b contains the four separate circuits 30 , 31 , 32 , and 33 shown in fig3 . the wafer 41 has its back or inactive side 40 mounted on a wafer chuck 42 containing a plurality of squid assemblies 28 a , 28 b , 28 c , and 28 d . fig5 is an enlargement of a portion of fig4 and schematically illustrates the housing detail of the superconducting quantum interference device used in fig4 . each squid assembly 46 is , as shown in fig5 comprised of a plurality of remote squids 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d mounted in a cooling apparatus 47 . each such squid is of course electrically coupled , via lines 29 a , 29 b , 29 c , and 29 d to suitable circuitry ( not shown ) in order to determine the current in each circuit being tested and each is positioned to detect and measure a respective pulsating magnetic field . thus squid 28 a detects field b f1 , squid 28 b detects field b f2 , squid 28 c detects field b f3 and squid 28 d detects field b f4 . such squid assemblies are presently commercially available and can be designed to conform to any desired circuit design or arrangement . for purposes of illustration only , it will be assumed in fig4 and 5 that the magnetic concentration loops 25 a , 25 b , 25 c and 25 d are arranged in line so that a test unit 43 , having a plurality of probes 44 positioned in contact with chip 41 b , can provide power to the circuits 30 a , 31 a , 32 a , and 33 a in a manner well known to the art . when the circuits 30 a , 31 a , 32 a , and 33 a are powered up and operated as above described , the pulsating fields b f1 , b f2 , b f3 , and b f4 are created . when the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d are located beneath the chip 41 b as shown in fig4 and 5 each one of the pulsating fields b f1 , b f2 , b f3 , and b f4 are detected by a respective one of the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d . although in fig5 the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d are shown mounted on cold fingers arranged in a line , it should be understood that the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d will actually be positioned in any configuration that will permit each to sense a respective one of the pulsating fields bf 1 , bf 2 , bf 3 and bf 4 created as above described . as shown in fig5 the squid sensors 28 a , 28 b , 28 c and 28 d are positioned in an evacuated cavity 48 sealed by a protective window 49 that is transparent to the pulsating magnetic fields . port 50 is used to evacuate the cavity 48 and electrical leads 29 a , 29 b , 29 c and 29 d , as shown in fig3 and 5 , lead from each respective sensor to the lock - in amplifier 30 . fig6 is a sectional view of a schematically illustrated test arrangement designed to measure , in accordance with the present invention , the currents in a chip 50 under various test conditions . here a chip 50 has been designed and provided with the necessary magnetic field concentrators , hall converters , amplifiers and etc . as described in conjunction with fig1 of the present invention . the chip 50 is then mounted such that its active face 52 is mounted against a wiring substrate , as is well known to the art . when so mounted the chip can be electrically activated though the substrate and subjected to various selected tests as is well known to the art . by employing the present invention circuit in selected portions of such substrate mounted chips can be measured by placing the back or inactive face 55 of the chip 50 in contact with a remote sensor arrangement 56 , designed for the chip under test , and measuring , as above described , the actual currents in selected portions of the powered up chip . the present invention thus teaches a simple , inexpensive and automatic way of measuring with great accuracy the actual currents in a semiconductor chip under various operating conditions . this completes the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention . since changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention described herein , it is intended that all the matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . other alternatives and modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .	6
a pipettor in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at 10 in fig1 . the pipettor includes a housing 12 with an axially projecting cylinder 14 . cylinder 14 has a tapered distal end defining a pipettor tip holder 16 . a pipettor tip 18 is removably secured by friction to the tip holder 16 . the opposite end of the cylinder has an enlarged head 20 with an internal ledge 22 on which is seated an o - ring 24 supporting an apertured seal 26 . a sleeve 28 has an apertured lower end 30 received in the cylinder head 20 . the sleeve 28 has an intermediate interior shoulder 32 and an internally threaded open upper end 34 . a front stop collar 36 is biased upwardly against the internal shoulder 32 by a spring 38 . a piston 40 in the cylinder head 20 projects downwardly through the seal 26 . the piston is biased upwardly against the lower end of a plunger 42 by a main spring 44 . plunger 42 extends upwardly through the apertured lower end 30 of sleeve 28 , and through the front stop collar 36 and a tubular externally threaded screw 46 , with its upper end projecting from the top of the housing 12 and into an axially depressable cap 48 . an enlarged intermediate section 58 of the plunger 42 defines upper and lower shoulders 52 and 54 . shoulder 52 is biased against the lower end of the screw 46 by the force of the main spring 44 acting on the piston 40 . the lower screw end thus serves as a rear stop . as can best be seen by additional reference to fig2 , the upper end of the screw 46 is provided with external ribs 56 slidably received in internal grooves 57 in a rotatable drive collar 60 . an external gear 62 on the drive collar 60 meshes with a drive pinion 64 on the output shaft of a motor 66 . actuation of motor 66 will cause the drive collar 60 to rotate , and the mechanical interengagement of the ribs 56 and grooves 57 will result in a corresponding rotation being imparted to the screw 46 . the threaded engagement of the screw 46 with the upper end 34 of the fixed sleeve 28 will result in the screw being shifted axially to a desired setting of its lower end , which provides a rear stop for the plunger 42 and the piston 40 biased against its lower end by the main spring 44 . the setting of the rear stop will limit the extent to which the piston 40 can be retracted from the tubular portion of the cylinder 14 , which in turn will control the volume of liquid that can be drawn into the pipettor tip 18 during aspiration . aspirated liquid is dispensed from the pipettor tip by manually depressing the cap 48 to advance the plunger 42 and the piston 40 against the biasing force of the main spring 44 . the plunger will continue to advance until the lower shoulder 54 of its enlarged intermediate section 58 engages the front stop 36 , creating a first point of resistance which indicates that most of the aspirated liquid has been dispensed . by manually applying additional force to the plunger 42 in order to overcome the resistance of spring 38 , the piston will be advance further to insure that any residual liquid will be “ blown out ” of the pipettor tip 18 . in another aspect of the invention , the pipettor includes a tip ejector assembly generally indicated at 68 for removing a pipettor tip 18 from the pipettor tip holder 16 . as can best be seen by a combined reference to fig1 and 3 , the tip ejector assembly 68 includes a tip ejector actuator 70 , a tip ejector shaft 72 , a tip ejector sleeve 73 movable with the tip ejector shaft , and a lock collar 74 . the lock collar allows one way movement of the tip ejector shaft 72 and sleeve 73 in the direction of arrow a in fig3 , but does not allow movement of these components in the opposite direction , the direction of arrow b , when the lock collar is oriented in its locking position , as illustrated . therefore , when a disposable tip 18 is wedged upwardly onto the tip holder 16 , the tip ejector sleeve 73 is pushed upwardly in the direction of arrow a . at the same time , the tip ejector shaft 72 will also move up a distance equal to the distance traveled by the tip ejector sleeve due to the fixed connection therebetween . the lock collar 74 will allow movement of the tip ejector shaft 72 in the direction of arrow a without resisting movement . however , the tip ejector shaft 72 will be prevented from moving in direction b toward the disposable tip 18 by the locking action of the lock collar 74 . a spring 76 is positioned to bias the lock collar into an angled , or locking position . the spring 76 keeps the tip ejector shaft 72 locked by the lock collar 74 , and thus prevents the tip ejector shaft and the ejector sleeve 73 from moving in the direction of arrow b to dislodge and eject the pipettor tip 18 . depressing the tip ejector actuator 70 in the direction of arrow c will cause its tapered lower end 78 to coact with a mating inclined surface of a ramp wedge 80 , causing the ramp wedge to shift in the direction of the lock collar , and creating a force lifting the lock collar from its angled locked position to a raised unlocked position . once the lock collar is unlocked , the tip ejector shaft is released to move through the lock collar in the direction of arrow b under the force of spring 82 . the tip ejector sleeve 73 will be correspondingly moved , causing the pipettor tip 18 to be dislodged and ejected from the end of the pipettor tip holder 16 . in another embodiment of the invention , a damper mechanism includes a piston 84 formed at the upper end of the tip ejector shaft 72 . the piston is encircled by an o - ring seal and enclosed in a chamber 86 vented to atmosphere by a one way check valve 88 . movement of the tip ejector shaft in direction a causes air to be expelled from the chamber 86 via the check valve , whereas movement in direction b is retarded by the rate at which air can be readmitted to the chamber via a smaller bleed hole 90 . the retarded rate of travel in direction b beneficially retards the velocity at which the pipettor tip is ejected . in another embodiment of the invention , as can be seen by reference to fig2 and 4 , the adjustment drive collar 60 is surrounded by an encoder wheel 92 that rotates with the adjustment drive collar and that comprises part of an encoder assembly 94 . the pipettor includes a voice recognition system vrs that translates verbal commands 96 for volume settings and outputs the result 98 to a central processing unit cpu . the cpu generates an electronic signal 99 that controls the motor 66 , and may optionally receive input 100 from the encoder assembly 94 indicative of the position of the adjustable stop . the pipettor &# 39 ; s adjustment mechanism is thus moved automatically to the position corresponding to the voice input setting . in light of the foregoing , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that although the present invention has been described with reference to a pipettor having a manually actuated piston , certain aspects of the invention including the motor driven stop adjustment mechanism , the voice recognition system , and the tip ejection mechanism , are also applicable to pipettors having motor driven pistons . modifications and improvements within the scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art . the above description is intended to be purely illustrative , and does not define the limits of the present invention :	1
fig1 a illustrates the flow for a preferred embodiment method of reconstruction ( synthesis ) by interpolation / convolution for a given output range . for an interpolation by integer l , the method partitions the convolution filter into l phases and the output range into corresponding phases . then for each phase , determine the input range and apply the corresponding convolution phase to generate the output phase ; lastly interleave the output phases to yield the total output . in particular , with subband input x [ k ], output y [ n ], and convolution filter h [ m ], the interpolation / convolution is y ⁡ [ n ] = ∑ k ≤ floor ⁡ ( n / l ) ⁢ h ⁡ [ n - kl ] × [ k ] where the causality of h [ m ] implies the upper limit of summation . the summation shows that only every l th component of h [ m ] is used for each n , and this defines the l phases of h [ m ] ( denoted h 0 [ m ], h 1 [ m ], h 2 [ m ], . . . , h l − 1 [ m ]) by setting h j [ m ]= h [ ml + j ]. thus given an output index n with j = mod ( n , l ) ( mod is the modulo function , so j ≡ n mod ( l )), the interpolation / convolution becomes : y ⁡ [ n ] = ∑ k ≤ floor ⁡ ( n / l ) ⁢ h j ⁡ [ floor ⁡ ( n ⁢ / ⁢ l ) - k ] × [ k ] y ⁡ [ n ] = ∑ 0 ≤ k ⁢ h j ⁡ [ k ] × [ floor ⁡ ( n ⁢ / ⁢ l ) - k ] when h [.] is a finite impulse response ( fir ) filter with zero coefficients for all values of the index greater than n h , the j th filter phase h j [ ] has zero coefficients for its index greater than some n j which is at most n h / l . thus the convolution sum is over at most the range 0 ≦ k ≦ n h / l . ( the descriptions of the preferred embodiments in the following sections provide precise details .) this implies the range of input x [ m ] involved is at most n / l − n h / l ≦ m ≦ n / l . thus for an output y [ n ] range a ≦ n ≦ b , the corresponding inputs x [ m ] used lie within the range a / l − n h / l ≦ m ≦ b / l . and for all outputs y [ n ] with mod ( n , l )= j , only the j th filter phase h j [.] is used , so these outputs can be efficiently computed together and interleaved with the other output phases to form the final output . for reconstructions which involve multiple levels of subbands as illustrated in fig1 b , repeated use of the method from the final output level to the initial input levels determines the input ranges in terms of the desired final output range . analogously , the inverse operation determines the analysis filtering plus decimation index range in a subband arising from a given input data range , see section 6 below . of course , with causal analysis filters and causal synthesis filters the overall operation of analysis followed by synthesis ( such as in real - time analysis into subbands , quantization in subbands , transmission , and then real - time dequantization and synthesis from subbands ) will have an overall delay comparable to the sum of the lengths of the analysis and synthesis filters . preferred embodiment systems , such as video compression / decompression systems , include preferred embodiment hardware employing preferred embodiment methods . the computations can be performed with digital signal processors ( dsps ) or general - purpose programmable processors or application specific circuitry ( asics ) or systems on a chip such as both a dsp , asic , and risc processor on the same chip with the risc processor controlling . analog - to - digital converters and digital - to - analog converters provide coupling to the real world and may be integrated with the signal processors as a system - on - a - chip . the preferred embodiment methods observe that if only a portion of a signal is to be reconstructed , then all of the subband coefficients need not be used . rather than initially considering arbitrary tree structures , first look at a simple example of convolution . take the length of an input signal x [ n ] to be n x = 10 ( e . g ., only x [ 0 ], x [ 1 ], . . . , x [ 9 ] may be nonzero ), and take the length of the filter h [ n ] to be n h = 5 . thus the convolution of x [ n ] and h [ n ] will yield y [ n ] with length , n y , of at most 14 : y ⁡ [ n ] = ∑ k ⁢ h ⁡ [ n - k ] × [ k ] fig4 is a graphical representation of the convolution . the first row shows the input signal . each successive row shows the filter slide across the input . the left - most column shows the index number for the output signal . each element in row i ( not including the first row ) gets multiplied by the same column element from row 1 , and then accumulated across the row , as the convolution sum of products describes . from fig4 , it can be seen that this example requires 50 multiply - accumulate ( mac ) operations to compute the entire output . now , to determine the output y [ n ] for only n = 5 – 7 ( shaded in gray in fig4 ), simply refer to the figure to see which portion of the input signal is needed . in this case , only x [ 2 ], x [ 3 ], . . . , x [ 7 ] are required . the causality constraint on h [ n ] guarantees that there will be no need for any input samples that occur with index greater than the largest output index desired . in the particular example of fig4 , only 15 mac operations are required to obtain the desired output . using fig4 , one can also find data regions where only portions of the filter are used because the input x [ ] is limited . for example , output indices 0 – 3 only require the first 4 taps ( coefficients ) of the filter . likewise , output indices 11 – 13 only require the last 3 taps of the filter . this graphical method can also be used to represent the two - step convolution plus decimation and the two - step interpolation plus convolution . indeed , fig5 is the graphical representation of the interpolation plus convolution where the interpolation is by a factor l = 2 and the filter and input are the same as in the example of fig4 . including the interpolation operation in the graphical representation highlights some interesting points on polyphase filter implementation . by combining the interpolation with the convolution operation , the filter is essentially being divided into two phases : even and odd . the even - numbered rows only use even - numbered indices of the filter , and odd - numbered rows use the odd - numbered indices ( the even rows are shaded in gray ). looking at only even or odd rows , fig5 becomes identical to fig4 . therefore , for the implementation of the interpolation plus convolution , the preferred embodiment separates the filter into an even phase and an odd phase : h e [ n ] and h o [ n ]. the interpolation plus convolution can then be split into two summations : y ⁡ [ n ] = { ∑ 0 ≤ k ≤ n ⁢ ⁢ x - 1 ⁢ ⁢ x ⁡ [ k ] ⁢ ⁢ h e ⁡ [ floor ⁡ ( n / 2 ) - k ] for ⁢ ⁢ even ⁢ ⁢ n ∑ 0 ≤ k ≤ n ⁢ ⁢ x - 1 ⁢ ⁢ x ⁡ [ k ] ⁢ ⁢ h o ⁡ [ floor ⁡ ( n / 2 ) - k ] for ⁢ ⁢ odd ⁢ ⁢ n where n x is the length of the input x [ n ] with x [ 0 ] the first nonzero coefficient , and as previously noted , floor ( n / 2 ) is the integer part of n / 2 . in more detail , presume the following notation : a ( subband ) input x [ n ] of length n x , a filter h [ n ] of length n h and split into even phase filter h e [ n ] and odd phase filter h o [ n ], n h — phases a 2 - component vector containing the lengths of the even and odd phase filters in order according to use , and a desired range a ≦ n ≦ b for output y [ n ]. then the preferred embodiment method for reconstructing of y [ n ] for a ≦ n ≦ b using a single interpolation - by - 2 / convolution has the following steps . 0 ) adjust indices to start at 0 , so if a range is specified with indexing which begins at 1 ( such as matlab ), adjust the range endpoints to be a = a − 1 and b = b − 1 ; calculations are readjusted below for matlab indexing . 1 ) calculate the maximal length of the output assuming complete computation : 2 ( n x − 1 )+ n h ( for general interpolation by l the length would be l ( n x − 1 )+ n h ). 2 ) if the desired output range a ≦ n ≦ b does not fall within the index range calculated in 1 ), exit with an error message . 3 ) determine the phase order for the calculation . the starting of the output range ‘ a ’ will determine the position of the even and odd phase in the calculations . define the 2 - component vector phase with the first component equal to the phase of ‘ a ’ and the second component to the phase of ‘ a ’+ 1 where 0 denotes even phase and 1 denotes odd phase ( even phase is [ 0 2 4 . . . ] and odd phase is [ 1 3 5 . . . ]). expressed with matlab pseudocode the definition is : 4 ) determine the required range for the input as follows . let n h — phases be a 2 - component vector with the first component equal the length of the first filter phase and second component equal to the second filter phase where the phase order is specified in the vector phase from step 3 ). for example , if phase ( 1 ) equals 0 ( even phase ), then n n — phases ( 1 ) equals the length of the even filter phase h e [ k ]. ‘ strt ’ ( start ) is a 2 - component vector containing the start index of the input x [ n ] for each phase , again with phase order specified in the vector phase from step 3 ), and similarly ‘ stp ’ ( stop ) is a 2 - component vector containing the stop index of the input x [ n ] for each phase , phase order again specified in the vector phase from step 3 ). the ‘+ 1 ’ at the end is to adjust for matlab indexing which starts with 1 . actually , the ‘ max ’ notation is to prevent a negative index and we use ‘ max ( 0 , . . . ) for general indexing ; matlab indexing is adjusted by the ‘+ 1 ’ at the end . note that strt ( j )= 1 when the length of the j th filter phase is larger than the corresponding a / 2 or ( a + 1 )/ 2 and thus the tail of the filter extends beyond the start of the data . similarly , stp ( j )= nx − 1 when the corresponding b / 2 or ( b − 1 )/ 2 is larger than the length of the input data and so the filter phase extends beyond the data . step 6 ) makes adjustments for these conditions . 5 ) ( optional ) determine the required range for the filter ; that is , make adjustments to a filter phase if either the filter phase has length larger than the stop index from step 4 ) ( in which case the tail of the filter is never used and may be deleted ) and / or the low end of the range is beyond the input data length ( in which case the initial portion of the filter phase is never used and may be deleted ). in most applications the entire filter will be used and these adjustments are not likely to add significant improvement ; thus this step is optional . 6 ) apply the convolutions with h e [.] and h o [.] to generate the even and odd phase output y [ n ] for the desired range a ≦ n ≦ b using the required input x [.] ranges determined in step 4 ) ( and , optionally , with the filter phases adjusted in step 5 )). convolution routines may apply zero - padding outside of a specified input range ; thus the front and end tails of the convolution output needs to be chopped off for such convolutions . 7 ) interleave the even and odd phases of y [ n ] to complete the output for the specified range . the relative position of even / odd phase is specified by vector phase from step 3 ). the following numerical example helps illustrate the method steps . take n x = 100 ( e . g ., x [ 1 ], x [ 2 ], . . . , x [ 100 ] are nonzero ), h [ n ] of length 9 split into even h e [ n ] and odd h o [ n ] with lengths n he = 5 and n ho = 4 , and desired output range a = 30 , b = 50 . first , readjust range to 0 - indexing : a = 29 , b = 49 . if the convolution includes a delay in the sense that h e [ 0 ]= h e [ 1 ]= h e [ 2 ]= . . . = h e [ m he ]= 0 and h o [ 0 ]= h o [ 1 ]= h o [ 2 ]= . . . = h o [ m ho ]= 0 with m he & lt ; n he and m ho & lt ; n ho , then the upper endpoints of the input ranges , even_b and odd_b , are decreased to even_b −( m he + 1 ) and odd_b −( m ho + 1 ), respectively . the preferred embodiment inverse operation of translating an input range [ a , b ] into an output range in each of the two analysis subbands ( two analysis filterings followed by decimations by 2 ) has analogous behavior . indeed , consider an input sequence x [ n ] with analysis filtering using a causal filter h [ n ] followed by decimation by 2 to yield output subband coefficients y [ n ]: y ⁡ [ n ] = ∑ k ≤ 2 ⁢ n ⁢ h ⁡ [ 2 ⁢ n - k ] × [ k ] let n h be the length of h [ m ] and n x be the length of the input signal x [ n ], then the following possibilities for subband output range occur for the input range [ a , b ]: i . a = 0 , b ≦ n x : y [ n ] for n in the range [ 0 , floor ( b / 2 )] ii . 0 & lt ; a ≦ n x , b = n x : y [ n ] for n in the range [ floor (( a + n h )/ 2 , floor (( b + n h − 1 )/ 2 iii . b − a + 1 ≧ n h : y [ n ] for n in the range [ floor (( a + n h )/ 2 , floor ( b / 2 )] note that case iii places a restriction on permissible input ranges . case iii may also contain legal input ranges , but produce illegal output ranges . for example , if a = 1 , b = 5 , and n h = 5 , then the output range would be [ 3 : 2 ], which is clearly not possible ( y [ 3 ] cannot come before y [ 2 ]). this occurs because the decimation operator actually completely wipes out this calculation . the foregoing method can be extended to handle multiple cascades of the interpolation / convolution operation in any arbitrary tree structure . fig1 b shows an example of an arbitrary tree structure for the synthesis band of a two - channel filter bank . to begin the extended method , each node of the tree should be assigned a number beginning with the output node assigned 0 . the node number should be assigned assuming a full - tree structure . node assignment helps in determining the relative position of child nodes to parent nodes . in the two - channel case , the depth of the tree is commonly referred to as its level . level i contains 2 i nodes . each node at level i is given a position number in the range from 0 to ( 2 i − 1 ) and an ordered pair can be made ([ level , position ]). the node index can be calculated from the ordered pair by the following equation : the parent node can be found from the child node by the following equation : this is why in fig1 b the deepest node pair has values 11 and 12 instead of 7 and 8 if only sequential nodes were labeled . the ultimate objective is to translate the output range into the minimum range of coefficients at each terminal node . this is accomplished recursively by iterating the foregoing preferred embodiment method beginning at the output ( node 0 in fig1 b ) until a terminal node is reached . for example , if the desired output range is from a to b , then perform the foregoing method to find the minimum input range for the coefficient at nodes 1 and 2 ( the ranges may be the same ). let the required range for nodes 1 and 2 be c to d . nodes 1 and 2 are not terminal nodes , so repeat the method with nodes 3 – 6 as inputs with the desired output range c to d . again , across each level , the ranges are identical , so the computation only needs to be performed once . nodes 3 , 4 , and 6 are terminal nodes , so the method need only continue to calculate the ranges for terminal nodes 11 and 12 by another repeat . finite - length input signals require compensation for edge effects arising from the convolution filtering . specifically , for the wavelet transform , finite - length input signals are typically extended ( zero - padding , symmetric extensions , etc . . . . ) to eliminate edge effects in the filtering process . filter banks using signal extensions require a modified version of the foregoing preferred embodiment methods due to the extension incrementing the signal index . in particular , presume synthesis filtering with an interpolation by a factor of 2 ( even and odd phases ) and the input signal is extended by length ext defined as where len_odd and len_even are the lengths of the odd and even phases of the filter , respectively . this extension length together with the decimations of the analysis filterings affect the start and stop indices at each level of the synthesis tree ; see fig1 b where the levels are vertical and increase from right to left . as before , take [ a , b ] as the desired final output range ( level 0 ), then at level i the start and stop indices for the synthesis filterings are : where ceiling ( x ) denotes the smallest integer not smaller than x , nbands is the total number of subband levels , and the index is presumed to begin at 0 rather that at 1 as would be the case for matlab code . intuitively , each of the two higher level subbands that are filtered ( even and odd ) and interleaved to form a lower level subband has an extension , and these two extensions are thus effectively interleaved . this translates to an index increment equal to 2 times the extension length of the lower level , and repeating over the levels gives the start and stop . then apply the previously - described preferred embodiment methods with the adjusted signal indices . the preferred embodiment methods with interpolation l greater than 2 are straightforward extensions of the foregoing preferred embodiment methods . in particular , take the l phases of h [.] ( denoted h 0 [. ], h 1 [. ], . . . , h l − 1 [.]) to have lengths n h0 , n h1 , . . . , n h ( l − 1 ) and to be used in convolutions with the phases of output index n defined by mod ( n , l ). thus for the desired output range [ a : b ], the first phase is mod ( a , l ), and the convolutions for output indices with this phase use the filter phase h mod ( a , l ) [ k ]= h [ kl + mod ( a , l )]. in particular : 2 ) calculate the phase order ( vector phase ) where ‘ rng ’ is the two - component vector with first component the low end of the output range and the second component the high end of the output range : filter phases are ordered according the vector phase ; and the filter phase lengths are put in the vector nh_phases , again with order according to phase . 3 ) calculate start ( strt ) and stop ( stp ) indices of the input for each phase and put together as two l - component vectors . stp = min ( nx − 1 , floor ( rng ( 2 )/ l )− min ( 1 , max ( 0 , phase − mod ( rng ( 2 ), l ))))+ 1 ; this is vectorized code , so strt and stp are l - component vectors ordered by phase ; that is , strt ( j )≦ k ≦ stp ( j ) is the range of x [ k ] used in the j th phase convolution using the j th filter phase . 4 ) the union ( over the phases ) of these input ranges is then the overall required input range . and for each filter phase , use the corresponding input range to compute the corresponding output phase y [ n ] s . then interleave the y [ n ] s to complete the output ; see fig1 a . for a deeper tree ( e . g ., fig1 b ), repeat with the appropriate l at each node . in analysis filtering ( decomposition into subbands ), decimators replace interpolators , and the preferred embodiments reflect this . instead of creating even and odd phases of the ( synthesis ) filter , even and odd phases of the input signal are created . also , analysis moves along the tree in a different direction than synthesis . in particular , preferred embodiments compute the output index range in one of m subbands that results from analysis filtering of a given input range followed with decimation by m . indeed , with causal filtering plus decimation by m , an input index range a ≦ n ≦ b influences the output range of roughly a / m +( n j − 1 )/ m ≦ m ≦ b / m in the j th subband where n j is the length of the j th subband analysis filter . more precisely , the decimation by m implies that only every m th filtering with the j th filter needs be computed . thus the first subband coefficient which includes a * in its filtering has index floor ( a / m + k j / m ), except when a = 0 , in which case the first subband coefficient which includes a in its filtering has index 0 . similarly , the last subband coefficient which includes b * in its filtering has index floor ( b / m ), except when b = n x , in which case the last subband coefficient which includes b in its filtering has index floor ( b / m +( k j − 1 )/ m ). here k j denotes the length of the analysis filter for the j th subband , n x denotes the length of the input , ceiling ( z ) denotes the smallest integer greater than or equal to z , and floor ( z ) denotes the largest integer not greater than z . also as previously described , if the data is extended , then the subband index may also be extended . use of this analysis index preferred embodiment typically occurs together with a determination of the corresponding synthesis index range as in the following problem : a data set with index range [ 0 , r ] has been compressed by analysis filtering with m passband filters and each filtering decimated by m to yield coefficients in m subbands , each subband with index range [ 0 , r / m ]. but now a change of the input data in the range [ a , b ] is made , and two questions arise : ( 1 ) what subband coefficients need to be changed to reflect this data change , and ( 2 ) what range of input data are used to make these subband changes presuming use of the analysis filtering and decimation . for the first question , apply a previously - described preferred embodiment method to determine which subband coefficients are needed to synthesize [ a , b ]; these will be the coefficients which require change . denote this coefficient index range in the jth subband as [ jay_a ., jay_b ]. as previously described , the range [ jay_a , jay_b ] is roughly [ a / l −( n j − 1 ), b / l ] when the j th phase filter has length n j . and the interpolation is by l . of course , here l = m . then the second question becomes , what input data range [ a , b ] is needed to compute [ jay_a , jay_b ] for all j ; this uses the analysis index preferred embodiment of the preceding paragraphs . roughly , [ a , b ] are used to compute [ a / m + k j / m , b / m ] in the j th subband with an analysis filter of length k j . hence , determine a and b * by equations : l = m , a / m = a / l −( n − 1 )/ l , and b / m = b / l where n is the largest n j and k is the largest k j . thus roughly , a = a − n + 1 and b = b + k − 1 ; that is to edit [ a , b ] involves recomputing subband coefficients using data in [ a − n + 1 , b + k − 1 ]. the preferred embodiments are more precise and use the floor ( x ) and ceiling ( x ) versions in the computations and accommodate for data extensions . a further preferred embodiment method calculates the input range given subband output range ( l - bands ) as follows ( expressed in matlab pseudocode ): 1 ) output range is specified : rng =[ a : b ] 2 ) adjust range for zero - indexing a = a − 1 , b = b − 1 3 ) check if specified range is valid note the phase order for filter is reversed compared to input phase order stp_idx must be reordered to match the same phase order of strt_idx stp_phase = mod ( stp −[ 0 : l − 1 ], l ); permutate stp_phase to match phase vector ; use same permutation to reorder stp_idx 10 ) perform convolution for each phase and add results to get output . as with the synthesis , the ‘ tails ’ of the convolution must be truncated appropriately the preferred embodiments can be varied while retaining one or more of the features of translating synthesis output ranges into input ranges by consideration of filter phases and phased convolutions and / or translating analysis input ranges into output ranges . for example , a filter could be non - causal so the index computations then involve both a causal length n causal ( length of h j [ n ] for positive n ) and a noncausal length n noncausal ( length of h j [ n ] for negative n ) for the j th phase filter with the output range [ a , b ] roughly translating ( for interpolation by l ) into the input range a / l − n causal / l & lt ; m & lt ; b / l + n noncausal / l . for a filter symmetric about 0 ( for nonzero n : h [- n ]= h [ n ]) the lengths are equal : n causal = n noncausal .	6
in the above description , the lower alkyl groups are exemplified by methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , etc . examples of the halogen atoms are fluorine , chlorine , bromine , etc . examples of the cycloalkyl groups are cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl , cyclooctyl , cyclodecanyl , cycloundecanyl , etc . examples of the lower alkoxy groups include methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , butoxy , etc . in the definition for a , the group of the formula ## str6 ## is exemplified by ## str7 ## or the like , and the group expressed by the formula ## str8 ## is exemplified by ## str9 ## or the like . the compounds of this invention are typified , for instance , by the compounds shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________comp . no . compound abbreviation______________________________________1 3 -[ n -- benzyl - n --( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylaminobutyl )- a5tbzamino ] propylaminobleomycin2 3 -{[ n -- p - chlorobenzyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( p - a5tc1bz ( p ) chlorobenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin3 3 -{ n -- m , p - dichlorobenzyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( m , p - a5tdc1bzdichlorobenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } ( m , p ) propylaminobleomycin4 3 -{ n -- p - methoxybenzyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( p - a5tmdbz ( p ) methoxybenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin5 3 -{ n -- p - methylbenzyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( p - a5tmbz ( p ) methylbenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin6 3 -{ n -- cyclooctylmethyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( cyclo - a5tcooctylmethyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin7 3 -( 4 &# 39 ;- cycloundecanylmethylaminobutyl - a5cuamino ) propylaminobleomycin8 3 -{ n -- n - decyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( n - decyl )- a5tdecaminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin9 3 -{ n -- n - pentyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( n - pentyl ) a5tpenaminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin10 3 -{ n -- m , p - dibenzyloxybenzyl - n --[ 4 &# 39 ;- bis a5tdbzobz ( m , p - dibenzyloxybenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin11 3 -[ n , n -- dimethyl - n --( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylamino - a5mmdbzbutylamino ] propylaminobleomycin12 3 -[ n -- methyl - n -- benzyl - n --( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzyl - a5mtbzaminobutyl ) amino ] propylaminobleomycin______________________________________ the compounds expressed by the general formula [ i ] according to this invention can be prepared in the manner described below . wherein [ bx ] is as defined earlier , and a &# 39 ; represents a group of the formula ## str10 ## [ in which r 1 &# 39 ; represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group and r 2 is as defined earlier ,] is reductively condensed with a carbonyl compound of the general formula [ iii ] [ wherein r 5 and r 6 each represents ( i ) a hydrogen atom , ( ii ) an alkyl group having 4 to 9 carbon atoms , ( iii ) a cycloalkyl group , or ( iv ) a phenyl group which may be substituted by one or more of a halogen atom , a lower alkyl group , a lower alkoxy group and a benzyloxy group ,] thereby to obtain a compound expressed by the general formula [ i ]. examples of the reducing agent for use in the condensation are borohydride compounds etc . such as sodium cyanoborohydride . the condensation may be also effected by catalytic reduction using a catalyst such as palladium carbon . when the carbonyl compound is used in an amount of 1 to 1 . 5 mols , a blma 5 deriv . having a hydrogen atom as r 4 is mainly obtained . when it is used in an amount of 3 or more mols , there is obtained a blma 5 deriv . in which r 3 and r 4 represent the same group . the preferred amount of the carbonyl compound is 1 . 2 mols in order to obtain the blma 5 deriv . in which r 4 is hydrogen ; or 10 mols to obtain the blma 5 deriv . in which r 3 and r 4 represent the same group ; or 15 mols to obtain the blma 5 deriv . in which r 1 , r 2 and r 3 represent the same group . when the compound of the formula [ iii ] is a compound sparingly soluble in methanol , such as m , p - dibenzyloxybenzylaldehyde , its amount may be decreased , if the reaction time is prolonged . the solvent used in the reaction is methanol , water , dimethylformamide , acetonitrile , or a mixture of these . the reaction temperature should preferably be 0 ° to 50 ° c . more specifically , it is preferred that the reaction temperature be 0 ° to 25 ° c . in order to obtain the derivative having a hydrogen atom as r 4 ; or 35 ° to 50 ° c . in case a ketone is used , or in case the desired derivative is one with r 3 and r 4 representing the same group and an aldehyde used has high steric hindrance or low solubility . the reaction time should preferably be 3 to 70 hours . if there is used an aldehyde high in steric hindrance or low in solubility , a prolonged reaction time is effective . the so obtained derivative is isolated in the manner described below when the borohydride compound is used . the reaction mixture is adjusted to a ph of 1 with hydrochloric acid , and stirred for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature to decompose the excess reducing agent . then , the reaction mixture is neutralized , and methanol is distilled off under reduced pressure . the excess aldehyde or ketone is removed by extraction with ether or butanol , followed by a desalting procedure . namely , the aqueous layer is poured on a column of an adsorption resin , such as amberlite ® xad - 2 ( a product of rohm & amp ; haas ), packed with the use of distilled water , so that the desired product is adsorbed to the column . the column is washed with distilled water to remove the salts , and is then eluted with acidic aqueous methanol , such as a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ). a blue fraction comprising a bleomycin derivative is collected , and if desired , neutralized with the anionic exchange resin dowex ® 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ). the fraction is concentrated under reduced pressure and lyophilized to obtain a blue crude powder of the derivative . the following procedure is further carried out to increase the purity of the product . the above powder is dissolved in distilled water , and the solution is poured on a column of cm sephadex ® c - 25 ( na + type : a product of pharmacia fine chemicals ) that has been equilibrated with a 1 / 20 mol acetic acid - sodium acetate buffer solution ( ph : 4 . 5 ), so that the desired compound is adsorbed onto the column . the column is eluted by a linear concentration gradient involving sodium chloride added continuously to the same buffer solution to raise the sodium concentration to up to 1 . 0 mol gradually . if the desired fraction is found to contain impurities , this chromatography may be followed by chromatography using an adsorption resin such as amberlite ® xad - 2 . in this case , an aqueous solution of the crude substance is poured on a column of the resin packed with the use of a buffer solution such as a 4 % aqueous solution of ammonium acetate , thereby adsorbing the desired product onto the column . the column is eluted by a linear concentration gradient involving methanol added continuously to the same buffer solution to gradually increase the methanol concentration . usually , the unreacted starting materials come out the most quickly , followed by the derivative in which r 4 is a hydrogen atom , the derivative in which r 3 and r 4 represent the same group , and the derivative in which r 1 , r 3 and r 4 represent the same group in that order . it is therefore possible to separate these compounds by using an ultraviolet ray absorption monitor . if the fraction comprising the desired product is found to contain impurities , the above - described chromatography may be carried out again to remove them completely . the thus obtained fraction comprising the desired compound is distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol . then , the residue is desalted by the desalting method using amberlite ® xad - 2 that has been employed earlier . the desalted substance is lyophilized to obtain a copper - containing blma 5 deriv . as a blue amorphous powder . the resulting copper - containing blma 5 deriv . is deprived of copper by a known methods , say , one using edta ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 929 , 993 ) to obtain a copper - free derivative . an example of this procedure will be described below . the copper - containing compound is dissolved in distilled water , and the solution is poured on a column of amberlite ® xad - 2 packed with the use of distilled water , thereby adsorbing the compound onto the column . the column is washed with an aqueous solution comprising sodium chloride and 5 % disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate ( referred to hereinafter as edta 2na ) so that copper ions may be carried away with edta 2na . the blma 5 deriv . ( copper - free ) is thus left on the resin of the column . the column is washed with sodium chloride to remove edta 2na , and further washed with distilled water . finally , the column is eluted with acidic aqueous methanol , such as a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ), and fractions showing maximum absorption at a wavelength of about 290 millimicrons are combined . the combined fraction is adjusted to a ph of 6 . 0 with dowex ® 44 ( oh type : a product of the dow chemical ), then concentrated under reduced pressure , and lyophilized to obtain a copper - free hydrochloride of the blma 5 deriv . as a white amorphous powder . the use of an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid in place of the aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid in the above procedure would give a sulfate of the derivative . the desired salt can thus be obtained by selecting the type of the acid for use in the above - described elution step . the blma 5 deriv . produced by the above - mentioned method was hydrolyzed in a 6n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid for 20 hours at 150 ° c . as a result , there were detected an amine and decomposition products common to blms , i . e ., l - threonine , β - amino - β -( 4 - amino - 6 - carboxy - 5 - methyl - pyrimidin - 2 - yl ) propionic acid , 4 - amino - 3 - hydroxy - 2 - methyl - n - pentanoic acid , β - hydroxy - l - histidine , β - amino - l - alanine , and 2 &# 39 ;-( 2 - aminoethyl )- 2 , 4 &# 39 ;- bithiazole - 4 - carboxylic acid . upon methanolysis using amberlist 15 , the same methylglycoside of 3 - o - carbamoyl - d - mannose or l - gulose as in bleomycin was detected by gas chromatography . the above findings prove that blma 5 deriv . produced by the method of this invention have a chemical structure expressed by the aforementioned formula [ i ]. the compounds of the aforementioned formula [ ii ] include , for example , the following : the compounds of the aforementioned formula [ iii ] include , for example , benzaldehyde , p - chlorobenzaldehyde , m , p - dichlorobenzaldehyde , p - methylbenzaldehyde , p - methoxybenzaldehyde , m , p - dibenzyloxybenzaldehyde , cyclooctylaldehyde , cycloundecanoylaldehyde , n - valeric aldehyde , and n - capric aldehyde . the compounds of the general formula [ ii ] are synthesized in the manner described below . the method disclosed in u . s . pat . no . re . 30 , 451 is used to obtain them . it comprises cultivating a bleomycin - producing strain of steptomyces verticillus , such as streptomyces verticillus nk - 68 - 144 ( american type culture collection no . 31307 ), in the copresence of an amine expressed by the general formula [ iv ] wherein a &# 39 ; is as defined earlier . the compounds obtained by this method include , for example , blm - a5 . alternatively , the compounds of the general formula [ ii ] can be synthesized in the following way if a &# 39 ; in this formula denotes a quaternary salt : an amino - protecting group , such as tert - butoxycarbonyl group , is introduced by a known method into the primary amino group of the terminal amine segment of blm - a5 obtained in the above - mentioned technique , thereby to obtain a compound of the general formula [ v ] in which [ bx ] is as defined previously , and z represents a protective group . in case r 1 and r 2 represent the same group the compound of the formula [ v ] is reacted with a halide of the general formula [ vi ] in which r 1 &# 34 ; represents a lower alkyl group , and x represents a halogen atom , from a quaternary salt of the general formula [ vii ] ## str11 ## in which [ bx ] is as defined previously , and r 1 &# 34 ; and z are as defined above . then , the quaternary salt is subjected to a known method , for example , one using 6n hydrochloric acid with cooling with ice , if z is a tert - butoxycarbonyl group . this step removes the tert - botoxycarbonyl group to obtain the compound of the general formula [ ii ]. an example of the compound obtained by this method is a5mmhh . in case r 1 and r 2 are different groups , the compound of the formula [ v ] is condensed reductively with the compound of the general formula [ iii ] to form a compound of the general formula [ viii ] ## str12 ## in which [ bx ] and z are defined earlier , and r 2 &# 39 ; represents a benzyl group . the compound of the formula [ viii ] is reacted with the compound of the formula [ vi ] to form a quaternary salt of the general formula [ ix ] ## str13 ## in which [ bx ], r 1 &# 34 ;, r 2 &# 39 ; and z are as defined earlier . then , the protective group is removed by the aforementioned method to obtain the compound of the general formula [ ii ]. an example of the compound obtained by this method is a5mbzhh . table 2 shows the physiocochemical properties of typical aminopropylaminobleomycin derivatives according to the present invention . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ thin - layer uv absorption chromatography electrophoresis maximum of of copper - of copper - copper - free containing containingcomp . compound compound compoundno . abbreviation mμ ( e 1 %/ 1 cm ) ( rf value ) * 1 ( rm value ) * 2__________________________________________________________________________1 a5tbz 292 ( 89 ) 0 . 80 1 . 072 a5tc1bz ( p ) 293 ( 78 ) 0 . 75 0 . 923 a5tdc1bz ( m , p ) 294 ( 75 ) 0 . 67 0 . 824 a5tmdbz ( p ) 290 ( 104 ) 0 . 79 0 . 98 281 ( 107 ) 5 a5tmbz ( p ) 292 ( 77 ) 0 . 76 0 . 956 a5tco 292 ( 97 ) 0 . 54 0 . 927 a5cu 292 ( 76 ) 0 . 58 0 . 978 a5tdec 291 ( 68 ) 0 . 53 0 . 279 a5tpen 292 ( 83 ) 0 . 77 0 . 9810 a5tdbzobz 285 ( 88 ) 0 . 60 0 . 2311 a5mmdbz 292 ( 86 ) 0 . 84 1 . 1112 a5mtbzz 292 ( 91 ) 0 . 83 1 . 04__________________________________________________________________________ * 1 : silica gel 60 f 254 silanized ® ( merck ), methanol6 % ammonium acetate ( 80 : 20 v / v ) * 2 : avicel sf ® ( fmc ), formic acidacetic acidwater ( 27 : 75 : 900 v / v ), 800 v , 15 min ., alanine = 1 . 0 the following description shows the biological properties of the compounds of this invention that were investigated using typical examples of these compounds . the above activity ws determined by the agar cylinder plate method using the above microorganisms . the standard substance bleomycin a2 ( a copper - free compound ) had a titer of 1 , 000 mcg potency / mg . a culture medium ( 10 % calf serum - containing mem ) in a plastic dish was inoculated with hela s3 cells , and a bleomycin compound was added 2 days later . incubation was continued for a further 3 days , and then the number of viable cells was counted . growth inhibitory rate was calculated from the following equation : where a is the final bacterial cell count 3 days after addition of the test sample , b is the final bacterial cell count in the control involving no addition of the test sample , and c is the bacterial cell count at the time of addition of the test sample . id 50 , the concentration producing a growth inhibitory rate of 50 %, was estimated from the curve of the concentration of the test sample vs . the growth inhibitory rate . the results of the studies ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) are shown in table 3 . table 3______________________________________ antibacterial titer of copper - compound ( mcg potency / mg ) test organism id . sub . 50 of mycobacterium copper - freecomp . smegmatis bacillus compoundno . abbreviation atcc 607 subtilis mcg / ml______________________________________1 a5tbz 17360 400 0 . 402 a5tc1bz ( p ) 613 129 0 . 733 a5tdc1bz 217 43 0 . 20 ( m , p ) 4 a5tmdbz ( p ) 11109 197 0 . 545 a5tmbz ( p ) 4560 203 0 . 386 a5tco 530 61 0 . 0647 a5cu 24240 7330 0 . 168 a5tdec 295 75 0 . 269 a5tpen 57408 3520 0 . 2810 a5tdbzobz 136 6 0 . 0411 a5mmdbz 20160 2528 0 . 1212 a5mtbz 13733 832 0 . 65______________________________________ icr mice ( male , 15 - week - old ) were used in groups of 10 each . the dose of each test compound was 5 mg / kg injected intraperitoneally once daily for 10 consecutive days . after the administration of the compound was completed , the animals were reared for 5 weeks for observation . then , the animals were killed and autopsied so that the incidence and grade of pulmonary fibrosis were examined . the incidence of pulmonary fibrosis was expressed as the number of mice developing pulmonary fibrosis in the group of mice administered the test compound . the grade of pulmonary fibrosis was expressed as the total score for pulmonary fibrosis divided by the total number of specimens . table 4______________________________________incidence (%) grade (%) number of mice with total score for pulmonary fibrosis / pulmonarycomp . number of mice in fibrosis / totalno . the treatment group ratio specimens ratio______________________________________1 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 002 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 003 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 004 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 005 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 006 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 007 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 008 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 009 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 0010 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 0012 0 / 10 ( 0 ) 0 . 00 ( 0 / 30 ( 0 ) 0 . 00a5 5 / 10 ( 50 ) 0 . 71 ( 5 / 30 ( 0 . 17 ) 0 . 29______________________________________ 1 point : accumulation of exudate in the alveoli , and fibrosis - like changes seen in the alveolar septum . 6 points : extensive fibrosis ( fibrosis seen in more than 170 of the total region ). the ratio in the table represents the ratio of the incidence of the test compound to that of bleomycin complex , or the ratio of the grade of the test compound to that of bleomycin complex . the above results show that the compound of the present invention has a potent growth inhibitory activity against hela s3 cells cultured , an excellent antibacterial activity , and no pulmonary toxicity . this fact clearly suggests the clinical usefulness of this compound . the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the following examples . 1 . 0 g of 3 -( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutylamino ) propylaminobleomycin trihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was dissolved in 30 ml of methanol , and 987 . 8 mg of benzaldehyde was added to the solution . then , 78 . 0 mg of sodium boron cyanohydride was added . the mixture was reacted for 24 hours at room temperature , and then the ph of the reaction mixture was adjusted to 1 . 0 with the addition of a 6n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid , followed by allowing the mixture to stand for 10 minutes , to terminate the reaction . the reaction mixture was neutralized with 1n sodium hydroxide , and distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol . distilled water was added to the residue to form a 50 ml mixture . the mixture was extracted with 50 ml of ether to remove the excess aldehyde . the aqueous layer was poured on a 100 ml column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of 40 % aqueous solution of ammonium acetate 2 % aqueous solution of acetic acid ( 1 : 1 v / v ) to adsorb the desired compound onto the column . the column was eluted by a linear concentration gradient involving 500 ml of methanol added continuously to 500 ml of the same buffer solution . the desired fraction ( 200 ml ) eluted at a methanol concentration of about 75 % was collected which showed absorption maximum at a wavelength in the vicinity of 290 millimicrons . this fraction was distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol , and the resulting aqueous solution was poured on a 100 ml column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of distilled water , thereby to adsorb the desired compound onto the column . the column was washed with 150 ml of distilled water , and then eluted with a 1 / 50m aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ). a blue fraction comprising a bleomycin derivative was collected , and neutralized with the anionic exchange resin dowex ® 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ). then , the fraction was concentrated under reduced pressure , and lyophilized . the so obtained powder was dissolved in 10 ml of distilled water , and poured ion a 100 ml column of cm sephadex ® c - 25 ( na + type , a product of pharmacia fine chemical ) equilbrated with a 1 / 20m acetic acid - sodium acetate buffer solution ( ph 4 . 5 ), thereby to adsorb the desired compount onto the column . the column was eluted using a linear concentration gradient involving sodium chloride added continuously to the same buffer solution to raise the sodium concentration to up to 1 . 0 mol gradually . in this case , the amount of the eluting solution was 550 ml . a blue fraction ( 120 ml ) coming out at a sodium concentration of about 0 . 65 mol was collected , and desalted by the desalting method using amberlite ® xad - 2 employed earlier . the desalted fraction was lyophilized to obtain 680 ml of copper - containing 3 -[ n - benzyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylaminobutyl ) amino ]- propylaminobleomycin as a blue amorphos powder ( yield : 60 . 5 %). 680 mg of the copper - containing compound obtained in step a was dissolved in 18 ml of distilled water . the solution was poured on a 100 ml column of amberlite xad - 2 packed with the use of distilled water , to adsorb the desired compound onto the column , so that copper contained in the compound might be removed . the column was washed with 300 ml of an aqueous solution comprising sodium chloride and 5 % edta 2na , and then washed with 100 ml of 2 % sodium chloride and 150 ml of distilled water in this order . finally , the column was eluted with a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ), and the fraction showing an absorption maximum at a wavelength of about 290 millimicrons was collected . the ph of the fraction was adjusted to 6 . 0 with dowex 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ), and concentrated under reduced pressure , followed by lyophilization to obtain 645 mg of a copper - free trihydrochloride of 3 -[ n - benzyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylaminobutyl ) amino ] propylaminobleomycin ( compound no . 1 ) as a white amorphous powder ( yield : 98 . 2 %). the ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelength of the resulting product as measured in distilled water was 292 mμ , and the e 1 %/ 1 cm corresponding to it was 89 . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( ch - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3350 , 2950 , 1650 , 1550 , 1510 , 1455 , 1400 , 1320 , 1255 , 1130 , 1090 , 1050 , 970 , 910 , 805 , 740 , 695 in the above procedure , 1185 . 4 mg of m , p - dibenzyloxybenzaldehyde was used as aldehyde , and the reaction was performed for 70 hours at 27 ° c . thereafter , purification and copper removal were carried out by the same methods to obtain 664 . 8 mg of a copper - free trihydrochloride of 3 -{ n - m , p - dibenzyloxybenzyl - n -[ 4 &# 39 ; bis ( m , p - dibenzyloxybenzyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin ( compound no . 10 ) as a colorless amorphous powder ( yield : 43 . 6 %). this product had an ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelength , as measured in distilled water , of 285 mμ , and its e 1 %/ 1 cm corresponding to the wavelength was 88 . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3350 , 2950 , 1650 , 1550 , 1510 , 1460 , 1430 , 1390 , 1270 , 1190 , 1140 , 1060 , 1020 , 910 , 850 , 810 , 740 , 690 in said procedure , 1305 . 3 mg of cyclooctanecarboxyaldehyde was used as aldehyde , and the reaction was performed for 16 hours at room temperature . thereafter , purification and copper removal were carried out by the same methods to obtain 876 . 9 mg of a copper - free trihydrochloride of 3 -{ n - cyclooctylmethyl - n - 8 4 &# 39 ; bis ( cyclooctylmethyl ) aminobutyl ] amino } propylaminobleomycin ( compound no . 6 ) as a colorless amorphous powder ( yield : 73 . 5 %). the product had an ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelength , as measured in distilled water , of 292 mμ , and an e 1 % cm , corresponding to the wavelength , of 97 . its infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3350 , 2925 , 1650 , 1550 , 1520 , 1450 , 1400 , 1330 , 1260 , 1190 , 1140 , 1100 , 1060 , 1020 , 980 , 910 , 810 the same procedure as in this example was carried out to prepare the compounds shown in table 5 . table 5__________________________________________________________________________ number of reaction reactiondesired starting comp . of equiv . of time temp . yieldcomp . no . formula iii comp . iii ( hrs .) (° c .) (%) __________________________________________________________________________2 p - chlorobenzaldehyde 15 24 22 46 . 83 m , p - dichlorobenzaldehyde 15 24 22 68 . 74 p - methoxybenzaldehyde 15 48 22 60 . 85 p - methylbenzaldehyde 15 24 22 57 . 47 cycloundecanecarboaldehyde 10 24 22 69 . 68 n - capric aldehyde 15 16 22 55 . 09 n - valeric aldehyde 15 16 22 57 . 9__________________________________________________________________________ 200 mg of 3 -[ n , n - dimethyl - n ( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutyl ) amino ] proylaminobleomycin trihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was dissolved in 6 ml of methanol . 129 . 7 mg of benzaldehyde was added , and then 10 . 2 mg of sodium boron cyanohydride was added . the mixture was reacted for 16 hours at room temperature , whereafter treatment with hydrochloric acid , extraction with ether , and chromatography on an amberlite ® xad - 2 column were performed in the same way as in example 1 . the resulting fraction was desalted by the amberlite ® xad - 2 desalting method employed previously , and the desalted fraction was lyophilized to obtain 155 . 4 mg of copper - containing 3 -[ n , n - dimethyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylaminobutyl ) amino ]- propylaminobleomycin as a blue amorphous powder . yield : 70 %. 155 . 4 mg of the copper - containing compound obtained in step a was dissolved in 10 ml of distilled water . the solution was desalted in the same way as in step b of example 1 , and the resulting fraction was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was lylophilized to obtain 142 . 6 mg of a copper - free trihydrochloride of 3 -[ n , n - dimethyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzyl - aminobutyl ) amino ] propylaminobleomycin ( compound no . 11 ) as a white amorphous powder . yield : 95 %. the product had an ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelength , as measured in distilled water , of 292 mμ , and the corresponding e 1 % cm of 86 . its infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3325 , 2950 , 1660 , 1540 , 1490 , 1450 , 1400 , 1330 , 1260 , 1190 , 1100 , 1060 , 1020 , 980 , 800 , 740 , 695 in the above - described procedure , 200 mg of 3 -[ n - methyl - n - benzyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutyl ) amino ] propylaminobleomycin trihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was used as the starting material , and reacted with 123 . 7 mg of benzaldehyde in the same way . then , purification and copper removal were performed in the same way to obtain 132 mg of copper - free trihydrochloride of 3 -[ n - methyl - n - benzyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- dibenzylaminobutyl ) amino ] propylaminoblebleomycin ( compound no . 12 ) as a colorless amorphous powder . yield : 61 . 8 %. the ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelength , as measured in distilled water , of the resulting product was 292 mμ , and the corresponding e 1 %/ 1 cm of 91 . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3375 , 2950 , 1640 , 1540 , 1500 , 1450 , 1390 , 1320 , 1250 , 1190 , 1130 , 1050 , 1020 , 970 , 900 , 800 , 740 , 695 300 mg of 3 -( 4 &# 39 ;- tert - butoxycarbonylaminobutylamino )- propylaminobleomycin dihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was dissolved in 15 ml of methanol . 414 . 9 mg of tri - n - butylamine and 1271 . 3 mg of methyl iodide were added at 0 ° c ., the system was reacted for 3 days . the reaction mixture was adjusted to a ph of 6 with glacial acetic acid , and the excess methyl iodide and methanol were distilled off under reduced pressure . acetone was added to the residue to precipitate bleomycin . the precipitate was collected by filtration , and washed with acetone . the washed precipitate was dissolved in 2 ml of distilled water , and 2 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added with the solution cooled with ice . the mixture was reacted as such for 90 minutes to remove the tert - butyloxycarbonyl group . the reaction mixture was neutralized with a 2n aqueous solution of potassium acetate , and the black brown precipitate formed was removed by filtration . the filtrate was poured on a 100 ml column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( rome & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of 4 % aqueous solution of ammonium acetate - 2 % aqueous solution of acetic acid ( 1 : 1 v / v ), thereby adsorbing the reaction product onto the column . the column was eluted by a linear concentration gradient having 500 ml of methanol added continuously to 500 ml of the same buffer solution . the desired fraction showing an absorption maximum at a wavelength in the vicinity of 290 millimicrons was collected which was eluted at a methanol concentration of about 10 %. this fraction was distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol , and the resulting aqueous solution was poured on a 100 ml column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( a product of rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of distilled water , so that the desired product might be adsorbed . the column was desalted with 125 ml of distilled water , and eluted with a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ). the blue fraction comprising the desired product was collected , and if desired , neutralized with the anionic exchange resin dowex ® 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ). then , the fraction was concentrated under reduced pressure , and lyophilized to obtain 211 . 0 mg of 3 -[ n , n - dimethyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutyl ) amino ]- propylaminobleomycin ( a5mmhh ) trihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compond ) a blue amorphous powder . yield : 72 %. this product had an ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelengths , as measured in distilled water , of 293 and 243 mμ , and the corresponding e 1 %/ 1 cm &# 39 ; s of 122 and 151 , respectively . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3300 , 2975 , 2950 , 2900 , 1715 , 1670 , 1580 , 1460 , 1400 , 1340 , 1300 , 1200 , 1140 , 1100 , 1080 , 1020 , 920 , 880 , 810 , 770 740 300 mg of 3 -( 4 &# 39 ;- tert - butoxycarbonylaminoburylamino ) propylaminobleomycin dihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol , and 76 mg of benzaldehyde and 7 . 5 mg of sodium boron cyanohydride were added . the mixture was reacted for 24 hours at room temperature , and ether was added to precipitate bleomycin . the resulting blue precipitate was collected by filtration and washed with ether . then , the washed substance was passed through a 100 ml column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of distilled water , thereby adsorbing the reaction product onto the column . 150 ml of distilled water was flowed through the column , and then the column was eluted with a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ). blue fractions comprising the desired product were combined , and if desired , neutralized with the anionic exchange resin dowex ® 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ), followed by concentrating the neutralized fraction to dryness under reduced pressure . 15 ml of methanol was added to the residue , and the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . 207 . 5 mg of tri - n - butylamine and 635 . 7 mg of methyl iodide were added , and the mixture was reacted for 3 days . the reaction mixture was treated and purified in the same way used in example 4 , and lyophilized to obtain 205 mg of a copper - containing trihydrochloride of 3 -[ n - methyl - n - benzyl - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutyl )- amino ] propylaminobleomycin ( a5mbzhh ) as a blue amorphous powder . yield : 66 . 7 %. the ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelengths , as measured in distilled water , of the product were 293 and 243 mμ , and the corresponding e 1 %/ 1 cm &# 39 ; s were 120 and 150 , respectively . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 ) as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3350 , 2950 , 1715 , 1660 , 1560 , 1460 , 1400 , 1330 , 1300 , 1250 , 1200 , 1140 , 1100 , 1060 , 1010 , 920 , 880 , 810 , 770 , 720 , 700 table 6______________________________________ electro - phoresis uv absorption thin - layer of coppercompound maximum of chromatography containingsynthesized copper - containing of copper - con - compound ( abbrevi - compound taining comp . ( rmation ) ( mμ , e 1 %/ 1 cm ) ( rf value ) * 1 value ) * 2______________________________________a5mmhh 293 ( 122 ) 0 . 80 1 . 17 243 ( 151 ) a5mbzhh 293 ( 120 ) 0 . 73 1 . 15 243 ( 150 ) boc - a5 293 ( 140 ) 0 . 62 0 . 90 244 ( 173 ) ______________________________________ * 1 , * 2 : same as in the footnotes to table 2 . 1 . 5 g of 3 -( 4 &# 39 ;- aminobutylamino ) propylaminobleomycin trihydrochloride ( a copper - containing compound ) was dissolved in 60 ml of methanol . 690 . 1 mg of tri - n - butylamine and 203 . 2 mg of di - tert - butyl - dicarbonate were added to the solution with cooling with ice , and reaction mixture was stirred for 4 hours . the reaction mixture was neutralized with glacial acetic acid , and distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol . 20 ml of water was added to the residue to dissolve it , and the solution was poured on a 100 ml of column of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( a product of rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of 4 % aqueous solution of ammonium acetate - 2 % aqueous of acetic acid ( 1 : 1 v / v ), thereby to adsorb the reaction product onto the column . the column was eluted by a linear concentration gradient method involving the continuous addition of 500 ml of methanol to 500 ml of the same buffer solution . 200 ml of the desired fraction showing an absorption maximum at a wavelength of about 290 millimicrons that came out at a methanol concentration of about 35 % was collected . this fraction was distilled under reduced pressure to remove methanol , and the resulting aqueous solution was poured on a 100 ml of amberlite ® xad - 2 ( a product of rohm & amp ; haas ) packed with the use of distilled water , thereby adsorbing the desired product onto the column . the column was washed with 150 ml of distilled water , and eluted with a 1 / 50n aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid - methanol ( 1 : 4 v / v ). the blue fraction comprising the resulting bleomycin derivative was collected , and neutralized with the anionic exchange resin dowex ® 44 ( oh type , a product of the dow chemical ). then , the fraction was concentrated under reduced pressure , and lyophilized to obtain 687 mg of a copper - containing dihydrochloride of 3 - n -( 4 &# 39 ;- tert - butyloxycarbonylaminobutyl )- aminopropylaminobleomycin ( referred to as boc - a5 ) as a blue amorphous powder . yield 44 %. the ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelengths , as measured in distilled water , of the resulting product were 293 and 244 mμ , and the corresponding e 1 %/ 1 cm &# 39 ; s were 140 and 173 , respectively . the infrared absorption maximum wavenumbers ( cm - 1 9 as measured by the kbr method were as follows : 3350 , 2950 , 1710 , 1670 , 1560 , 1460 , 1400 , 1360 , 1330 , 1290 , 1250 , 1170 , 1130 , 1100 , 1060 , 1010 , 920 , 880 , 800 , 760	2
the signs are made by using the stencil to paint directly on to the surface where the signs are required , or of course , it could be painted onto a panel and then installed in the appropriate place . the usual surface preparation typical of paint is required . preferably , a stencil is used to provide uniformity to the signage , image or design . an example of a stencil is shown in drawing 1 . the stencil is attached to the surface by some form of attachment : tack , clip , tape , etc , or simply by holding it in place by hand . the paint applied over the stencil may be applied by roller or brush , or in some circumstances by spray device . additionally a guiding device such as a straight edge or other such tool may aid in the design , implementation and production of the sign . the luminescent paints of this invention must be exposed to light , as they operate by absorption energy from light than radiate that energy . in general , a bright light source will saturate the pigment within a period of at least fifteen minutes , and the resulting radiance will last from a few minutes to several hours , depending on the amount of phosphorescent pigment in the coating . the preference is for longer lasting radiance . the signs will , in general , meet the requirements of many standards and building codes in that they are bright enough to be visible as exit signs and of course may be part of an emergency egress indication system , including not only the exit signage but also indicator stripes , doorway markings , stairway and lighting indication , and the like . this invention also relates to other stenciled luminescent signs for such applications such as storefronts , designs , temporary , directional and instructional signs in and around buildings or built environments . this invention also relates to using the luminescent paint and guiding device to mark , indicate or outline such items like fire hose cabinets , door frames , dangerous obstructions , light switch plates , etc . alternative luminescent coatings , which may be industry or application specific like an epoxy , latex , etc ., can be used if required , although these alternative coatings may not have the same characteristics or qualities with respect to luminosity and application . the coating formulation , as outlined below , is far superior for stencil applications . a preferred coating formulation as disclosed in co - pending patent application , is made by the following method : charge a mixing vessel under a high speed disperser fitted with a cowles blade with : disperse for 20 minutes , ensuring that the temperature reaches a minimum of 35 ° c . and a maximum of 45 ° c . add the following and mix at high speed for 10 minutes : luminova phosphorescent pigment is sold by united mineral and chemical corporation from new jersey . the rheology modifiers , anti - skinning agents , drying agents , leveling agents , and the like are added to suspend the relatively dense phosphorescent material in the base , and to improve the appearance of the final product . once the paint has been allowed to dry , it will be resistant to moisture . i found that the addition of titanium dioxide ( titanium white ) increases the whiteness of the paint and therefore improves its appearance . it has little adverse effect on the luminescence of the luminescent pigment . furthermore , tints of various colors can be used in its composition to provide a color to the luminescent paint . possible tints include blue , green , as well as yellow or orange . very dark tints will interfere with the absorption of light , and so are to be avoided . the paint can be tinted to match many commonly used wall colors and the appearances will be similar to the non - luminescent paint . in general , this paint can be color matched to surrounding walls in ambient light so that it is not apparent except in the dark . thus signage will not provide an unpleasant appearance when it is not necessary , but if the area becomes dark , it will appear .	6
fillers , pigments , dyes , reinforcements , such as glass fibers or woven cloths , plasticizers , and mixtures thereof , may be added to the epoxy resin -- polyamine composition before the reaction in order to modify ultimate properties , in known ways . applications can also be made by trowelling , brush coating , immersion or dip - coating , spraying and other convenient method . catalysts , such as boron trifluoride -- organic amine adducts , and the reaction product of toluene 2 , 4 - diisocyanate and dimethylamine can also be included , in quantities of from e . g ., 0 . 1 to 5 % by weight based on the resin -- polyamine , to accelerate curing . the fiber resin matrix compositions according to the present invention can be prepared by embedding filaments , e . g ., glass fibers and / or non - siliceous filaments in a curable resin composition to form a fiber resin matrix which can be manipulated and cured to a solid composite . particular selection of the filament material , epoxy prepolymer and curing agent , as well as including optional ingredients such as fillers , dyes , catalysts , processing aids , etc ., can give a range of curable compositions heretofore unknown in the art and exhibiting improved physical properties over known materials . glass filaments useful herein are well known . the non - siliceous filament component may be of any non - glass , non - silicon dioxide - containing material which improves the strength or other physical properties of the curable epoxy resin component ( described infra .). such filaments include , but are not limited to , filaments comprised of carbon , graphite , silicon carbide , boron , aramid , polyester , polyamide , rayon , polybenzimidazole , polybenzothiazole , metal - coated such filaments , for example nickel - coated and / or silver - coated graphite fibers and filaments , or combinations of such filaments . fibers ( woven or non - woven ), tows or mats of such filaments , or tapes ( unwoven , flat bundles of the unidirectional filaments ) may be employed as described . in applications demanding high stiffness to weight ratio or shear strength , carbon fibers , graphite filaments , polyaramid filaments or nickel - plated graphite filaments , as disclosed in assignee &# 39 ; s copending application ser . no . 358 , 637 are most preferred . the epoxy resin ( i ) suitable for the present invention is n , n , n &# 39 ;, n &# 39 ;- tetraglycidyl - 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diaminodiphenyl methane . one method of forming the fiber matrix composition of the invention is illustrated in the drawings . as seen in fig1 the basic fiber matrix material is produced by delivering fiber 2 through conventional eyeboards 4 and 6 to a pressure roller assembly 8 . the resin composition is coated in a layer 10 from a conventional film coating applicator 12 onto a substrate such as release paper 14 and passed through the pressure roller assembly 8 . release paper 16 is also delivered to the pressure roller assembly 8 . the pressure rollers 8 are set at a temperature and pressure for imbedding the fibers 2 in the resin layer 10 to form a fiber matrix composition 18 . practice has taught that a temperature in the range of 190 ° f . and pressures of one thousand pounds over fifteen inch centers are suitable for producing fiber resin prepreg tape 18 . the fibers 2 , the substrate 14 with resin layer 10 and the release paper 16 are delivered to the pressure rollers 8 and passed therethrough at the rate of 5 - 20 feet / minute . the feed of fiber 2 and resin layer 10 to the pressure rollers 8 is selected to produce a fiber matrix of about twenty to sixty weight percent resin and about eighty to forty weight percent fiber . for example , one hundred twenty spools of 6k carbon fibers are delivered within a twelve inch width to the pressure rollers 8 with a layer of resin 0 . 009 to 0 . 0013 pounds per square foot . the resulting fiber resin matrix 18 results in a generally parallel array of fibers , shown by fig2 . fillers , pigments , dyes , curing catalysts and other such conventional additives and processing aids may be added to the fiber matrix compositions of the invention before curing to influence the properties of the final resin composite . in addition , polymeric additives such as the butadiene - styrene - acrylonitrile core - shell polymers and the like can be included for their known effects on polymer properties . the following examples will illustrate the practice of the present invention and are provided by way of demonstration and not by way of limitation . a resin composition is prepared by mixing the following ( by weight ) ( b ) polyether polyimide resin ( general electric ultem , example 11 , above ): 15 parts using an apparatus shown generally in fig1 prepreg tapes of the structure shown generally in fig2 were prepared with a 35 to 45 , preferably 40 %, resin / 55 to 65 , preferably 60 %, graphite loading . when this is formed into laminates excellent quality composites are produced . preferred ranges of compositions are ( a ), 114 - 126 parts ; ( b ), 14 . 25 - 15 . 75 parts ; ( c ) 45 . 6 - 50 . 4 parts ; and ( d ), 0 . 475 - 0 . 525 parts . the above - mentioned patents , applications and publications are incorporated herein by reference . it is seen that the present invention produces articles of manufacture with beneficial properties , making them useful in a variety of applications . many variations will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art in light of the foregoing detailed description . all such obvious variations are within the full intended scope of the appended claims .	2
embodiments of the present disclosure provide elements of a communication system for rapid local address assignment . fig1 shows elements of a communication system 100 comprising a wireless network 102 according to one embodiment . in some embodiments , wireless network 102 is implemented as a wireless local - area network ( wlan ). in some embodiments , wireless network 102 is implemented in other ways . although in the described embodiments , the elements of communication system 100 are presented in one arrangement , other embodiments may feature other arrangements . for example , elements of communication system 100 can be implemented in hardware , software , or combinations thereof . referring to fig1 , communication system 100 also includes a wireless communication device 104 connected to wireless network 102 and a wireless communication device 106 connecting to wireless network 102 . for clarity , wireless communication device 104 is referred to herein as “ connected ” wireless communication device 104 , while wireless communication device 106 is referred to herein as “ connecting ” wireless communication device 106 . connected wireless communication device 104 includes a transmitter 108 , a receiver 110 , and a controller 112 . connecting wireless communication device 106 includes a transmitter 114 , a receiver 116 , an address module 118 , and a connection module 120 . each of wireless communication devices 104 and 106 can be implemented as a switch , router , network interface controller ( nic ), and the like . in some embodiments , connected wireless communication device 104 can be implemented as an access point or the like . according to various embodiments , connecting wireless communication device 106 determines the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 based on signals received by connecting wireless communication device 106 from wireless network 102 , for example including signals transmitted by connected communication wireless device 104 . connecting wireless communication device 106 then connects to wireless network 102 using the determined type of ip address assignment . this technique can greatly increase the speed of local address assignment , and therefore can greatly reduce the time required to connect to the network . for example , if connecting wireless communication device 106 determines that dynamic addressing is not used , connecting wireless communication device 106 can avoid checking whether a dhcp server is available by sending dhcp requests , thereby reducing network connection time by 30 to 60 seconds . three embodiments are described below in detail . other embodiments will be apparent after reading this disclosure . in some embodiments , connecting wireless communication device 106 prompts connected wireless communication device 104 to transmit a wireless signal that indicates the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 fig2 shows a process 200 for communication system 100 of fig1 according to one such embodiment . although in the described embodiments , the elements of the processes disclosed herein are presented in one arrangement , other embodiments may feature other arrangements , as will be apparent based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein . for example , in various embodiments , some or all of the steps of the disclosed processes can be executed in a different order , concurrently , and the like . referring to fig2 , transmitter 114 of connecting wireless communication device 106 transmits a wireless signal representing a request for an indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 202 ). receiver 110 of connected wireless communication device 104 receives the wireless signal ( step 204 ). in response , controller 112 of connected wireless communication device 104 generates an indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 206 ). transmitter 108 of connected wireless communication device 104 transmits a wireless signal that represents the indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 208 ). in some embodiments , the wireless signal transmitted by connecting wireless communication device 106 represents an ieee 802 . 11 probe request frame , and the wireless signal transmitted by connected wireless communication device 104 represents an ieee 802 . 11 probe response frame . in other embodiments , both wireless signals represent ieee 802 . 11 action frames . in these ieee 802 . 11 embodiments , the indication can be provided as an information element . in some embodiments , wi - fi protected setup ( wps ) protocols defined by the wi - fi alliance are used to carry this information in a secure manner , either alone or to securely augment the information carried by beacons and probes . of course , other messages can be used , for example including link - level messages such as extensible authentication protocol ( eap ) messages , logical link control ( llc ) messages , unassociated multicast messages , and the like . the indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 can indicate a link - local address assignment type , a dynamic address assignment type , a static address assignment type , and the like . alternatively , the indication can indicate the type ( s ) of ip address assignment that are not available . for example , the indication could indicate that dynamic addressing is not available . receiver 116 of connecting wireless communication device 106 receives the wireless signal ( step 210 ). based on the indication in the wireless signal received from connected wireless communication device 104 , address module 118 of connecting wireless communication device 106 determines the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 212 ). connection module 120 of connecting wireless communication device 106 then establishes a network - layer connection to wireless network 102 based on the type of ip address assignment determined by address module 118 ( step 214 ). thereafter , connected wireless communication device 104 communicates with wireless network 102 using that connection ( step 216 ). in some embodiments , connected wireless communication device 104 transmits a signal that indicates the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 without prompting from connecting wireless communication device 106 . fig3 shows a process 300 for communication system 100 of fig1 according to one such embodiment . referring to fig3 , controller 112 of connected wireless communication device 104 generates an indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 302 ). transmitter 108 of connected wireless communication device 104 transmits a wireless signal that represents the indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 304 ). in some embodiments , the wireless signal transmitted by connected wireless communication device 104 represents an ieee 802 . 11 beacon frame . the indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 can indicate a link - local address assignment type , a dynamic address assignment type , a static address assignment type , and the like . alternatively , the indication can indicate the type ( s ) of ip address assignment that are not available . for example , the indication could indicate that dynamic addressing is not available . receiver 116 of connecting wireless communication device 106 receives the wireless signal ( step 306 ). based on the indication in the signal received from connected wireless communication device 104 , address module 118 of connecting wireless communication device 106 determines the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 308 ). connection module 120 of connecting wireless communication device 106 then establishes a network - layer connection to wireless network 102 based on the type of ip address assignment determined by address module 118 ( step 310 ). thereafter , connected wireless communication device 104 communicates with wireless network 102 using that connection ( step 312 ). in some embodiments , connecting wireless communication device 106 determines the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 based on wireless signals received from connected wireless communication device 104 that do not include an indication of the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 . fig4 shows a process 400 for communication system 100 of fig1 according to one such embodiment . referring to fig4 , receiver 116 of connecting wireless communication device 106 receives a wireless signal transmitted by transmitter 108 of connected wireless communication device 104 ( step 402 ). the reception techniques employed can include packet sniffing , snooping , direct reception , and the like . based on the wireless signal , address module 118 of connecting wireless communication device 106 determines the type of ip address assignment employed by wireless network 102 ( step 404 ). for example , address module 118 can determine the type of ip address assignment based on the type of addresses observed in packets represented by the wireless signal . for example , address module 118 could observe the ip address of connected wireless communication device 104 in the wireless signal . address module 118 can tell if wireless network 102 employs link - local addressing by observing that the ip address is a link - local address . as another example , address module 118 can determine the type of ip address assignment based on the observation of a time - to - live ( ttl ) parameter represented by the wireless signal . of course , other characteristics of the packets represented by the wireless signal can be used . connection module 120 of connecting wireless communication device 106 then establishes a network - layer connection to wireless network 102 based on the type of ip address assignment determined by address module 118 ( step 406 ). thereafter , connected wireless communication device 104 communicates with wireless network 102 using that connection ( step 408 ). various embodiments can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer hardware , firmware , software , or in combinations of them . embodiments can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine - readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor ; and method steps can be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output . embodiments can be implemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from , and to transmit data and instructions to , a data storage system , at least one input device , and at least one output device . each computer program can be implemented in a high - level procedural or object - oriented programming language , or in assembly or machine language if desired ; and in any case , the language can be a compiled or interpreted language . suitable processors include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory and / or a random access memory . generally , a computer will include one or more mass storage devices for storing data files ; such devices include magnetic disks , such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and optical disks . storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , such as eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom disks . any of the foregoing can be supplemented by , or incorporated in , asics ( application - specific integrated circuits ). a number of implementations have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure . accordingly , other implementations are within the scope of the following claims .	7
a module based on an electromechanical unit for moving a piston rod to move a piston in a replaceable cartridge with an outlet and a processing unit for controlling the medication delivery process etc . together with i / o - components is the base unit in the following embodiments of the invention on which different replaceable modules can be attached to give different applications , such as bgm , voice interface for visually disabled persons , etc . fig1 shows an injection device according to the invention illustrating its modular construction . fig1 a shows the basis module 1 containing basic mechanical and electrical resources necessary for the delivery process and the control hereof and various replaceable modules 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 each of which , together with the resources of the basis module , implement a specific function . the replaceable modules may consist of hardware ( and optionally software ) 2 , 3 , 4 or be pure software modules 5 , 6 . special cover modules for defining the visual impression of the medication delivery device are shown 7 , 8 , 9 . the covers may have different colors , be made of different materials have different surfaces and forms . covers may be mounted during production so that the device comes with standard or pre - selected covers , which may then later be replaced with other covers according to the user &# 39 ; s preferences . the materials of the covers may have different special properties , e . g . elastic or luminescent or water repellant etc . the covers may constitute a water - resistant or watertight enclosure of the medication delivery device . in fig1 b a medication delivery device consisting of a basis module 1 , two replaceable hardware modules 3 , 4 , and a software module 5 loaded into a memory of the basis module is shown . the device is finished with cover modules 8 , 9 . in fig1 c a medication delivery device consisting of a basis module 1 , three replaceable hardware modules 2 , 3 , 4 , and a software module 6 loaded into a memory of replaceable module 4 is shown . the device is finished with cover modules 7 , 9 . the medication delivery devices in fig1 . b and 1 . c may be built together by the user of the device according to his or her present needs or alternatively by the supplier of the device . fig2 shows a preferred embodiment of a basis module according to the invention including basic resources for dosing . fig2 shows an embodiment of a basis module 1 for an injection device of the pen type according to the invention , in which a cylindrical replaceable medication cartridge 12 having an outlet 121 at one end and a lid that is formed as a piston 122 at the opposite end is placed in corresponding receiving means 11 . the receiving means have an opening 111 at one end for the outlet 121 of the cartridge 12 and an opening 112 at the other end for the piston rod 15 . the piston rod , which is adapted to interact with the piston to displace the piston , is formed with a 180 degree bend to allow a more compact construction . it might as well , however , be implemented as a normal straight piston rod . an electric motor 13 , powered from a battery or battery pack 17 via electrical conductors 18 engage with driving means 14 and corresponding driving means ( not shown ) on the piston rod to displace the piston rod in its axial direction , thereby displacing the piston and forcing the medication out of the cartridge through the outlet 121 . in fig2 , the basis module is adapted for an injection device of the pen type , the outlet taking the form of a disposable needle , but it might as well take the form of a small disposable tube in the case of a jet injector . the piston rod 15 is cylindrical , axially stiff , but radially salient and provided with a thread ( not shown ) that together with a corresponding driving nut provided with a gear wheel ( not shown ) on its outer periphery and a corresponding cooperating gear wheel ( not shown ) on the motor constitute the driving means 14 for transferring movement from the motor 13 to the piston rod 15 . the means 16 for receiving the replaceable modules ( e . g . 2 , 3 , 4 of fig1 ) include electric interfaces 161 in the form of one or more connectors for power feeding the replaceable modules via electrical conductors 18 and for allowing the transfer of data between the basis module and the replaceable modules ( cf . fig3 ). fig3 shows a preferred embodiment of a basis module according to the invention including basic resources for dosing as well as electronic processing means . in addition to the features of fig2 , fig3 contains electronic means 31 for monitoring and controlling the medication process and for communicating with the replaceable modules ( e . g . 2 , 3 , 4 of fig1 ) and with a user . electrical wire connections 32 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the replaceable modules and the electric motor are included from the electronic means 31 to the electric interfaces 161 to the replaceable modules and to the motor . the electronic means 31 include processing means ( 311 on fig4 ) that are adapted to control the process of delivering a precise dose according to a given specification by controlling the displacement 33 of the piston through an accurate displacement of the piston rod by means of the electric motor 13 and the driving means 14 . fig4 shows electronic means of a basis module for controlling the medication delivery process and for communicating with the replaceable modules and with a user . the electronic means 31 of a basis module according to the invention comprise a processor 311 , memory means 313 ( volatile ( e . g . ram ) as well as non - volatile ), a display 315 for showing user inputs and processed results to the user , means 316 for reading an item of information on a medication cartridge 12 , a user input device 312 ( e . g . a , possibly limited , keyboard ) for inputting data from a user and a control unit 314 containing user - specific data and optionally functional check procedures and a user authorization procedure , possibly in the form of a chip card ( like a sim card of a mobile telephone ). the battery 17 and its connections 18 for powering the electronic means 31 and the electric motor 13 and the replaceable modules 2 are also shown in fig4 together with the signal wires 32 for communication between the processor 311 , the motor 13 and the replaceable modules and for transferring an item of information from a cartridge 12 to a corresponding reading device 316 . fig5 shows a selection of replaceable modules according to the invention . fig5 sketches various replaceable modules from which a medication delivery device according to the invention may be composed in combination with a basis module ( cf . 1 in fig1 - 3 ). the replaceable modules , which are briefly described in the following with reference to fig5 , only represent examples and does not provide an exhaustive list of relevant modules within the scope of the invention : a replaceable module 201 containing a system for blood glucose monitoring . a replaceable module 202 containing a system for continuously measuring blood glucose . a replaceable module 203 containing a modem for allowing communication with a data communications network such as the internet or any other local or global data communications network . this module may be used for downloading software to the device , for remote check of the functionality of the device , for remote diagnostics , for enabling user authorization , etc . a replaceable module 204 containing a communications interface for wireless communication with other devices . this module implements one or more of the standards for wirelessly communicating with other devices , e . g . the bluetooth - standard , a wirelss modem , infrared communication , etc . a replaceable module 205 containing fixed wire interfaces for communication with one or more of a personal computer , a camera , a tv - monitor , an acoustic device , a telephone , a mobile telephone . the module includes the relevant electrical connector interfaces . a replaceable module 206 containing the functionality of a mobile telephone . a replaceable module 208 containing a microphone , a loudspeaker and a processor and software for speech recognition for providing a voice interface . this module implements a voice interface , e . g . for visually disabled persons . a replaceable module 209 containing means for monitoring the temperature of the medication cartridge and its contents . this module is e . g . aimed at providing a user with information about the minimum and maximum temperatures , to which the currently loaded medication cartridge has been exposed , in order to decide whether it is usable . a replaceable module 210 containing means for monitoring and controlling the temperature of the medication cartridge and its contents . this module is e . g . aimed at ascertaining that the currently loaded medication is usable , irrespective of the temperatures that the device experiences ( within certain limits ). a replaceable module 211 containing means for providing a selectable acoustic or vibratory or optical signal after a certain settable time or on the occurrence of a certain event . this module is aimed at helping the user to observe a certain given pattern of treatment over time . a replaceable module 212 containing means for vibrating the contents of the medication cartridge , and means for providing an alarm signal indicating the elapse of a settable time to ensure a proper mixing of the constituents of the medication cartridge . a replaceable module 213 containing means for detecting shaking movements of the medication delivery device and means for providing an alarm signal indicating that a certain number of shaking movements has been performed to ensure a proper mixing of the constituents of the medication cartridge . a replaceable module 214 containing software for controlling the medication delivery at settable velocities , controlled time scales ( for possible use with replaceable module 211 ), maximum delivered doses , etc . the module is aimed at controlling the medication delivery process as regards the speed profile of the delivery , the ( minimum and maximum ) time between deliveries , the volume of the delivered dose , etc . a replaceable module 215 containing software for generating a log of certain user defined events monitored by the medication delivery device . such relevant events are time of drug deliveries , corresponding volumes , possibly temperature of the medication , possibly user inputs of relevant information to a given delivery ( physical / mental stress , etc .). a replaceable module 216 containing software for controlling a user id by requiring the user to input a predefined sequence of characters to prevent unauthorized use of the device . a replaceable module 217 containing a display adapted for left - handed use . a replaceable module 218 containing a display adapted for right - handed use . a replaceable module 219 containing means for delivering a specific dose profile to a user through a catheter having a needle at one end and whose other end is connected to the outlet of the medication cartridge , by controlling the means for transferring the medication in such a way that a continuous pump mode is provided . this module is aimed at a situation where a delivery of medication is required over a certain amount time ( as opposed to an injection - type delivery , being typically of a duration of a few seconds ). fig6 shows a preferred embodiment of a method according to the invention . fig6 illustrates a method of making a medication delivery device in a modular fashion . the process is started 61 by performing the step 62 of defining and constructing a basis module containing basic components and common resources as illustrated in fig1 - 4 . in parallel hereto or subsequently , the step 63 of defining and constructing one or more replaceable modules , each of which being adapted to cooperate mechanically and electronically with the basis module to provide a specific function , is performed . examples of such replaceable modules are discussed above in connection with fig5 . subsequently , the step 64 of deciding a configuration of functions according to need , based on a selection of possible functions ( e . g . among those represented by the replaceable modules just mentioned ) is performed . this step may be carried out by a user sorting out a relevant configuration for a given situation or by a producer or supplier of the devices in the process of defining the relevant functions of devices to fulfill the needs of a specific customer segment . subsequently , the step 65 of composing or building a device implementing the decided functions by combining the relevant basic module and one or more replaceable modules ( such as those outlined above and sketched in fig5 ) is performed . if a user has a collection of replaceable modules for implementing a variety of functions , a step 66 of deciding whether the present configuration serves the present needs may be performed . if ok , the process is stopped 67 , and if the present configuration is not suitable , steps 64 and 65 are repeated . the latter process of deciding whether the present configuration serves the present needs may alternatively be initiated from point 68 , which represent a normal case of a user wondering whether the device as it is conforms to the requirements of the situation . if the device is assembled by a producer or supplier of the device , it may be of interest to ensure that the user is not able to detach the modules and assemble them again ( by mechanically or electronically ‘ lock ’ them together ) in order for the producer or supplier to be able to guarantee the correct function of the device . alternatively , a check procedure may be implemented by each power up of the device . some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing , but it should be stressed that the invention is not limited to these , but may be embodied in other ways within the subject matter defined in the following claims . for example , above the electronic means for controlling the medication delivery process , etc ., were part of a basis module . it might as well be part of a replaceable module , possibly , if convenient and / or economical , divided in several replaceable modules . likewise , in the above embodiments only one basis module is referred to . however , one of a selection of several different basis modules may form the core of the medication delivery device ( e . g . including more or less basic electronics such as electro - acoustic interface , special power supplies etc . ).	0
fig2 illustrates a variable phase delay circuit in accordance with the present invention . a standard pll 10 generates a plurality of phase - shifted clock signals c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , and c 4 ( in this example , four ) out of taps t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , and t 4 , respectively , in a known manner . the pll 10 generates these equally - spaced , fixed clock signals , each of which have a predetermined phase alignment with respect to the first clock signal output from tap t 1 . two adjacent taps ( t 1 and t 2 in this case ) are output to a reference feedback loop 20 and some or all taps ( t 1 through t 4 in this case ) are output to phase control block 30 . reference loop 20 comprises a pair of conventional delay cells 22 and 24 ( e . g ., current - starved delay cells ) coupled to receive clock outputs from taps t 1 and t 2 , respectively ; a conventional phase comparator / filter 26 ; and a reference digital - to - analog convertor ( dac ) 28 . the purpose of reference loop 20 is to add an extra delay to the output of delay cell 22 so that the output of delay cell 22 is phase aligned to the output of delay cell 24 . the outputs of delay cell 22 and delay cell 24 are input to phase comparator 26 . in a known manner phase comparator 26 outputs a voltage v bias corresponding to the difference in phase between the outputs of delay cells 22 and 24 . if this comparison indicates that the phase output from delay cell 24 leads the phase output from delay cell 22 , then v bias is adjusted until the phases of each delay cell overlap ( i . e ., are phase aligned ). if the output from delay cell 24 lags the output from delay cell 22 , the v bias is adjusted in the opposite direction until the outputs of the two delay cells 22 and 24 are phase aligned . thus , in the reference loop 20 , the phase differences between the output from delay cell 22 and the output from delay cell 24 are integrated with a negative feedback loop to keep their outputs phase aligned . fig3 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of reference dac 28 . as shown in fig3 reference dac 28 comprises two similar dacs 28 a and 28 b . dac 28 a comprises a series of nine diode - connected n - channel field effect transistors ( nfets ) mn 1 through mn 9 and eight control nfets mn 10 through mn 17 . nfet mn 1 acts as a base diode or pedestal diode that is always “ on ” ( i . e ., always acting as a diode ) and nfets mn 2 through mn 9 are controlled by nfets mn 10 through mn 17 to have their gates connected to v dd so that they also remain “ on ” at all times . a p - channel field effect transistor ( pfet ) mp 1 produces a head current that can be increased or decreased to move the phase of the input from tap t 1 . thus , the voltage v bias coming into dac 28 a is acted upon by all nine diode connected nfets mn 1 through mn 9 and outputs a minimum voltage vmin to delay cell 22 . accordingly , in delay cell 22 , the maximum amount of delay is added to the output from t 1 and sent to phase comparator 26 , and therefore the output of delay cell 22 defines the slowest operation of the delay cells . dac 28 b operates similarly , but with less gain , to develop a maximum voltage , and therefore a minimum delay , with respect to the output from tap t 2 . specifically , nfets mn 18 through mn 34 are connected together identically to the connections of mn 1 through mn 17 ; however , the gates of control nfets mn 27 through mn 34 are grounded and , therefore , nfets m 27 through m 34 are always “ off ” ( i . e ., they operate to “ remove ” the diode - connected nfets from the circuit ). the dacs 28 a and 28 b are therefore different in that dac 28 b creates a voltage bias based only on the effect of the pedestal diode mn 18 while dac 28 a creates a bias voltage based on the combined effects of pedestal diode mn 1 and diodes mn 2 through mn 9 . accordingly , dac 28 b operates to provide the maximum amount of voltage to delay cell 24 . thus , the minimum amount of delay ( i . e ., the intrinsic delay of delay cell 24 ) is added to the output of t 2 at delay cell 24 , and therefore the output of delay cell 24 defines the fastest operation of the delay cells . although fig2 and 3 illustrate reference dac 28 as being formed as part of the integrated circuit , the reference voltages ( or currents ) supplied by reference dac 28 can instead be supplied from an off - chip source . the output voltage v bias from phase comparator 26 is also output to a control loop 30 formed by a control dac 31 and secondary delay cells 32 , 34 , 36 , and 38 . control dac 31 also receives user input in the form of control signals as described in more detail below with respect to fig4 . thus , control dac 31 receives the same bias voltage v bias from phase comparator 26 as that received by dac 28 , as well as the user control inputs , and generates a control voltage v control to each of the delay cells 32 through 38 . delay cells 32 through 38 also receive the outputs from taps t 1 through t 4 , respectively , from pll 20 . the control voltage v control introduces an additional delay to the outputs from taps t 1 through t 4 , and those delayed clocks are output at subtaps st 1 through st 4 ( corresponding to delay elements 32 through 38 , respectively ) based on the delay needs of the user as identified by control voltage v control . an exemplary embodiment of control dac 31 is shown in detail in fig4 . control dac 31 is identical to control dac 28 a of control dac 28 , with one exception . instead of having the gates of control transistors mn 44 through mn 51 connected to v dd , control inputs ci 1 through ci 8 are provided which give the user of the system the ability to selectively turn on or off each of the control transistors mn 44 through mn 51 and therefore , control the operation of diode - connected transistors mn 36 through mn 43 . this allows the user to selectively control the voltage output from control dac 31 . thus , the user has up to eight ( in this example ) “ sub - delays ” sd 1 through sd 8 within the range defined by the outputs of taps t 1 and t 2 , each of which can be added to the outputs of tap t 1 through t 4 by outputting the desired control voltage v control to delay cells 32 , 34 , 36 and 38 . thus , the maximum delay available from the delay elements of the system can be increased to an even longer delay , in increments selected by the user . fig5 illustrates clock pulses c 1 and c 2 of fig1 with eight sub - clocks sc 1 through sc 8 shown interposed between the clock pulses . thus , for example , if a user supplied a digital 0 to any two of the control inputs of fig4 ( e . g ., ci 1 and ci 2 ) and supplied digital 1 &# 39 ; s to the remaining control inputs ( e . g ., ci 3 through ci 8 ), then six of the diode - connected transistors ( mn 38 through mn 43 ) would be active and the remaining diode - connected transistors ( mn 36 and mn 37 ) would be inactive , and the equivalent of two sub - delays would be added to each clock signal c 1 through c 4 ( only c 1 and c 2 shown in fig5 ) so that the outputs st 1 and st 2 of delay cells 32 and 34 , respectively would correspond to sub - clock signals sc 1 - 2 and sc 2 - 2 , respectively , of fig5 . the outputs of delay cells 36 and 38 would also be delayed accordingly . in this example , eight selectable sub - delays are illustrated ; however , any number of sub - delays could be utilized depending upon the needs of the user . by introducing this additional delay via the subtaps , a user can specify any desired clock phase , limited only by the number of subtaps utilized , and the change can be implemental at any time , i . e ., the phase is variable . while there has been described herein the principles of the invention , it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention . for example , while the disclosure makes specific reference to utilization of a maximum voltage v max and a minimum voltage v min , one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that simple conversions will allow the use of a maximum current c max and a minimum current c min to accomplish the same result . accordingly , it is intended by the appending claims , to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .	7
the present invention relates to the use of pyrrolo [ 2 , 3 - d ] pyrimidine nucleosides in the treatment of viral infections , and , more specifically , to compounds of the following general formula and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof : ## str3 ## where r 1 is nh 2 or oh ; r 2 is h , cn , ## str4 ## and r 3 is 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxy - 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- didehydroribofuranose or 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxyribofuranose . the compounds of the present invention exhibit antiviral activity with acceptable levels of cytotoxicity and can thus be used in the treatment of viral infections . in particular , as shown in table 1 , these compounds are effective against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 ( hiv - 1 ), human cytomegalovirus ( hcmv ) and herpes simplex virus type 1 ( hsv - 1 ). additional viruses contemplated to be within the broad scope of treatment of the present invention include , but are not limited to , the following : human b lymphotropic virus , herpes simplex virus type 2 , varicella - zoster virus , epstein - barr virus , necrotic rhinitis , malignant catarrh , allerton virus , equine herpesvirus -- 1 , equine herpesvirus -- 2 , equine herpesvirus -- 3 , neurolymphomatosis , influenza viruses , a , b and c , parainfluenza viruses -- 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 , adenovirus , rheovirus , respiratory syncytial virus , rhinoviruses , coxsackie virus , echo viruses , epidemic gastroenteritis virus , rubeola virus , hepatitis a and b viruses , and papovavirus . the compounds of the present invention can be used in a therapeutically effective amount to treat viral infections in vivo in accordance with conventional procedures , for example , as an active ingredient in pharmaceutical compositions . the pharmaceutical compositions may take the form of tablets , lozenges , granules , capsules , pills , ampoules or suppositories . they may also take the form of ointments , gels , pastes , creams , sprays , lotions , suspensions , solutions and emulsions of the active ingredient in aqueous or nonaqueous diluents , syrups , granulates or powders . moreover , pharmaceutical compositions containing a compound of the present invention , can also contain other pharmaceutically active compounds or a plurality of compounds of the invention to maximize their therapeutic effectiveness . the compounds of the present invention can be synthesized by the general procedure illustrated in figs . i - iv . referring now to fig . i , the parent pyrrolo [ 2 , 3 - d ] pyrimidine ribofuranosyl compound tubercidin ( 1 ) was dissolved in acetonitrile and reacted with 2 - methyl - 2 - acetoxypropionyl bromide to introduce the bromine moiety in a trans orientation relative to the 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy moiety . the compound was then reacted with pyridine and acetic anhydride to acetylate any free hydroxyl moieties . the resultant intermediate compound ( 2 ) was then treated with zinc - copper couple and dimethylformamide to form a second intermediate compound ( 3 ), then with methanolic ammonia to yield 2 &# 39 ; 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxy - 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- didehydrotubercidin ( 4 ). a similar scheme of synthesis was followed with the parent compounds toyocamycin ( 6 ), as illustrated in fig . ii , and sangivamycin ( 11 ), as illustrated in fig . iii . as shown in figs . ii and iii , the only additional step in the synthesis of their 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxy - 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- didehydro derivatives was the addition of methanol after reaction with the bromide compound to remove the 5 &# 39 ; blocking moiety . referring now to fig . iv , conversion of the 2 &# 39 ; 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxy - 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- didehydroribofuranosyl compounds ( 4 , 9 , 14 ) of figs . i , ii and iii to their respective 2 &# 39 ; 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxyribofuranosyl compounds ( 5 , 10 , 15 ) was achieved by hydrogenating in a parr apparatus the 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- dideoxy - 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- didehydro compound dissolved in alcohol with palladium on charcoal . the specific procedure followed for the synthesis of each compound depicted in figs . i - iv is set out below in the specific examples . 2 - methyl - 2 - acetoxypropionyl bromide ( 7 . 07 g , 33 . 9 mmole ) was added , with vigorous stirring to a suspension of finely ground tubercidin ( 3 . 0 g . 11 . 3 mmole ) in acetonitrile ( 100 ml , dried over 3 å sieves ) and the mixture then stirred at room temperature for 1 . 5 hr . the resulting solution was partitioned between ice - cold 50 % saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 300 ml ) and ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ). the organic layer was washed with brine ( 100 ml ), dried over sodium sulphate , filtered , and the filtrate was evaporated to afford a crisp white foam ( 5 . 8 g ). this foam was dissolved in pyridine ( 100 ml ), 4 - dimethylaminopyridine was added ( 40 mg , 0 . 4 mmole ), and the solution was treated with acetic anhydride ( 4 . 0 ml , 43 mmole ). the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hr . and then evaporated to a thick oil . this oil was partitioned between ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ) and water ( 300 ml ). the organic layer was then washed with brine ( 100 ml ), dried over sodium sulphate , filtered , and the filtrate evaporated to a yellow foam which was kept in vacuo for 72 hr . this foam was dissolved in dimethylformamide ( 150 ml ) and treated with zinc - copper couple ( 20 g ). the mixture was stirred for 1 . 5 hr . at 80 °, then filtered through celite . the celite bed was washed with dimethylformamide ( 50 ml ) and the combined filtrates were evaporated at 50 °- 60 ° to afford a syrup which was partitioned between ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ) and water ( 300 ml ). the water layer was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 2 × 100 ml ) and the combined organic fractions were washed with brine ( 200 ml ), dried over magnesium sulphate , filtered and the filtrate was evaporated to a thick oil . this oil was further evaporated in vacuo to afford a soft foam . this foam was dissolved in methanol ( 35 ml ), methanolic ammonia ( 35 ml , saturated at 0 °) was added , and the solution was sealed in a pressure bottle and stirred at room temperature for 12 hr . the solution was evaporated to a thick oil and then further evaporated in vacuo at 50 °- 60 ° to afford a very thick oil . this oil was dissolved in chloroform ( 10 ml ) and the solution was applied to a bed of silica ( 2 cm deep , 3 cm wide ) slurry packed in a fritted disc funnel . this bed was eluted with solvent system a ( 300 ml ). the first 100 ml of eluant was discarded , and the next 200 ml of eluant was collected and evaporated at 50 °- 60 ° to afford a thick oil . this oil was triturated with ether ( 5 × 20 ml ), chloroform ( 15 ml ) was added to the remaining residue and this mixture then heated at reflux . ether was then slowly added ( 30 ml ) and the mixture solidified upon cooling to room temperature . additional ether was added ( 50 ml ), the solid was collected by filtration and air dried to yield a tan solid ( 1 . 63 g ). the mother liquor was combined with the ethereal extracts , the resulting solution was evaporated and then triturated with chloroform / ether ( 1 : 2 , 30 ml ) to afford an additional 0 . 4 g of solid . the solids were combined and suspended in boiling ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ). isopropanol ( 30 ml ) was added , and the boiling mixture was stirred until all solid material had dissolved . norit ( 200 mg ) was added , and the mixture was filtered through celite . the celite bed was washed with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ). the combined filtrates were reduced in volume to approximately 50 ml by boiling . the solution was allowed to stand at room temperature for 4 hr . the solid was collected by filtration and air dried to afford 1 . 3 g of a tan solid . the material was further purified by dissolving 1 . 2 g in boiling ethanol ( 150 ml ) and reducing the volume of the solution to 50 ml by boiling . the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature and then allowed to stand at 4 ° for 16 hr . the solid was collected by filtration to yield a solid ( 0 . 93 g ), after drying at 80 ° under reduced pressure over phosphorous pentoxide . some additional product ( 0 . 32 g ) could be obtained by evaporating the ethyl acetate and ethanol mother liquors and crystallizing the resulting residue from ethanol ( 25 ml ) for a total yield of 1 . 25 g ( 48 %). mp 204 °- 205 °; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ , 8 . 07 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 7 . 15 ( d , 1h , h - 6 , j . sub . ( 5 , 6 ) = 3 . 71 hz ), 7 . 12 ( bs , 1 h , h - 1 &# 39 ;), 7 . 02 ( bs , 2h , nh 2 ), 6 . 56 ( d , 1h , h - 5 ), 6 . 42 ( ddd , 1h , h - 3 &# 39 ;, j . sub . ( 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;) = 6 . 01 hz , j . sub . ( 3 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;) = j . sub . ( 3 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;) = 1 . 62 hz ), 6 . 02 ( ddd , 1h , h - 2 &# 39 ;), 4 . 96 ( t , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ), 4 . 79 ( m , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 50 ( m , 2h , h - 5 &# 39 ; a , b ); uv : λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): meoh , 271 ( 4 . 11 ); ph 1 , 272 ( 4 . 04 ), 226 ( 4 . 36 ); ph 11 , 271 ( 4 . 04 ), 224 ( 3 . 82 ); tlc : solvent a , r f = 0 . 21 ; anal calcd . for c 11 h 12 n 4 o 2 : c , 56 . 89 : h , 5 . 20 ; n , 24 . 13 . found : c , 56 . 88 ; h , 5 . 22 ; n , 24 . 09 . a solution of compound 4 ( 0 . 5 g , 2 . 14 mmole ) in absolute ethanol ( 75 ml ), containing 10 % palladium on charcoal ( 0 . 04 g ) was hydrogenated for 7 hr . on a parr hydrogenation apparatus at a pressure of 50 psi . the catalyst was removed by filtration through celite . the celite bed was washed with ethanol ( 10 ml ) and the filtrates were evaporated to afford an oil . this oil was dissolved in chloroform ( 30 ml ) and the solution was evaporated to afford a foam . after being kept in vacuo for 16 hr ., this foam was dissolved in chloroform / methanol ( 6 : 1 , v : v , 3 ml ) and the solution was applied to a silica column ( 300 mm × 22 mm ). the column was eluted at a flowrate of 17 ml / min ., with chloroform / methanol ( 6 : 1 , v : v ). the elution was followed by observing the absorbtion at 275 nm . the major fraction ( eluting between 7 . 2 and 16 . 4 min .) was evaporated to dryness and kept in vacuo for 48 hr . to afford 380 mg of a crisp foam ( 75 %): 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ , 8 . 04 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 7 . 33 ( d , 1h , h - 6 , j . sub . ( 5 , 6 ) = 3 . 6 hz ), 6 . 99 ( bs , 2h nh 2 ), 6 . 55 ( d , 1h , h - 5 ), 6 . 33 ( dd , 1h , h - 1 &# 39 ; j . sub . ( 1 &# 39 ;, 2 &# 39 ; a ) = j . sub . ( 1 &# 39 ;, 2 &# 39 ; b ) = 6 . 8 hz ), 4 . 99 ( bs , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ), 4 . 03 ( m , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 55 and 3 . 46 ( 2m , 2h , h - 3 &# 39 ; ab ); uv λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): meoh , 273 ( 3 . 99 ), 228 ( 4 . 35 ); ph 1 , 273 ( 4 . 02 ), 277 ( 4 . 35 ); ph 11 , 271 ( 4 . 07 ), 225 ( 3 . 95 ); tlc ; solvent a , r f = 0 . 24 : anal . calcd . for c 11 h 14 n 4 o 2 ( 1 / 4 h 2 o ): c , 55 . 34 ; h , 6 . 12 ; n , 23 . 47 . found : c , 55 . 25 ; h , 6 . 29 ; n , 23 . 27 . a vigorously stirred suspension of finely ground toyocamycin ( 5 . 8 g , 20 mmole ) in acetonitrile ( 125 ml , dried over 3 å was chilled with an ice bath to ca . 5 °. to this suspension was added 2 - methyl - 2 - acetoxypropionyl bromide ( 11 . 7 g , 56 mmol ) over a 5 min . period via a syringe , with continuous stirring and cooling . after the addition was complete , the ice bath was removed and stirring was continued for an additional 1 hr . after this time , tlc analysis of the mixture revealed two bands ( r f = 0 . 60 , 0 . 30 ; solvent system a ; plate exposed to conc . ammonia vapor for ca 1 sec before developing ). the solution was then treated with methanol ( 5 ml ) and stirring was continued for an additional 15 min . after this time , tlc analysis showed an absence of the faster running band . the solution was then evaporated to afford a sticky foam which was kept in vacuo for 0 . 5 hr . and then dissolved in pyridine ( 150 ml ). acetic anhydride ( 12 ml , 127 mmole ) was then added to this solution and stirring was continued for an additional 0 . 5 hr . at this time , tlc showed one major band ( r f = 0 . 6 ). the solution was then evaporated in vacuo to a thick oil which was partitioned between ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ) and water ( 600 ml ). the organic layer was washed with water ( 2 × 600 ml ) and brine ( 300 ml ), dried over magnesium sulphate , filtered , and evaporated to a foam which was treated with methanol ( 100 ml ) and again evaporated to a foam which was then kept in vacuo for 0 . 5 hr . this foam was dissolved in hot methanol ( 125 ml ) and the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature . the solution was allowed to stand at room temperature for 2 hr . then kept at ca . 5 ° for 1 hr . the crystalline product was collected by filtration , washed with cold methanol ( 30 ml ) and dried at 80 ° under reduced pressure over phosphorous pentoxide for 16 hr . to afford 4 . 2 g of a white solid . additional material could be obtained by evaporating the mother liquor , triturating the residue with hot ligroin ( 3 × 75 ml ), co - evaporating the residue with methanol ( 2 × 50 ml ), and finally crystallizing the resulting foam from hot methanol ( 30 ml ). drying the solid as above , yielded 1 . 2 g of a hard glass which was identical by tlc ( r f = 0 . 6 , solvent system a ) to the first crop . to a solution of the material obtained as described above ( 7 . 5 g , 17 mmole ), in dimethylformamide ( 25 ml ), was added acetic acid ( 0 . 25 ml , 2 . 6 mmole ) and zinc - copper couple ( 7 . 5 g ). after stirring for 10 min ., the mixture became warm and tlc analysis ( solvent system a ) shows the absence of starting material ( r f = 0 . 63 , chars yellow ) and the presence of a new spot ( r f = 0 . 57 , chars blue ). the mixture was treated with water ( 10 ml ) and filtered through celite . the celite bed was washed with dimethylformamide ( 20 ml ) and the combined filtrates diluted to a volume of 200 ml wth water . this solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 5 × 40 ml ) and the combined extracts were washed with water ( 40 ml ) and then brine ( 3 × 40 ml ). the organic layer was then dried over magnesium sulphate , filtered , and evaporated to afford a sticky foam which was co - evaporated with methanol ( 2 × 40 ml ). this foam was then dissolved in hot methanol ( 20 ml ), filtered , and allowed to crystallize for 2 hr . at room temperature . the product was collected by filtration , and dried as described above to afford 2 . 7 g ( 52 %) of the 5 &# 39 ;- o - acetate of the title compound : mp 148 °- 149 °; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ8 . 25 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 8 . 09 ( s , 1h , h - 6 ), 7 . 13 ( bs , h , h - 1 &# 39 ;), 6 . 88 ( bs , 2h , nh 2 ), 6 . 51 ( d , 1h , h - 3 &# 39 ;, j . sub . ( 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;) = 6 hz ), 6 . 17 ( d , 1h , h - 2 &# 39 ;), 5 . 06 ( bs , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 4 . 16 ( m , 2h , h - 5 &# 39 ; ab ), 2 . 01 ( s , 3h , 5 &# 39 ; ch 3 co ). a suspension of the 5 &# 39 ;- o - acetate ( 2 . 0 g 6 . 3 mmole ) in methanolic ammonia ( 75 ml , saturated at 0 °) was sealed in a pressure bottle and stirred at room temperature for 6 hr . the resulting yellow solution was reduced in volume by boiling on a steam bath to approximately 20 ml . the solution was then allowed to crystallize at room temperature . the solid was collected by filtration , washed with methanol ( 5 ml ) and air dried to afford 1 . 2 g of a white solid ( 22 % overall from toyocamycin ). a sample ( 1 . 0 g ) of this material was recrystallized by dissolving it in methanol ( 40 ml ), diluting the solution with water to a final volume of 100 ml , and allowing the solution to stand overnight at room temperature . the solid was collected by filtration and washed with water ( 10 ml ) to yield 0 . 56 g of material after air drying . a sample of this material ( 0 . 2 g ) was dissolved in solvent system a ( 10 ml ) and the solution was chromatographed on a silica column ( 22 mm × 300 mm ) using solvent system a at a flowrate of 17 ml / min . the elusion was followed by observing the absorbtion at 280 nm . the desired fraction ( eluting between 4 . 2 and 10 . 0 min .) was immediately evaporated under water aspirator pressure at room temperature . the residue was suspended in methanol ( 5 ml ) and filtered . the product cake was washed with methanol ( 5 ml ) and ether ( 5 ml ) to afford 0 . 12 g of a white powder , after air drying : mp 201 °- 202 °; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ , 8 . 25 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 8 . 22 ( s , 1h , h - 6 ), 7 . 13 ( bs , 1h , h - 1 &# 39 ;), 6 . 87 ( bs , 2h , nh 2 ), 6 . 48 ( d , 1h , h - 3 &# 39 ;. j . sub . ( 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;)= 6 . 05 hz ), 6 . 07 ( d , 1h , h - 2 &# 39 ;), 5 . 00 ( t , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ), 4 . 87 ( m , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 58 ( m , 2h , h - 5 &# 39 ; ab ); uv λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): [ meoh , 279 ( 4 . 31 ), 229 ( 4 . 17 ); ph 1 , 273 ( 4 . 26 ), 233 ( 4 . 39 ); ph 11 , 278 ( 4 . 33 ), 231 ( 4 . 20 );] tlc : solvent system a , r f = 0 . 38 ; ir ( kbr ) 2220 cm - 1 ( cyano ); anal . calcd . for c 12 h 11 n 5 o 2 : c , 56 . 03 ; h , 4 . 31 : n , 27 . 23 . found : c , 56 . 08 ; h , 4 . 36 ; n , 27 . 16 . a solution of compound 9 ( 0 . 4 g , 1 . 7 mmole ) in ethanol / water ( 90 : 10 , v : v , 30 ml ) containing 5 % palladium on charcoal ( 0 . 05 g ) was hydrogenated on a parr apparatus for 1 hr . at a pressure of 50 psi . an additional portion ( 0 . 1 g ) of the catalyst was then added , and the hydrogenation was continued for an additional 2 hr . the catalyst was removed by filtration through celite , and the celite bed was then washed with ethanol ( 20 ml ). the combined filtrates were evaporated under aspirator pressure at 45 °- 50 °, and the residue was co - evaporated with ethanol ( 2 × 20 ml ). the residue was crystallized from isopropanol ( 20 ml ), and washed with ether ( 20 ml ) to yield 0 . 23 g ( 57 %) of a white solid , after air drying . a sample ( 0 . 1 g ) of this material was dissolved in dmso ( 2 ml ) and the solution was chromatographed in two portions on a c - 18 column ( 22 mm × 250 mm , 50 mm guard column ) using water / methanol ( 70 : 30 , v : v ) at a flowrate of 12 ml / min . the elution was monitored by observing the absorbtion at 280 nm . the desired fraction eluted between 23 and 42 min . this fraction was combined with the corresponding fraction from a duplicate run and evaporated under water aspirator pressure at 35 ° to a volume of 8 ml . the resulting suspension was heated to dissolve the solids and the solution was then allowed to stand at room temperature for 3 hr . the resulting solid was collected by filtration , washed with water ( 10 ml ) and air dried to afford 0 . 053 g of a white solid : mp 197 °- 197 . 5 °; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ8 . 44 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 8 . 20 ( s , 1h , h - 6 ), 6 . 83 ( bs , 2h , nh . sub . 2 ), 6 . 36 ( dd , 1h , h - 1 &# 39 ;, j = 3 . 13 , 6 . 84 hz ), 5 . 02 ( t , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ), 4 . 08 ( m , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 62 and 3 . 54 ( 2m , 2h , h - 5 &# 39 ; ab ), 2 . 41 and 2 . 22 ( 2m , 2h , h - 2 &# 39 ; ab ), 1 . 97 ( m , 2h , h - 3 &# 39 ; ab ); uv λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): meoh , 280 ( 4 . 05 ), 231 ( 3 . 93 ); ph 1 , 274 ( 3 . 92 ), 235 ( 4 . 08 ); ph 11 , 279 ( 4 . 03 ), 234 ( 3 . 89 ); tlc ; solvent system a , r f = 0 . 40 , chars yellow ; ir ( kbr ) 2220 cm - 1 ( cyano ); anal . calcd . for c 12 h 13 n 5 o 2 : c , 55 . 59 ; h , 5 . 05 ; n , 27 . 02 . found : c , 55 . 68 ; h , 5 . 08 ; n , 26 . 91 . a rapidly stirred suspension of sangivamycin ( 6 . 18 g , 20 mmole ) in acetonitrile ( 125 ml , dried over 3 å sieves ) was treated with 2 - methyl - 2 - acetoxypropionyl bromide ( 10 . 4 g , 50 mmole ) and the stirring was continued for 1 . 5 hr . an additional portion of the bromo compound was added ( 1 g , 5 mmole ) and stirring was continued for another 5 min . methanol was then added ( 5 ml ) and the mixture was stirred for 10 min . the solvent was removed by evaporation . pyridine ( 100 ml ) and acetic anhydride ( 10 ml 0 . 1 mmole ) were added to the residue and the mixture was shaken vigorously for 5 min . in order to cause dissolution of the gummy residue . after an additional 15 min . of stirring , tlc analysis of the mixture shows one major product ( r f = 0 . 51 , solvent system a ). the solution was evaporated , and the resulting gummy residue was treated with ethanol / water ( 1 : 1 , v : v , 100 ml ) and the solution was once again evaporated to afford a gummy residue . this gum was treated with isopropanol ( 200 ml ) and the mixture was heated to reflux temperature . the mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature , the solid was collected by filtration ( 6 . 8 g ) and combined with the solid obtained ( 1 . 2 g ) by concentration of the mother liquor and trituration of the residue with isopropanol ( 100 ml ). a sample ( 7 . 5 g ) of this material was dissolved in hot isopropanol / methanol ( 4 : 2 , v : v , 600 ml ) and the volume of the solution was reduced to 300 ml by boiling on a hot plate . the solid , which had precipitated on cooling to room temperature , was collected by filtration , washed with isopropanol ( 20 ml ) and ether ( 50 ml ) to afford 5 . 2 g of a white powder . this powder ( 4 . 0 g ) was dissolved in dimethylformamide ( 70 ml ) and the solution was treated with zinc - copper couple ( 1 . 5 g ). after stirring for 2 hr ., tlc ( solvent system a ) shows the absence of starting material ( r f = 0 . 51 and the presence of product ( r f = 0 . 31 ). the spent zinc - copper couple was removed by filtration through celite , and the celite bed was washed with dimethylformamide ( 3 × 15 ml ). the combined filtrates were evaporated to afford an oil which solidified upon treatment with ethanol ( 50 ml ). the solid was collected by filtration and washed with ethanol ( 10 ml ) to afford 3 . 1 g of the crude acetate of the title compound . a suspension of the acetate ( 2 . 0 g ) in methanolic ammonia ( 40 ml , saturated at 0 °) was stirred at room temperature in a pressure bottle for 24 hr . and then kept at - 20 ° for 24 hr . the solid was removed by filtration and washed with methanol ( 5 ml ) and ether ( 10 ml ). the combined filtrates were evaporated to dryness and the residue was triturated with hot ethanol ( 30 ml ). the solid material was collected by filtration , after cooling the suspension to room temperature , washed with ethanol ( 10 ml ) and ether ( 10 ml ) to afford 0 . 76 g of the crude title compound ( 29 % overall from sangivamycin ). a sample ( 0 . 5 g ) of this material was dissolved in water ( 10 ml ) and the solution was applied to a sephadex lh - 20 column ( 2 . 5 cm × 20 cm ). the column was eluted with water while the elution was monitored by tlc ( solvent system a ). the first product containing fraction ( r f = 0 . 14 , 10 ml ) was discarded with the next 100 ml of eluent being collected and then evaporated to dryness . the residue was triturated with ethanol ( 20 ml ), the solid was collected by filtration , washed with ethanol ( 5 ml ) and ether ( 10 ml ) to afford 0 . 29 g of a white powder , after air drying . a sample ( 0 . 1 g ) of this material was dissolved in chloroform / methanol / water ( 80 : 10 : 2 , v : v : v , 3 ml ) and the solution was chromatographed on a silica column ( 20 mm × 100 mm , 10 micron silica ) using chloroform / methanol ( 8 : 1 , v : v ) at a flowrate of 15 ml / min . the elution was followed by observing the absorbtion at 280 nm and the fraction containing the product ( eluting between 4 and 12 min .) was collected and evaporated . the residue was triturated with methanol ( 3 ml ) and the solid was collected by filtration , washed with methanol ( 2 ml ) and ether ( 5 ml ) to afford 0 . 068 g of a white solid , after air drying : mp 240 ° dec ., 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ , 8 . 10 ( 2 , 1h , h - 2 ), 8 . 00 and 7 . 32 ( 2bs , 2h , nh 2 ), 7 . 95 ( s , 1h , h - 6 ), 7 . 15 ( bs , 1h , h - 1 &# 39 ;), 6 . 54 ( d , 1h , h - 3 &# 39 ;, j . sub . ( 2 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;)= 5 . 98 hz ), 6 . 08 ( d , 1h , h - 2 &# 39 ;), 4 . 92 ( t , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ), 4 . 81 ( bs , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 53 ( m , 2h h - 5 &# 39 ; ab ); uv λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): meoh , 281 ( 4 . 12 ), 230 ( 3 . 97 ); ph 1 , 275 ( 4 . 02 ), 226 ( 4 . 10 ); ph 11 , 280 ( 4 . 08 ), 233 ( 3 . 87 ); tlc : solvent system a , r f = 0 . 14 ; anal . calcd , for c 12 h 13 n 5 o 3 : c , 52 . 36 ; h , 4 . 76 ; n , 25 . 44 . found : c , 52 . 16 ; h , 4 . 57 ; n , 25 . 28 . a suspension of compound 14 ( 0 . 15 g , 0 . 54 mmol ) in methanol ( 50 ml ) containing 5 % palladium on charcoal ( 0 . 05 g ) was hydrogenated on a parr apparatus for 8 hr . at 35 psi . the catalyst was removed by filtration through celite and the celite bed was washed with methanol ( 2 × 10 ml ). the combined filtrates were evaporated to a thick oil which was then co - evaporated with ethanol ( 2 × 10 ml ) and isopropanol ( 10 ml ). the resulting foam was then treated with ether ( 30 ml ), and the resulting solid was collected by filtration , washed with ether ( 10 ml ) and air dried to afford 0 . 12 g of a white solid . a sample ( 0 . 09 g ) was dissolved in chloroform / methanol ( 8 : 1 , v : v , 5 ml ) and the solution was chromatographed on a silica column ( 20 mm × 100 mm , 10 micron silica ) using chloroform / methanol ( 8 : 1 , v : v ) at a flowrate of 15 ml / min . the elution was monitored by observing the absorbtion at 280 nm and the fraction eluting between 5 min . and 10 min . was collected and evaporated . the residue was triturated with methanol ( 3 ml ). the solid was collected by filtration , washed with methanol ( 3 ml ) and ether ( 5 ml ), then allowed to air dry to afford 0 . 071 g of a white solid ( 47 %): mp 207 °- 208 °. 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ , 8 . 08 ( s , 1h , h - 2 ), 8 . 05 ( s , 1h , h - 6 ), 7 . 94 , 7 . 32 ( 2bs , 2h , nh 2 ), 6 . 38 ( q , 1h , h - 1 &# 39 ;), 4 . 86 ( t , 1h , 5 &# 39 ;- oh ); 4 . 06 ( q , 1h , h - 4 &# 39 ;), 3 . 54 ( m , 2h , h - 5 &# 39 ; ab ), 262 ( m , 1h h - 2 &# 39 ; ab ), 2 . 20 9m , 1h , h - 2 &# 39 ; b ), 2 . 05 ( m , 2h , h - 3 &# 39 ; ab ); uv λ max ( nm ) ( log epsilon ): meoh , 282 ( 4 . 08 ); ph 1 , 232 ( 4 . 15 ), 276 ( 4 . 09 ); ph 11 , 236 ( 3 . 93 ), 245 ( 3 . 89 ), 281 ( 4 . 13 ); tlc : solvent system a r f = 0 . 14 ; anal . calcd . for c 12 h 15 n 5 o 3 1 / 4 h 2 o : c , 51 . 15 ; h , 5 . 54 ; n , 24 . 86 . found : c , 51 . 43 ; h , 5 . 50 ; n , 24 . 67 . the following procedures were followed to test the compounds of the specific examples : assays with herpes virus type 1 ( hsv - 1 ) and human cytomegalovirus ( hcmv ) kb cells , an established human cell line derived from an epidermoid oral carcinoma , were routinely grown in minimal essential medium ( mem ) with hanks salts [ mem ( h )] supplemented with 5 % fetal bovine serum . african green monkey kidney ( bsc - 1 ) cells and diploid human foreskin fibroblasts ( hff cells ) were grown in mem with earle &# 39 ; s salts [ mem ( e )] supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum . cells were passaged according to conventional procedures as described in shipman , c ., jr . ; smith , s . h . ; carlson , r . h . ; drach , j . c . antimicrob . agents chemother ., 1976 , 9 , 120 . the plaque - purified isolate , p o , of the towne strain of hcmv was used in all experiments and was a gift of dr . mark stinski , university of iowa . the s - 148 strain of hsv - 1 was provided by dr . t . w . schafer of schering corp . stock preparations of hcmv and hsv - 1 were prepared and titered as described in turk , s . r . ; shipman , c ., jr . ; nassari , r . ; genzlinger , g . ; krawczyk , s . h . ; townsend , l . b . ; drach , j . c . antimicrob . agents chemother ., 1987 , 31 , 544 . hcmv plaque reduction experiments were performed using monolayer cultures of hff cells by a procedure similar to that referenced above for titration of hcmv , with the exceptions that the virus inoculum ( 0 . 2 ml ) contained approximately 50 pfu of hcmv and the compounds to be assayed were dissolved in the overlay medium . hsv - 1 plaque reduction experiments were performed using monolayer cultures of bsc - 1 cells . the assay was performed exactly as referenced above for hsv - 1 titration assays except that the 0 . 2 ml of virus suspension contained approximately 100 pfu of hsv - 1 and the compounds to be tested were dissolved in the overlay medium . two basic tests for cellular cytotoxicity were routinely employed for compounds examined in antiviral assays . cytotoxicity produced in hff and bsc - 1 cells was estimated by visual scoring of cells not affected by virus infection in the plaque reduction assays described above . cytopathology was estimated at 35 - and 60 - fold magnification and scored on a zero to four plus basis on the day of staining for plaque enumeration . cytotoxicity in kb cells was determined by measuring the effects of compounds on the incorporation of radioactive precursors into dna , rna and protein as described in turk , s . r . ; shipman , c ., jr . ; nassari , r . ; genzlinger , g . ; krawczyk , s . h . ; townsend , l . b . ; drach , j . c . antimicrob . agents chemother ., 1987 , 31 , 544 . the human okt4 + t - cell clone , ath8 , was obtained from dr . samuel broder &# 39 ; s laboratory ( nci ) through dr . hiroaki mitsuya . these cells are propagated in rpmi 1640 medium supplemented with 4 mm glutamine , 15 % heat - inactivated fetal bovine serum , antibiotics ( 50 units of penicillin and 50 μg of streptomycin per ml ), and 50 units of recombinant - derived human interleukin - 2 ( ala - 125 ; amgen biologicals ) per ml . the clone h9 cell lines , an okt4 + human t - cell line which is permissive for hiv replication but largely resistant to virus - induced cpe , h9 cells productively infected with the htlv - iii b strain of hiv , and h9 cells productively infected with the rf - ii haitian variant of hiv have been obtained from dr . robert gallo &# 39 ; s laboratory ( nci ) through dr . howard streicher . these cell lines are propagated in rpmi 1640 medium supplemented with 4 mm glutamine , 20 % heat - inactivated fetal bovine serum , and antibiotics ( 50 units of penicillin and 50 g of streptomycin per ml ). for infectious virus , undiluted culture supernate from ho / htlv - iii b producer cells is used . the testing of compounds for antiviral activity employed the modified cpe - inhibition assay described in mitsuya , h . ; weinhold , k . j . ; furman , p . a . ; st . clair , m . h . ; lehrman , s . n . ; gallo , r . c . ; bolognesi , d . ; barry , d . w . ; broder , s . proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , ( 1985 ) 82 , 7096 and mitsuya , h . ; broder , s . proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 1986 , 83 1911 . the assay is based on the ability of uninfected aht8 cells to grow and form a pellet at the bottom of a culture tube . starting about 4 days after hiv addition , infected ath8 cells begin to die and the pellet starts to break up . the cell pellet is completely destroyed within 10 days . the protective effect of test compounds was assessed by adding them at varying concentrations to the cultured cells at the time of virus infection , then monitoring the status of the cell pellet . ath8 cells were used as the primary targeted cells in the hiv - induced cpe - inhibition assay . cells were treated with polybrene ( 2 μg / ml in growth medium ) for 30 minutes at 37 ° c ., then collected by gentle centrifugation ( 40 × g for 15 minutes at room temperature ) and resuspended in clarified ( 8000 × g for 15 minutes at 4 ° c .) supernate freshly harvested from 48 hour post - passage h9htlv - iii b cells . following a 60 minute absorption period at 37 ° c ., the cells were dispensed into the u - bottom wells of 96 - well trays ( 2 × 10 4 cells in 0 . 1 ml per well ). an equal volume ( 0 . 1 ml ) of supplemented romi 1640 medium containing test compound and twice the normal concentration of interleukin - 2 were added to each well . these compounds were evaluated at seven half - log dilutions . triplicate virus - infected cultures and one uninfected compound cytotoxicity control culture were included at each dosage level . cultures were incubated at 37 ° c . in a humidified atmosphere of 5 % co 2 in air . on day 10 post - infection aliquots were taken from individual wells and the total cell number and cell viability ( based on trypan - blue dye exclusion ) determined . dideoxycytidine was assayed in parallel as a positive control . dose - response relationships were constructed by linearly regressing the percent inhibition of parameters derived in the preceding sections against log drug concentrations . 50 % inhibitory ( i 50 ) concentrations were calculated from the regression lines . the three i 50 concentrations for inhibition of dna , rna and protein synthesis were averaged to give the values reported in table i for kb cell cytotoxicity . samples containing positive controls ( acyclovir , ganciclovir , or vidarabine ) were used in all assays . results from sets of assays were rejected if inhibition by the positive control deviated from its mean response by more than 1 . 5 standard deviations . table1__________________________________________________________________________antiviral activity and cytotoxicity of 4 , 5 - substituted 7 -( β - d - pentofuranosyl ) pyrrolo [ 2 , 3 - d ] pyrimidines . 50 % inhibitory concentration ( μm ) virus tested cytotoxicitycompound no . hiv hcmv hsv - 1 . sup . a ath8 hff . sup . b bsc . sup . b kb . sup . c__________________________________________________________________________dideoxytubercidin 5 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 -- dideoxydidehydrotubercidin 4 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 -- dideoxytoyocamycin 14 3 18 21 100 & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 54dideoxydidehydrotoyocamycin 9 -- 5 . 1 41 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100dideosysangivamycin 15 3 & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 100 & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100dideoxydidehydrosangivamycin 13 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 -- & gt ; 100 & gt ; 100 54__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a in experiments with hsv1 both the hf and 148 strains were used . . sup . b visual cytotoxicity scored on uninfected hff or bsc cells at time of hcmv or hsv1 plaque determination . . sup . c average percent inhibition of dna , rna and protein synthesis determined in kb cells as described in the text .	0
referring now to fig1 a front elevation of a presently preferred embodiment of a sanitizer for bathroom articles in accordance with the present invention is illustrated . a cylindrical housing is defined by cover 10 . this cover may be comprised of a frosted plexiglas material , or of other suitable material . the cylindrical housing 10 has an upper portion 12 which may be transparent plastic to permit light from a germicidal lamp contained within the housing to pass from the housing , thereby accomplishing a nightlight function . a door 14 permits selective closing and opening of the housing 10 to permit placement and retrieval of bathroom articles . door 14 has hinges 16 and 18 and doorknob 20 , which function in a conventional manner . reference character 22 points to a dotted line representation of a drainage diaphragm contained within the housing 10 . in accordance with the present invention , drainage fluid associated with the bathroom articles stored within the housing 10 precipitates onto the drainage diaphragm 22 by the force of gravity . since the diaphragm 22 is concave - shaped in the direction of gravity and blocks all possible downward paths of the fluid , all such precipitated drainage fluid is directed toward the periphery of the housing 10 . at such peripheral portions of the housing 10 are located a plurality of drainage holes 24 to permit drainage of this fluid from within the housing . the drainage diaphragm 22 and plurality of drainage holes 24 constitute a drainage means for venting by the force of gravity drainage fluid from the interior of the housing through a peripheral base portion of the housing 10 . in accordance with the present invention , the drainage diaphragm 22 seals off all portions within the housing below the diaphragm from drainage fluid . therefore , adjunct self - contained electrical devices may be safely incorporated into this further base portion of the housing 10 beneath the diaphragm 22 . for example , 26 is a face plate or display for a radio device , with knobs 28 and 30 operating the same . reference character 32 refers to a display for a digital or electronic clock . switch 34 may control the germicidal lamp contained within the housing 10 , discussed further below . reference characters 36 illustrate rubber cushion pads which may be placed on the bottom of housing 10 to provide non - skid footing for the sanitizer and to permit sound to emerge from a speaker mounted in the bottom of housing 10 . this is discussed further below . although various physical dimensions may be applied to the embodiment of fig1 in accordance with the present invention , this exemplary embodiment is drawn roughly to scale for a six inch diameter thereof , with a total height of twelve inches from the lowermost tip of rubber cushion pads 36 to the uppermost tip of transparent dome 12 . referring now to fig2 a side elevation of the fig1 embodiment is illustrated . throughout this application , like reference numerals among figures refer to the same or analogous elements thereof . hence , reference character 12 again refers to the transparent dome top of housing 10 . diaphragm 22 is again shown in dotted line since it is contained within housing 10 , and the drainage holes 24 are shown to continue around the total periphery of the housing 10 . control knobs 28 and 30 , and display segments 26 and 32 are associated with an adjunct radio and electric clock , as in fig1 . rubber feet 36 are all of identical size and shape , but only appear of different sizes due to the changing perspective thereof brought on by rotation of the figure . base plan fig7 discussed below , clearly shows that rubber cushion feet 36 are identical with respect to each other . reference characters 138 and 142 refer to a mounting means for the present invention , discussed further below with regard to fig1 . fig3 is a longitudinal section of the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 along the center thereof . section markers for fig4 - 6 refer to the sections represented by fig4 through 6 , respectively . reference character 100 refers to an upright post mounted within the housing 10 , which is threaded at both of its ends so as to be fixedly mounted within the housing . the upright post 100 in turn serves as an element for mounting the germicidal lamp 102 and revolving plate 104 . in this embodiment , the germicidal lamp 102 comprises a circular fluorescent ultraviolet light , but other known germicidal lamps are freely substitutable with this element . details of the mounting of germicidal lamp 102 on upright post 100 is shown and discussed further below . the bottom end of upright post 100 deadends into the upper surface of diaphragm 22 . tube 106 surrounds upright post 100 between the upper surface of diaphragm 22 and the lower surface of revolving plate 104 . the revolving plate 104 may be fixed to the upper end of tube 106 , and ball bearings may be employed between upright post 100 and tube 106 so as to provide free circular movement for revolving plate 104 around an axis defined by post 100 . spring clips 108 are mounted around the periphery of revolving plate 104 so as to receive and hold inserted bathroom articles . holes 124 are drainage passages , discussed further below with regard to fig5 . by way of example only , the spring clip holders 108 of fig3 have contained therein toothbrushes . toothbrush 110 is a conventional style toothbrush which is locked into place by the spring force which is inherent in the spring clip 108 . toothbrush 112 is a toothbrush modified in accordance with the present invention so as to have registration elements 114 protruding from the handle thereof so as to ensure that the bristles of toothbrush 112 remain out of contact with the spring clip 108 . such contact could occur if the toothbrush 112 were to slide downward under the force of gravity towards spring clip 108 until the brushes of toothbrush 112 actually touched spring clip 108 . inasmuch as one of the chief functions and objects of the present invention is to sanitize bathroom articles , the registration element 114 of toothbrush 112 furthers this purpose by physically isolating the bristles of toothbrush 112 from foreign surfaces other than the actual mounting portion of toothbrush 112 . cavity 116 may house the workings of an electric radio which uses window 26 as a display . control knobs 28 and 30 are again illustrated to show their cooperation with cavity 116 . cavity 118 may be used for housing the functional elements of an electric clock , etc ., which utilizes window 32 as a display therefor . reference character 120 refers to a retractable ac power cord ( shown further , below ) which may be used to provide power from a conventional ac power source to the various electrical devices of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention , including the germicidal lamp 102 , a radio contained within cavity 116 and an electric clock contained in cavity 118 . the revolving plate 104 , peripheral spring clips 108 and tube 106 with its ball bearings may constitute storing means for storing bathroom articles ( such as toothbrushes ) within the housing 10 . while the longitudinal sectional view apparently shows only two such peripheral spring clips 108 , different numbers of such peripheral spring clips may be used in accordance with the present invention . hence , different numbers of bathroom articles such as toothbrushes or a mix of different articles may be stored within an apparatus in accordance with the present invention . as discussed further below , fig5 discloses an embodiment having six such peripheral spring clips 108 , while fig8 discloses an embodiment having only two such peripheral spring clips 108 . referring now to fig4 through 6 , three respective cross - sections as indicated in fig3 are disclosed . the sectional lines of fig4 through 6 illustrate the longitudinal section orientation of fig3 . fig4 illustrates a sectional line of fig3 as indicated , looking upward therefrom . upright post 100 is shown as a small circular part in the center of the cross - section . the germicidal lamp 102 is shown as a concentric circular element surrounding the shaft 100 . as stated before , this particular preferred embodiment illustrates the germicidal lamp as being a circular fluorescent tube emitting light in the ultraviolet range , but other suitable equivalents are permitted . cross member 122 supports the germicidal lamp 102 . fig5 illustrates the indicated cross - section in fig3 also looking upward . revolving plate 104 is shown as a circular plate having drainage passages 124 therein . these drainage passages permit drainage fluids to flow from toothbrushes mounted in peripheral spring clips 108 ( shown as six in number in this embodiment ) downward to diaphragm 22 . under the force of gravity , diaphragm 22 then directs the precipitated drainage fluid towards the periphery of housing 10 , as discussed above . rotating plate 104 is concentric with the upright mounting shaft 100 . in fig5 shown at the periphery of housing 10 is the doorknob 20 of door 14 . fig6 illustrates a cross - section taken along the indicated line of fig3 which looks downward therefrom . cavities 116 and 188 are shown as they are located within the housing 10 . control knob 28 associated with cavity 116 is illustrated , but control knob 30 which appears directly below knob 28 is not illustrated since it is blocked from view . shaft 100 is again centrally located in the cross - section . retractable ac power cord 120 winds around in a circular fashion within housing 10 as shown . fig7 illustrates a base plan of the housing 10 of fig1 ( i . e ., looking at only the bottom of the housing ). as discussed above , cushion pads 36 are all identical in nature and located symmetrically around the center of housing 10 . also shown in fig7 is one exemplary embodiment of audio holes 126 formed in the bottom of the housing 10 to permit sound from a speaker contained therein to emerge to a listener . any suitable pattern may be used , as is true for the configuration of cushion pads 36 , and the fig7 illustration is exemplary only and not intended to be limitive of the present invention . also shown are control knob 30 , door knob 20 and power cord 120 . fig8 illustrates a second preferred embodiment of the present invention which is &# 34 ; portable &# 34 ; in that it has a rechargeable battery contained within the base of housing 10 beneath the diaphragm 22 . the base of housing 10 is adapted to mate with a rechargeable base unit 128 for recharging the enclosed battery . details of such a battery recharging system are well known and need not be repeated here . that portion of the sanitizer above base portion 128 may then be detached and taken along as a portable unit for traveling with the user . the physical dimensions of the fig8 embodiment may typically be smaller than that of the fig1 embodiment , and hence the revolving plate 104 may be limited in size so as to support or house only two toothbrushes 110 and 112 , or other similar bathroom articles . as before , germicidal lamp 102 sanitizes the bathroom articles placed in the peripheral clips of revolving plate 104 , which revolves around upright shaft 100 . drainage diaphragm 22 and peripheral drainage holes 24 function as before to vent by the force of gravity any drainage fluid from within the housing 10 . fig9 discloses an exemplary embodiment of the toothbrush 112 usable with the embodiments of fig1 and 8 , having registration elements 114 to suitably hold the bristles of toothbrush 112 a predefined distance separate from the peripheral spring clamps 108 of revolving plate 104 . this particular embodiment shown in fig9 also includes an enlarged handle portion 130 for easier manipulation of the toothbrush , and an elongated tip ( rubberized ) 132 for easy removal of large food particles from between teeth . the toothbrush of fig9 is part of and furthers the objects of the present invention in that it utilizes its registration element feature to further the sanitization effects of the fig1 and fig8 apparatuses . as discussed before , elements 114 serve to register ( or separate ) the bristles of toothbrush 112 from any foreign surfaces ( i . e . surfaces other than the mounting portions of toothbrush 112 for the bristles ). fig1 illustrates a perspective view of a mounting means for the present invention . element 134 defines a wall bracket which is suitably attached by elements ( e . g ., a plurality of screws 136 ) to a desired surface , such as a bathroom or kitchen wall . wall bracket 134 has a semi - circular extension piece 138 which is integrally attached thereto and extends therefrom . extension piece 138 has contained therein various select holes 140 for variably mounting a suction cup 142 or similar device therein . the holes 140 ( shown as 5 in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 , but which may be other in number ) are threaded to receive a threaded base portion of suction cup 142 . other methods of mounting , such as a bayonet mount , are possible in place of the screw mount . the suction cup 142 may be formed of rubber , with the threaded base portion thereof being hardened rubber . the suction cup 142 is then attached to a desired portion of housing 10 , and its threaded end associated with a desired one of holes 140 . the wall bracket 134 is affixed to the desired surface with elements 136 , and the result is selective and desired fixation of a sanitizer in accordance with the present invention to a suitable surface . many further modifications and variations of the present invention are possible within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , the germicidal lamp 102 may be any other known germicidal lamp other than an ultraviolet fluorescent circular tube . also , any of the materials used in producing the present apparatus may be appropriately plastic , rubber , metal , etc . in accordance with particular design and aesthetic needs . also , housing 10 need not be strictly limited to a cylindrical shape , but might be other shapes such as rectangular or triangular , with the diaphragm 22 suitably adapted to have its outer peripheral portion lie flush with the inner walls of the particular housing . peripheral holes 24 may then be suitably located around the periphery of the particular shape of the housing so as to drain off precipitated drainage fluid directed thereto by the diaphragm 22 . other adjunct electrical devices such as transceivers , calculators or televisions may be included in the base portion of the housing 10 beneath the protective diaphragm 22 . all such modifications and variations which would occur to one of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention , which is further defined by the appended claims .	0
the preferred embodiments illustrated are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . rather , they are illustrated and described to explain the principles of the invention and its practical use , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to utilize this invention . furthermore , the invention as described and drawn utilizes a pre - stressed concrete load for explaining how the invention operates and functions , however , it is to be understood that the use of the pre - stressed concrete load example is not meant to limit the invention to pre - stress concrete structures as the invention can be easily and readily applied to construction structures that are not pre - stressed concrete . in addition , the pre - stressed concrete structure used in the explanation is what is know in the art as a “ double t ” structure and is only meant to as an aide in explaining the invention in detail , thus the double t structure is not meant to limit the invention to that structure , but rather to encompass all such large construction structures to which the securing apparatus applies . with reference now the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views thereof , a securing device 1 is illustrated which forms a first embodiment of the present invention . fig1 and 2 depict a first preferred embodiment of the securing apparatus 1 of the present invention . the securing apparatus 1 comprises two ( 2 ) horizontal outer square hollow tubes 2 , preferable of steel or other rigid material , which are fixedly connected to each other by a lifting plate 4 . the lifting plate 4 has a lifting hole 5 for the placement and removal of the securing apparatus 1 onto or off of a concrete structure 17 shown in fig3 and 4 . on the top of each outer tube 2 are two ( 2 ) chain openings 9 for receiving and removably securing one end of a first load retaining chain 10 . proximate each end of the outer tubes 2 is a locking pin hole 14 ( shown in fig2 and 5 ). slideably inserted into the two open ends of each of the outer tubes 2 are inner square hollow tubes 6 , preferably made of steel or other rigid material . there are a plurality of locking pin holes 7 located on the vertical sides of each of the inner tubes 6 . locking pins 15 are utilized to secure in the inner tube 6 to the outer tube 2 through the locking pin holes 7 and 14 , thereby determining and fixing the overall width of the apparatus 1 . on the bottom horizontal surface on each of the outer tubes 2 are two resilient load pads 3 that are removably attached to the outer tubes 2 . the load pads 3 being made preferably of oak , maple , polypropylene or the like . at the exposed end of each of the inner hollow tubes 6 , fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the inner hollow tube 6 , is a protection flange 8 , preferably made of steel or other rigid material . load retaining chains 10 being secured at one end of the chain 10 to one of the chain openings 9 and running through and out of the inside of the inner hollow tube 6 . a chain load binder 11 , of the kind commonly known in the art , being attached at a first end to the second end of the load chain 10 and at the second end to a first end of a second load chain 12 . the second end of the second load chain 12 being then attached to the trailer 16 ( as shown in fig3 and 4 ). as depicted in fig3 and 4 , there is a trailer 16 having a trailer bed 18 . placed on top of the trailer bed 18 is one style of pre - stressed concrete structure 17 used in construction . other shapes are commonly known in the art and will not detract or limit the scope of the invention . the typical means of securing the concrete structure 17 to the trailer 16 is by taking advantage of the friction caused by the weight of the concrete structure 17 on the bed of trailer 18 at the surfaces of contact 19 . load chains ( not shown ) can be attached to the front and rear ends of the trailer 16 and the front and rear ends of the pre - stressed concrete load 17 as is currently done . in use , an operator places one or more securing apparatus &# 39 ; 1 to the top of a pre - stressed concrete structure 17 . the inner tubes 6 are then slid inward or out of the outer tubes 2 such that the protection flanges 8 extend slightly beyond the edges of the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 . the load chains 10 and 12 and chain binder 11 are then utilized to secure the securing apparatus 1 to the trailer frame 16 by tightening down the load chain binders 11 . as the load chains 10 and 12 tighten down on the securing apparatus 1 , the load pads 3 transmit the force of tightening to the top of the pre - stressed concrete load 17 . this force is transmitted through the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 and increases the frictional force between the pre - stressed concrete load 17 and the trailer bed 18 at the surfaces of contact 19 . as the securing apparatus 1 is tightened down , the edges of the pre - stressed concrete load 17 are protected from damage by the load chains 10 and 12 and from the load binder 11 by the protection flanges 8 . in addition , as there may be some deflection of either the inner or outer tubes 6 and 2 respectively , depending upon the amount of tightening force applied to the load chains 10 and 12 , the load pads 3 are of sufficient height to prevent the inner or outer tubes 6 and 2 from contacting the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 and causing damage to the edges of the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 . in addition , as depicted in fig4 , the pre - stressed concrete load 17 has a plurality of lifting loops 20 , typically formed of steel that are as part of the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 as is known in the art . these loops 20 are typically utilized for lifting and moving the pre - stressed concrete structure 17 . however , by placing the securing apparatus 1 over the loops 20 such that the loops protrude between the two outer tubes 2 , tapered wedges ( not shown ) or other securing means can be driven into the loops 20 and against the top surface of the outer tubes 2 thereby providing additional means for securing the securing apparatus 1 to the pre - stressed concrete load 17 . in its preferred mode , as depicted in fig3 , the load chains 10 and 12 are positioned at an angle when installed . thus , during transit , if the pre - stressed concrete load 17 starts to lose frictional immobility relative to the trailer bed 18 , any movement of the concrete load 17 causes the securing apparatus 1 and load chains 10 and 12 to apply greater pressure to the pre - stressed concrete load 17 thereby preventing any further movement of the pre - stressed concrete load 17 . in a further embodiment of the invention , only one side of the securing apparatus 1 would have first and second load chains 10 and 12 and chain binders 11 . the other side would have load chain ( not shown ) that attaches at a first end to one of the chain openings 9 in the outer tubes 2 at to the trailer 16 at the second end . tightening down the load chains 10 and 12 on the one side would tighten down the entire securing apparatus 1 . in an alternative embodiment , as depicted in fig5 , in place of the two ( 2 ) outer tubes 2 and four ( 4 ) inner tubes 6 there is only a single outer tube 2 and two ( 2 ) inner tubes 6 . the protection flanges 8 have been modified by extending the protection flange in both directions to protect the pre - stressed concrete structures 17 from any damage from the load chains 10 and 12 and / or the load chain binder 11 . in this embodiment , the load chains 10 and 12 would be in a straight vertical plane to the trailer bed 18 . during transit , if the pre - stressed concrete load 17 starts to lose frictional immobility relative to the trailer bed 18 , any movement of the concrete load 17 causes the securing apparatus 1 and load chains 10 and 12 to apply greater pressure to the pre - stressed concrete load 17 thereby preventing any further movement of the pre - stressed concrete load 17 . as depicted in fig5 , only one load pad 3 is utilized . with respect to the above description , it is to be realized that the specific location and number of load pads 3 and other dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , which includes variations in size , materials , form , shape and manner of operation are deemed readily apparent to one skilled in the art for the present invention &# 39 ; s application to similar or differing shapes , sizes , weights and configurations of pre - stressed concrete loads 17 or other loads to which this invention may apply . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , but to include all modifications and equivalents falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	1
reference is now made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout . as used herein , the terms “ location coordinates ” refer without limitation to any set or partial set of integer , real and / or complex location data or information such as longitudinal , latitudinal , and elevational positional coordinates . as used herein , the terms “ tracking device ” and “ electronic tracking device ” refers to without limitation to any hybrid electronic circuit , integrated circuit ( ic ), chip , chip set , system - on - a - chip , microwave integrated circuit ( mic ), monolithic microwave integrated circuit ( mmic ), low noise amplifier , power amplifier , transceiver , receiver , transmitter and application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) that may be constructed and / or fabricated . the chip or ic may be constructed (“ fabricated ”) on a small rectangle ( a “ die ”) cut from , for example , a silicon ( or special applications , sapphire ), gallium arsenide , or indium phosphide wafer . the ic may be classified , for example , into analogue , digital , or hybrid ( both analogue and digital on the same chip and / or analog - to - digital converter ). digital integrated circuits may contain anything from one to millions of logic gates , invertors , and , or , nand , and nor gates , flipflops , multiplexors , etc . on a few square millimeters . the small size of these circuits allows high speed , low power dissipation , and reduced manufacturing cost compared with board - level integration . as used herein , the terms “ data transfer ”, “ tracking and location system ”, “ location and tracking system ”, “ location tracking system ”, and “ positioning system ,” refer to without limitation to any system that transfers and / or determines location coordinates using one or more devices , such as global positioning system ( gps ). as used herein , the terms “ global positioning system ” refer to without limitation to any services , methods or devices that utilize gps technology to determine position of a gps receiver based on measuring a signal transfer time of signals communicated between satellites having known positions and the gps receiver . a signal transfer time is proportional to a distance of a respective satellite from the gps receiver . the distance between a satellite and a gps receiver may be converted , utilizing signal propagation velocity , into a respective signal transfer time . the positional information of the gps receiver is calculated based on distance calculations from at least four satellites to determine positional information of the gps receiver . as used herein , the terms “ wireless network ”, “ wireless communication ”, “ wireless link ”, and “ wireless transmission ” refers to , without limitation , any digital , analog , microwave , and millimeter wave communication networks that transfer signals from one location to another location , such as , but not limited to ieee 802 . 11g , bluetooth , wimax , is - 95 , gsm , is - 95 , cgm , cdma , wcdma , pdc , umts , tdma , and fdma , or combinations thereof . in one aspect , the present invention discloses an apparatus and method to provide an improved capability electronic tracking device . in one embodiment , the device provides electronic circuitry including an accelerometer to measure location coordinates without requiring gps signaling . in this embodiment , location coordinates of an electronic tracking device are measured when the electronic tracking device is located in a partially enclosed structure , e . g ., a building or parking lot , up to a fully enclosed structure . in one embodiment , the electronic tracking device conserves battery power when the device is partially or fully blocked access to location coordinates from one or more gps satellites , e . g ., a primary location tracking system . in yet another embodiment , accelerometer measures force applied to the electronic tracking device and provides an alert message to a guardian or other responsible person . in one embodiment , the alert message includes location coordinates of the electronic tracking device and other information , e . g ., magnitude or nature of force , as well as possibility of injury of an object or individual having the electronic tracking device . as described though out the following specification , the present invention generally provides a portable electronic device configuration for locating and tracking an individual or an object . referring now to fig1 - 2 and 4 - 11 exemplary embodiments of the electronic tracking device of the invention are described in detail . please note that the following discussions of electronics and components for an electronic tracking device to monitor and locate individuals are non - limiting ; thus , the present invention may be useful in other electronic signal transferring and communication applications , such as electronics modules included in items such as : watches , calculators , clocks , computer keyboards , computer mice , and / or mobile phones to location and track trajectory of movement and current location of these items within boundaries of or proximity to a room , building , city , state , and country . furthermore , it will be appreciated that while described primarily in the context of tracking individuals or objects , at least portions of the apparatus and methods described herein may be used in other applications , such as , utilized , without limitation , for control systems that monitor components such as transducers , sensors , and electrical and / or optical components that are part of an assembly line process . moreover , it will be recognized that the present invention may find utility beyond purely tracking and monitoring concerns . myriad of other functions will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art given the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , tracking device 100 contains various electronic components 101 such as transceiver 102 , signal processing circuitry 104 ( e . g ., a microprocessor or other signal logic circuitry ), and accelerometer 130 . in one non - limiting example , the electronic components 101 are disposed , deposited , or mounted on a substrate 107 ( e . g ., printed circuit board ( pcb )). the pcb 107 , for example , may be manufactured from : polyacryclic ( pa ), polycarbonate ( pc ), composite material , and arylonitrile - butadiene - styrene ( abs ) substrates , blends or combinations thereof , or the like ( as described in more detail in incorporated by reference u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 933 , 024 filed on oct . 31 , 2007 ). the signal processing circuitry 104 , in one example , associated with the tracking device 100 configured to store a first identification code , produce a second identification code , determine location coordinates , and generate a positioning signal that contains location data ( as described in more detail in incorporated by reference u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 753 , 979 filed on may 25 , 2007 ). for instance , the location data includes longitudinal , latitudinal , and elevational position of a tracking device , current address or recent address of the tracking device , a nearby landmark to the tracking device , and the like . in one example , electronic tracking device 100 is portable , mobile and fits easily within a compact volume , such as standard shirt pocket having approximate dimensions of 1 . 5 inch by 2 . 5 inch by 1 . 0 inch . in yet another example , electronic tracking device 100 may be one integrated circuit having dimensionality in the mm range in all directions ( or even smaller ). in one embodiment , location tracking circuitry 114 , calculates location data received and sends the data to signal processing circuitry 104 . memory 112 stores operating software and data , for instance , communicated to and from signal processing circuit 104 and / or location tracking circuitry 114 , e . g ., gps logic circuitry . in one embodiment , a signal detecting circuitry 115 detects and measures signal power level . in another embodiment , the signal processing circuitry 104 processes and measures signal power level . battery level detection circuitry ( e . g ., battery level monitor 116 ) detects a battery level of battery 118 , which contains one or more individual units or grouped as a single unit . in one non - limiting example , antennas 122 a , 122 b electrically couple to transceiver 102 . in one variant , transceiver 102 includes one integrated circuit or , in another embodiment , may be multiple individual circuits or integrated circuits . transceiver 102 communicates a signal including location data between tracking device 100 and the monitoring station 110 , for example , by any of the following including : wireless network , wireless data transfer station , wired telephone , and internet channel . a demodulator circuit 126 extracts baseband signals , for instance at 100 khz , including tracking device configuration and software updates , as well as converts a low - frequency ac signal to a dc voltage level . the dc voltage level , in one example , is supplied to battery charging circuitry 128 to recharge a battery level of the battery 118 . in one embodiment , a user of monitoring station 110 , e . g ., a mobile personal digital assistant , mobile phone , or the like , by listening ( or downloading ) one or more advertisements to reduce and / or shift usage charges to another user , account , or database ( as described in more detail in previous incorporated by reference u . s . patent applications ser . no . 11 / 784 , 400 and 11 / 784 , 318 each filed on apr . 5 , 2007 ). in another embodiment , an accelerometer 130 , for example , a dual - axis accelerometer 130 , e . g . adxl320 integrated circuit manufactured by analog devices having two substantially orthogonal beams , may be utilized . the data sheet adxh320l from analog devices is incorporated by reference . in one embodiment , the accelerometer 130 activates upon one or more designated antenna ( s ), e . g ., antennas 122 a , 122 b , detecting a first signal level , e . g ., a low signal level or threshold value , as specified by , for instance , a user or system administrator . in one variant of this embodiment , electrical circuitry associated with gps signal acquisition , e . g ., all or a portion of amplifier block 120 , may be , for instance , placed on standby or in a sleep mode . in another embodiment , the accelerometer 130 remains in a standby mode until , for instance , a system administrator , a specified time period , or a user activates the accelerometer 130 . in one embodiment , the amplifier block 120 includes multiple electronic functions and blocks including a low noise amplifier , a power amplifier , a rf power switch , or the like , placed in a sleep or standby mode , for instance , to converse a battery level of the battery 118 . in another variant of this embodiment , circuitry , such as amplifier block 120 or location tracking circuitry 114 , may be placed in a sleep or standby mode to conserve a battery level of the battery 118 . in one variant , the tracking device 100 periodically checks availability of gps signal , e . g ., performs a gps signal acquisition to determine if a receive communication signal is above a first signal level . referring to embodiment depicted in fig2 , electronic tracking device 100 exits an opening 150 in partially enclosed structure 210 ; thus , electronic tracking device 100 may resume gps signal acquisition using gps satellite 143 ( e . g ., in response to a periodic check by the tracking device 100 of a receive communication signal level above a first signal level ). in one embodiment , system administrator selects a signal noise bandwidth , e . g ., within a range of 3 to 500 hz , of the accelerator 130 to measure dynamic acceleration ( e . g ., due to vibration forces applied to electronic tracking device 100 ). in another embodiment , system administrator selects a signal noise bandwidth , e . g ., within a range of 3 to 500 hz , to measure static acceleration ( due to gravitational forces applied to electronic tracking device 100 ). in particular , external forces on electronic tracking device 100 cause , for example , internal structural movements , e . g ., deflection of dual - axis beams , of the accelerometer 130 . the deflection of dual - axis beams generates differential voltage ( s ). differential voltage ( s ) are proportional to acceleration measurements , e . g ., discrete acceleration measurements , of electronic tracking device 100 , for instance in x , y , and z directions . differential voltage ( s ), in one instance , are relative to , for instance , a last known gps location coordinates of electronic tracking device 100 . by performing electronic device proximity measurements , e . g ., measuring acceleration vectors of electronic tracking device 100 at time intervals , e . g ., t1 , t2 , t3 . . . tn , monitoring station 110 computes electronic tracking device velocity at time intervals , e . g ., t1 , t2 , t3 . . . tn . in one embodiment , time intervals , e . g ., t1 , t2 , and t3 . . . tn are measured in accordance with instructions by a system administrator or user . in one embodiment , time intervals are selected within a range of one micro - second to several minutes . in one embodiment , the monitoring station 110 performs an integration of the acceleration measurements as a function of time to compute electronic tracking device velocity at time intervals , e . g ., t1 , t2 , and t3 . . . tn . by referencing prior location coordinates , e . g ., last known accurate location data of the electronic tracking device 100 or last known location data of nearby electronic tracking device ( e . g ., second tracking device 101 in proximity to electronic tracking device 100 ), monitoring station 110 computes a current location of electronic tracking device 100 utilizing electronic tracking device velocity computations . advantageously , monitoring station 110 , in an above described embodiment , uses above described device proximity measurements to monitor current location data of electronic tracking device 100 without connectivity to receive communication signals from gps satellites . in one embodiment , the monitoring station 110 may include a mobile phone having connectivity to wireless network 140 electrically coupled to electronic tracking device 100 ( fig2 ). in this variant , the wireless network 140 resides or circulates within at least a portion of a semi - enclosed , partially - enclosed , or fully enclosed structure , e . g ., building , parking structure , closet , storage room , or the like ( e . g ., structure 210 in fig2 ). furthermore , in one embodiment , the present invention conserves battery power by placing on standby , low power mode , or disabling entirely gps signal acquisition circuitry and other associated devices , e . g ., all or a portion of amplifier block 120 including power amplifiers , lnas , switches , and the like . furthermore , during supplemental location coordinates tracking , e . g ., electronic device proximity measurements , the transceiver circuitry ( e . g ., transceiver 102 , location tracking circuitry 114 , and signal processing circuitry 104 ) consumes reduced battery power for gps circuitry while the electronic tracking device 100 communicates displacement vectors ( e . g ., differential location coordinates ) to monitoring station 110 ( e . g ., a mobile phone , a personal digital assistant ) through a wireless network 140 . as described above , when gps signaling is not practicable , electronic device proximity measurements provide differential location coordinate information to calculate current location coordinate information . in one embodiment , accelerometer , e . g ., accelerometer 130 , determines if electronic tracking device 100 in a stationary position for a period , for instance , designated by system administrator or user . for example , electronic tracking device 100 may be , for example , located on a counter top , within a pocket of clothing , or inside a suitcase , not being moved , or not currently in use . continuing with this embodiment , electronic tracking device 100 communicates a code , e . g ., a stationary acknowledgement code , to communication network , e . g ., wireless network 140 . in one variant , when or if monitoring station 110 requests location data through communication network , electronic tracking device 100 determines located in a stationary or substantially stationary position and electronic tracking device 100 communicates its last - known location to the monitoring station 110 without accessing or requiring gps signaling or active gps circuitry , e . g ., location tracking circuitry 114 . advantageously , in this embodiment , when electronic tracking device 100 does not utilize and require gps circuitry , e . g ., location tracking circuitry 114 , or functionality , the power resources are preserved of battery 118 in contrast to many conventional gps communication system continuing power - on gps circuitry . in one embodiment , electronic tracking device 130 associated with a person or object remains at a substantially stationary position approximately one - forth to one - third of a calendar day ; thus , this feature of not accessing gps circuitry preserves battery power . in another embodiment , an accelerometer , such as accelerometer 130 , detects tapping against electronic tracking device 100 . for instance , upon wake - up , user prompt , system administrator prompt , or active , accelerometer 130 detects a person or object tapping a sequence on electronic tracking device 100 . in one embodiment , electronic tracking device 100 includes digital signal programming circuitry ( such as of signal processing circuitry 104 ). the digital signal programming circuitry recognizes programmed motions received by accelerometer , such as accelerometer 130 , and transmits an alert message to the monitoring station 110 upon receiving a recognized motion pattern . for example , electronic tracking device 100 may be programmed to recognize an “ sos tap cadence ”. thus , if electronic tracking device 100 is repeatedly tapped , for instance , in a “ dot - dot - dot , dash - dash - dash , dot - dot - dot ” pattern , signal processing circuitry 104 recognizes a motion pattern and transmit an alert message to wireless network 114 to monitoring station 110 . in one instance , alert message may be associated as a distress pattern and will require an appropriate response . in one variant , the accelerometer may recognize when an object or individual spins or turns motion of electronic tracking device 100 . continuing with this embodiment , signal processing circuitry 104 recognizes programmed motions , and transceiver 102 transmits an alert message to wireless network 114 associated with programmed motions . in another variant , electronic tracking device 100 is programmed to recognize other motion patterns , such as , when it is tumbled or flipped . depending upon on duration , time , or cadence of these movements or motion patterns , electronic tracking device 100 communicates an alert message to the wireless network 114 . in one variant , wireless network 114 performs an appropriate action , such as communicating information signal to monitoring station 110 . in another example , physical impacts on electronic tracking device 100 are measured to determine if an individual or object may be injured . in one embodiment , magnitude of displacement vectors may be measured by one or more accelerometers , such as accelerometer 130 , disposed at various inclinations and orientations , e . g ., disposed substantially orthogonal to one another . continuing with this embodiment , when a measured physical impact is above a predetermined level , an object or individual associated with electronic tracking device 100 may have suffered a fall or be in need of medical attention . in one variant of this embodiment , a user ( e . g ., a system administrator , or person located in a contact book ) at monitoring station 110 becomes alerted , e . g ., by text message , email , or voice mail ( as more fully described in previously incorporated by reference u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 935 , 901 filed on nov . 6 , 2007 , entitled “ system and method for creating and managing a personalized web interface for monitoring location information on individuals and objects using tracking devices ”). in one variant of this embodiment , if a user does not affirmatively respond , another individual , guardian , medical personnel , or law enforcement officer is contacted by monitoring station 110 ( as more fully described in ser . no . 11 / 935 , 901 ). in yet another variant of this embodiment , monitoring station 110 continues to contact individuals until the alert message is affirmatively answered . referring to fig3 , a flow chart 300 illustrates battery conservation for electronic tracking device 100 as described in fig1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in step 302 , antenna 122 a associated with electronic tracking device 100 acquires a snapshot of receive communication signal including location coordinates data . in step 304 , processing unit 104 processes the snapshot of receive communication signal including location coordinates data . in step 306 , processing unit 104 determines a power level of receive communication signal . in step 308 , accelerometer 130 activates if a power level of the receive communication signal is insufficient for processing . in one variant of step 308 , accelerometer 130 measures acceleration of electronic tracking device 100 at time intervals , e . g ., t1 , t2 , t3 . . . tn . in step 310 , processing unit 104 computes current location coordinates using acceleration measurements . in step 312 , all or a portion of amplifier block 120 and associated circuitry , e . g ., location tracking circuitry , are activated at selected time intervals to determine if receive communication signal is of sufficient signal strength . in one variation of step 312 , upon determining receive communication signal of sufficient signal strength , location tracking circuitry 114 are activated , and processing unit 104 determines location coordinates from the receive communication signal . in another variation of step 312 , upon determining receive communication signal of sufficient signal strength , accelerometer 130 is deactivated and location tracking circuitry 114 are activated , and processing unit 104 determines location coordinates from the receive communication signal . referring to fig4 , screen display 400 illustrates a user definable adjustable location coordinate refresh rate in one embodiment of the present invention . as best illustrated in fig5 , schematic 500 illustrates communication of location coordinate refresh rate between portable electronic tracking device 402 and satellite navigation system 403 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in one embodiment , portable electronic tracking device 402 monitors location coordinates of one or more individuals and objects using satellite navigation system 403 . portable electronic tracking device 402 includes battery 118 having battery charge level 406 displayed on screen display 400 of personal communication device 404 ( e . g ., mobile phone , wireless digital assistant , laptop computer , personal computer and the like ). other components of portable electronic tracking device 402 include transceiver 102 , signal processing circuitry 104 , battery level monitor 116 , signal processing circuitry 104 , location tracking circuitry 114 , adj 416 , and battery charging circuitry 128 . in one example , battery level monitor 116 measures in real - time battery charge level 406 . in one embodiment , battery level monitor 116 predicts , for instance , estimated remaining battery charge life 414 in response to battery charge level 406 . this estimation or prediction may be based on standard techniques know by those skilled in the art at the time of this disclosure including measurement of time average amperage draw and voltage level ( over a given period ) to estimate remaining battery charge life 414 . in one embodiment , local battery power adjustment mechanism 416 generates in substantially real - time updated set of network communication signaling protocols . in one variant , updated set of network communication signaling protocols communicated , for instance , includes an update rate ( e . g ., refresh rate ) of location coordinate packets 446 . in one example , update rate of location coordinate packets 446 includes request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 by target host 452 ( e . g ., a computer server ) and / or listen rate 425 of location coordinate packets 422 by portable electronic tracking device 402 . updated set of network communication signaling protocols , for instance , has value ( e . g ., x y z ) responsive to user input request 430 . in one embodiment , to conserve battery power when communicating messages between target host 452 and portable electronic tracking device 402 , local battery power adjustment mechanism 416 , for instance , remotely by personal communication device 404 communicates a message to active or deactivate a portion of transceiver circuitry 102 or processor circuitry 104 or location tracking circuitry 114 to conserve battery charge level 406 responsive to value 419 ( e . g ., a user input screen control or mouse adjustable cursor value ). in one variant , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 includes user adjustable screen icon 432 to graphically display in substantially real - time trade - off relationships between remaining battery charge level 414 and update rate 446 ( e . g ., refresh rate ) of location coordinate packets 422 . advantageously as compared to conventional tracking devices , user input request 430 adjusts value 419 to select an appropriate update set of network communication signaling protocols to achieve a desired user defined battery operating environment , e . g ., obtain optimal battery life , obtain optimal update rate , tradeoffs between them . in one embodiment , when user adjusts slider 432 to value 419 , a message is sent to target host 452 , which communicates an updated set of network communication to portable location tracking device 402 . in response to receipt of updated set of network communication signaling protocols , portable location tracking device 402 adjusts settings ( an internal time schedule ) and acknowledges receipt of the message to target host 452 . portable location tracking device 402 checks internal time schedule to determine if it should listen for ( perform a location lookup of ) location coordinates 422 from satellite navigation system 403 or an adjacent portable location coordinate tracking device ( as shown in fig6 ) as more fully described in , for instance , u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 753 , 979 filed on may 25 , 2007 , which has been previously incorporated by referenced and claimed priority to . portable location tracking device 402 obtains location coordinates 422 and stores , for instance , in one or more internal breadcrumb memory location ( s ). based on the internal time schedule , portable location tracking device 402 determines whether to transmit contents of the one or more breadcrumb memory location ( s ) to target host 452 . upon transmission of contents , target host 452 acknowledges receipt of contents of one or more breadcrumb memory locations . in one variant , target host 452 issues a command to flush one or more breadcrumb memory locations . in this same variant , portable electronic tracking device 402 flushes its internal breadcrumb memory and acknowledges completion of the command to the target host 452 . in another variant , target host 452 issues a stack pointer adjustment command to acknowledge receipt of previously submitted contents of breadcrumb memory locations and to move stack pointer to an adjacent or an alternative breadcrumb memory location to signal that these memory location have been uploaded by target host 452 . in another embodiment , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 includes timing adjustment mechanism 446 adjusting , for instance , request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to target host 452 and listen rate 425 of location coordinates 422 in accordance with a current location coordinate position of portable tracking device 402 . in one variant , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 includes user adjustable electronic display 432 that indicates current level of battery 406 and allows user a capability to adjust power level thereof . in one variant of this embodiment , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 includes automatic or semi - automatic sleep mode 448 . in one embodiment , automatic or semi - automatic sleep mode 448 sets to a minimal level request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to target host 452 and listen rate 425 of location coordinates 422 until battery power monitor 116 measures , for instance , a sustainable battery charge level to sustain operation of portable electronic tracking device 402 . in one embodiment , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 includes charge control management ( e . g ., adj 416 ) of portable electronic tracking device 402 that estimates charge capability ( e . g ., battery charge remaining 414 ) and adjusts cycling of one or more of request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to target host 452 and listen rate 425 of location coordinate packets 422 to maximize charge capability . in one alternative embodiment , local battery adjustment mechanism ( e . g ., adj 416 ) includes cycle management apparatus 416 to set up , for example , timing schedule ( e . g ., refresh rate 446 ) to maximize effectiveness of request rate 420 and listen rate 425 in response to substantially real - time measured velocity of travel of portable electronic tracking device 402 . referring to fig5 and 6 , system 500 and system 600 respectively include local charging management device ( e . g . local battery adjustment mechanism 416 ) manages electrical resource capability for an electronic tracking device 402 that is tracked by at least one other tracking device ( e . g ., devices 403 , 405 , 407 , 409 ). in one embodiment , tracking device ( e . g ., portable electronic tracking device 402 ) includes a battery level monitor 116 remotely located for charging unit ( e . g ., battery charging circuitry 128 ), adj 416 ( e . g ., electrical power resource management component , local battery adjustment mechanism 416 ). in one variant , electrical power resource management component adjusts cycle timing of request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to target host 452 and listen rate 425 of location coordinate packets 422 from satellite navigation system 403 responsive to estimated charge level of charging unit ( e . g ., battery charge level 406 ). in one embodiment , electrical power resource management component ( e . g ., local battery adjustment mechanism 416 ) includes a substantially real - time user viewable display icon 432 that indicates estimate charge level ( e . g ., battery level 406 ) and provides an on - line user adjustable cursor display 432 ( see fig4 ). in one example , on - line cursor display 432 adjusts one or more of : request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to target host 452 and listen rate 425 and gives substantially automatic updated estimated charge level of the charging unit ( e . g ., battery charging circuitry or unit 128 ). in one variant , local battery management device 416 includes charge control management of electronic tracking device 402 that estimates charge capability and adjust cycling of request rate 420 of location coordinate packets 422 to host target 428 and listen rate 425 of location coordinate packets 422 from satellite navigation system 403 or alternatively an adjacent portable location tracking device to maximize charge capability . in yet another embodiment , local charging management device 416 includes cycle management apparatus to set up timing schedule 446 to maximize effectiveness of request rate 420 and listen rate 425 in response to measured velocity of travel portable electronic tracking device 402 . in one variant , local charging management device 416 electrically coupled through personal communication device 404 sets up timing schedule 446 between one or more than one wireless communication networks to communicate information between portable electronic tracking device 402 . in one example of this embodiment , listen rate 425 of location coordinate packets 422 to the host target 428 and response rate 425 includes global positioning system ( gps ) system refresh rate 446 . advantageously as compared to prior global positioning systems having manufactured defined power settings , the current invention power charging monitor ( e . g ., battery level monitor 116 ) measures a power level ( e . g ., battery power level 406 ) of the power charging unit ( e . g ., battery level monitor 116 ) and substantially automatically adjusts power usage responsive to available power of power charging unit to maximize power life . in yet another advantage , the present invention power charging monitor ( e . g ., battery level monitor 116 ) measures a power level ( e . g ., battery power level 406 ) of power charging unit ( e . g ., battery 118 ) and adjusts a power level ( e . g ., battery power level 406 ) applied to , for example , location tracking circuitry ( e . g ., location tracking circuitry 114 ) or transceiver 102 responsive to one or more signal levels . in contrast to previous manufacturer tracking device power level settings , the present invention has the capability of power level ( e . g ., battery power level 406 ) adjustments include multitude of threshold values ( see active display 432 of fig4 ) that is determined by user or system administrator to intermittently activate or deactivate location tracking circuitry ( e . g ., location tracking circuitry 114 ) to conserve power of the power charging unit ( e . g ., battery 118 ) responsive to estimated charge level ( e . g ., battery charge level 406 ). in a first example , a lost dog has portable location tracking device 402 . using the present invention , a user , e . g ., a dog owner , will adjust a slider level , such as using on - line cursor display 432 , to a high update rate interval . for instance , the high setting corresponds to 15 minute intervals for location and 15 minute intervals for transmission to target host , e . g ., server . the server sends these settings to portable location tracking device 402 and portable location tracking device 402 adjusts its settings and acknowledges the message . as such , portable location tracking device 402 will perform frequent updates of its location coordinates from a satellite navigation system and will transmit frequently its location coordinates to a target host . thus , advantageously , with this setting , a user will probably more rapidly locate a missing or lost pet . with this setting , battery life will be relatively short . in a second example , a teenager borrows a parent &# 39 ; s car having portable location tracking device 402 . using the present invention , users , e . g ., parents , desire to know if their teenager is driving safely in designated areas or locations , but does not want to track the teenager &# 39 ; s location in real - time . in this case , the parents adjust a slider level , such as using on - line cursor display 432 , to a medium update rate interval . for instance , the medium setting corresponds to 15 minute intervals for location and 60 minute intervals for transmission to the target host , e . g ., server . the server sends these settings to portable location tracking device 402 and portable location tracking device 402 adjusts its settings and acknowledges the message . as such , portable location tracking device 402 will perform frequent updates of its velocity and location coordinates from a satellite navigation system and will less frequently transmit its location coordinates to a target host . as long as the teenager remains in allowed areas and traveling at allowed speeds , the portable location tracking device will not transmit frequently . fortunately , during these infrequent transmissions , portable location tracking device will transmit its location history . thus , advantageously , with this setting , parents can see history at many locations while still preserving battery life , e . g ., longer life than first example . in a third example , a provider of construction equipment having portable tracking device 402 rents the equipment to contractors . using the present invention , a user , e . g ., provider desires to know location of the equipment once per day . in this case , the provider adjusts a slider level , such as using on - line cursor display 432 , to a low update rate interval . for instance , the low setting corresponds to 1440 minute intervals ( 24 hours ) for location coordinates and 1440 minute intervals ( 24 hours ) for transmission to the target host , e . g ., server . the server sends these settings to portable location tracking device 402 and portable location tracking device 402 adjusts its settings and acknowledges the message . as such , portable location tracking device 402 will perform infrequent updates ( once per day ) of location coordinates from a satellite navigation system and will less frequently transmission ( once per day ) of its location coordinates to a target host . thus , advantageously , with this setting , portable location coordinate device will realize increased battery life , e . g ., longer life than first and second examples . referring to fig7 , flow chart 700 illustrates user definable adjustable conservation power level monitor for portable electronic tracking device 402 as described in fig4 , and 6 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in step 702 , user receives measured charging unit power level of tracking device 402 communicated by a location coordinate tracking system 403 . in step 704 , system administrator , user , automatic or semi - automatic program software adjusts charging unit power level of tracking device 402 in response to a substantially - real life estimate of the unit power level 406 of a charge unit 118 of tracking device 402 . in step 706 , system administrator , user , automatic or semi - automatic power monitoring software program creates an initial timing schedule 446 including communication of signaling parameters associated with a request rate 420 communicated with location coordinate information 422 and listen rate 425 of location coordinate information 422 . in one variant of step 706 , initial timing schedule 446 was at least partially automatically and responsive to an estimated power level 414 of the charge unit 118 . in step 708 , user readjusts the initial timing schedule 446 for communication of signaling parameters in accordance with a local request by remote user using an internet accessible icon 432 that displays user viewable tradeoffs between the estimated charge unit life and charge unit update rate . in one variant of step 708 , remote user uses a mouse to enter an on screen cursor value 419 that is associated with a tradeoff of estimated charge life 414 and an update rate 446 of location coordinate information 422 . position fix is updated in accordance with subscriber service usage application referring to fig8 - 11 , location tracking server 902 tracks mobile location tracking device 901 . location tracking server 902 communicates location coordinate information to subscriber 904 . in one embodiment , gps acquisition device 906 generates a position fix 910 ( e . g ., location coordinate information ) of mobile location tracking device 901 . in one embodiment , gps acquisition device 906 acquires gps data over a few milliseconds . using gps data , cpu 918 , e . g ., gsm baseband processor , utilizes , for instance , spot a - gps solution algorithms calculates improved accuracy position fix results . gprs / gsm transceiver device 908 ( having one or both gprs and gsm capability ) reports position fix to location tracking server 902 . nxp gsm / gprs & amp ; gss power management software installed on the mobile location tracking device 901 assists maintaining efficient power consumption . as best illustrated in fig1 , memory device , e . g ., flash memory device 912 , stores zone management map 917 having selected location coordinate zones stored in flash memory device 912 to indicate restricted location zones 914 and allowable location zones 916 . the restricted zones 914 and allowable zones 916 , for example , are chosen by subscriber 904 . in one embodiment , computational processor , e . g ., cpu 918 , includes internal clock 920 . in one variant of this embodiment , internal clock 920 substantially activates and deactivates functionality of computational processor 918 independently of any signaling from an external device , e . g ., location tracking server 902 . in one exemplary embodiment , gprs / gsm transceiver device 908 and computational processor 918 comprises an activated mode and a deactivated mode in accordance with subscriber service usage profile 907 ( subscriber service usage pattern ). in one variant , internal clock 920 activates and deactivates one or more modules , e . g ., gps acquisition device 906 and gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 changes in accordance with subscriber service usage application , e . g ., a software application including subscriber service usage profile 907 . subscriber service user profile 907 includes subscriber desired and / or previous frequency of receipt of fix reports . in one embodiment , subscriber service usage application includes a software application , e . g ., that is loaded into flash memory 912 , utilizing usage parameters extracted or stored or acquired from subscriber service usage profile 907 to update position fix of mobile tracking device 901 . as best illustrated in fig1 , an exemplary subscriber service usage profile displays typical usage and location coordinate requests and battery charge associated therewith . in one embodiment , initial subscriber service usage profile 907 may be high when first purchase mobile location tracking device 901 , e . g ., reporting every 5 minutes to location tracking server 902 which equates to battery charge period of × hours . however , upon subscriber service usage profile 907 becoming less intensive , lower frequency of fix reporting interval , e . g ., reporting every 60 minutes to location tracking server 902 which equate to battery charge period of 2 . 5 × hours ( as compared to original × hours ). thus , using principles of the present invention , battery charge period ( e . g ., battery 118 ) of mobile tracking device 901 including frequency of position fix acquisition and frequency of position fix reporting may be individually tailored and responsive to one or more usage profiles , e . g ., subscriber service usage profile 907 or combined or modified with those displayed in fig1 to customize power usage . in comparison , many conventional tracking devices acquire position fix , for instance , having standard or regularly spaced intervals or periods which don &# 39 ; t modify based on subscriber service usage requests ( and that may change as shown above ) sacrifice unnecessarily battery power . as illustrated in fig1 , subscriber service usage profile 907 may be compared or modified and partially responsive to current historical ( e . g . legacy ) power optimized usage plans ( e . g ., plans including pet 1 , 2 , 3 . . . ; rental car 1 , 2 , 3 . . . ; and alzheimer &# 39 ; s and senior patients 1 , 2 , 3 . . . . the power optimized plans are part of a location coordinate service library ( e . g ., resident on flash memory device 912 , stored in location tracking server 902 , or other similar location ) and categorized in accordance with usage characteristics of subscriber 904 as well as tracked pet , tracked person , or tracked object carrying mobile tracking device 901 . referring again to the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , if a tracked pet is a cat and the cat is indoors daily during the hours of 7 pm until 7 am , then subscriber service usage profile 907 is modified to plan 1 of location coordinate service library associated with indoor cats ). internal clock 920 utilizes plan 1 to provide instructions to shut down and / or automatically restart gps acquisition device 906 and gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 of portable tracking device 902 to conserve power of battery 118 and maintain a plan prescribed level of service . in yet another embodiment , if tracked person is an alzheimer &# 39 ; s patient and the patient is in physical therapy is weekly during the hours of 10 : 00 am through 12 : 00 pm weekly on alternative tuesday and thursdays , daily sleeping during the hours of 7 pm to 7 am , and under family supervision on saturdays , then subscriber service usage profile 907 is modified . in this exemplary embodiment , plan 2 of location coordinate service library is implemented that is associated with alzheimer &# 39 ; s and senior patients having morning physical therapy on tuesdays and thursdays and off on weekends . internal clock 920 utilizes plan 2 to schedule shut down and substantially automatic restart of gps acquisition device 906 and gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 of portable tracking device 902 in accordance with plan to conserve power of battery 118 but also to maintain a plan prescribed level of service . in yet another embodiment , if tracked object is a rental automobile , then when the rental automobile is located on the lot in a secure location or in a repair garage during scheduled periods , then subscriber service usage profile 907 is modified to utilize plan 3 of location coordinate service library associated with garaged rental cars . in accordance with plan 3 , internal clock 920 provides instructions to shut down gps acquisition device 906 and gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 of portable tracking device 902 and restart substantially automatically to conserve power of battery 118 but also maintain a plan prescribed level of service . referring to table 1 , different service plans of location service coordinate library are illustrated for a tracked pet that is a dog . in this exemplary embodiment , subscriber service usage profile 907 utilizes one or more battery power optimized usage plans . the below battery power optimized usage plans including profile names , for example , dog - in - yard , dog - on - leash , and dog - loose , stored or loaded in flash memory device 912 of portable tracking device 901 optimized for a selected coverage zone ( expected zone ). continuing with this example , in the expected zone home yard , subscriber 904 is provided fix location of portable tracking device 901 every 20 minutes and a transmit interval of position fix to server 902 every four ( 4 ) hours . in one variant , internal clock 920 shuts down gps acquisition device 906 and gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 ( e . g ., in accordance with a plan that is part of location coordinate service library ) of portable tracking device 901 in between performance of fix location and transmit intervals to conserve power of battery 118 . using this option , a dog &# 39 ; s owner ( subscriber 904 ) monitors and detects when dog having portable tracking device 901 leaves the yard in 20 minute intervals in response to internal clock 920 activating or deactivating gps acquisition device 906 and gsm and / or gsm transceiver device 908 . however , if subscriber 904 ( owner ) takes dog for a walk , portable tracking device 901 detects egress from expected zone home yard . on a next or subsequent cycle ( as addressed by location service coordinate library ) of internal clock 920 , portable tracking device 901 substantially automatically configures itself for profile dog - on - leash with expected neighborhood zone , where dog has a maximum speed of 4 mph . advantageously , subscriber service usage profile 907 is updated without the need to contact server 902 ; thus , substantial battery life is maintained . furthermore , if dog leaves expected zone neighborhood or exceeds 4 mph , then on next cycle or subsequent cycle ( as addressed by location service coordinate library ) of internal clock 920 , portable tracking device 901 substantially automatically reconfigures itself for the “ dog - loose ” profile , which profile detects a location of and reports location to server 902 every two ( 2 ) minutes . in one embodiment , to accomplish automatic or substantially automatic reconfiguration capabilities , portable tracking device 902 includes exemplary programming elements such as : command memory , command scripts , schedules , zones , and thresholds . portable tracking device 901 stores frequently utilized commands e . g ., 255 , in command memory . in one embodiment , command memory includes flash memory device 912 , where a single byte memory location references frequency utilized commands . server 902 communicates a “ run command from memory ” statement to flash memory device 912 and references the single - byte memory location stored in flash memory device 912 . flash memory device 912 executes command as if statement was freshly received from server 902 . frequently used commands , for instance , as determined by server 902 , will be stored in the command memory and utilized , for example , by command scripts . command scripts are lists of commands that are run in a script . the command script id identifies a particular script , which is a 32 - element list of commands from command memory . for example , if command script 05 contained the following data ( only the first 16 elements are shown ): in this exemplary embodiment , the script runs seven commands from command memory ( 01 , 02 , 05 , 06 , 1b , 09 , and 0a ). note that these are not commands from server 902 ; they are commands stored in memory ( e . g ., flash memory device 912 ) via previous message from server 902 . in one embodiment , the special case of “ 00 ” causes no command to be run . advantageously , command script resident on flash memory device 912 perform any or all of the following ( singlet &# 39 ; or collectively ) of the following : enable / disable zones , enable / disable thresholds , enable / disable schedules , send a message to server , and perform other like commands . in one exemplary embodiment , enable / disable thresholds include enabling or disabling one or more settings , e . g ., timer settings . for instance , when a tracked object enters a restricted zone 914 , a counting sequence is initiated . if tracked object is within restricted zone 914 for more than a designated period , internal clock 920 ( on next cycle or subsequent cycle as determined by subscriber service usage profile 907 ) issues a command to automatically update profile , e . g ., increase taking position fix and sending report to server 902 . within portable tracking device 901 , scheduling system provides command scripts to be scheduled for later or repeated at specific intervals . scheduling allows command and control system of server 902 to load portable tracking device 901 with zones of coverage ( enable / disable zones , allowed zones , restricted zones . . . ) and thresholds ( enable / disable thresholds ). advantageously , even if zone changes as a result of changing detected location of portable tracking device 902 during the day , no messaging is required to server 902 . advantageously in contrast to conventional gps systems , scheduled commands are interpreted by portable tracking device 901 as if they were received by server 902 ( including the header ). as illustrated in table 2 , scheduled commands may be formatted to ignore the message id and crc checking in yet another variant , scheduling system does not include commands that affect any crcs . in one embodiment , zones of coverage ( e . g ., restricted , allowed ) are defined by circles having a center point and a radius . circular zones have seven elements including those illustrated in table 3 : in one embodiment , when determining position fix , portable tracking device 901 iterates through active zones ( restricted , allowed . . . that are part of zone management map ) in memory , e . g ., flash memory 912 , to determine if boundaries have been crossed to any zones . upon detecting crossing of one or more zones , portable tracking device 901 checks ingress and egress script ( s ) for corresponding coverage zone ( restricted and allowed ) and runs the specified command script . upon detection of ingress or egress , portable tracking device 901 sends an alert to server 902 . in one exemplary embodiment , portable tracking device 901 determines positioning and whether located inside a zone . during processing , one or more calculations are performed including portable tracking device 901 determining distance from center point of one or more zones of coverage . if delta distance , e . g . distance between restricted and allowed zone , is less than or equal to the radius , portable tracking device 901 considers itself inside a selected zone . however , if delta distance is greater than the radius , portable tracking device 901 is considered outside a selected zone . continuing with this exemplary embodiment , delta distance is calculated using a spherical model of the earth with the wgs - 84 arithmetic mean radius , which is 6 , 371 , 008 . 7714 meters . in one embodiment , the calculation includes law of cosines that calculates great - circle distance between two gps coordinates in accordance with the following equation : portable tracking device 901 monitors operating variables to make sure within threshold values . in one embodiment , if any operating values fall outside a designated acceptable range , portable tracking device 901 runs a command script . one or more thresholds may be placed upon any operating variable . comparisons can be numeric or based upon ascii values ( alphabetic in ascii order ). in one variant , more than one threshold can be set upon the same variable . thresholds are usually activated or deactivated during a scheduled command . for instance , thresholds may take on a boolean statement in the form ([ operating variable ] [ comparison ] [ value ]) an exemplary script runs when an operating variable called battery_level ( expressed as a value between 0 and 255 ) falls below 51 ( about 20 %) is in one example , thresholds are an expression that evaluates as to a value of either true or false . whenever one or more operating variable ( s ) are updated in memory , e . g ., flash memory 912 , portable tracking device 901 calculates any value of one or more thresholds associated with that variable . if the result of the calculation was previously true and is now false , the “ false script ” is run . if the result of the calculation was previously false and is now true , the “ true script ” is run . 1 = the variable must be equal to this value ( i . e . 4 = the variable must be less than or equal to 6 = the variable must be not equal to this value advantageously , as compared with conventional mobile tracking devices that activate and deactivate in response to signaling from location tracking server 912 , which depletes battery life , the present embodiment ( s ) have internal clock 920 that activates and deactivates substantially independently of any signaling , for instance , by or from gsm and / or gprs transceiver device 908 and gps mobile location tracking module 906 . in one embodiment , “ on - demand ” internal clock 920 activates or deactivates gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 and computation processor 918 in accordance with position fix relative to , for instance , subscriber service usage profile 907 in accordance with current position fix of mobile location tracking device 901 relative to the selected location coordinate zones ( e . g ., restricted areas or zones 914 or allowed areas or zones 916 ) on zone management map 917 . in one variant , subscriber service usage profile 907 comprises a prior or scheduled daily or monthly profile of subscriber 904 designated reporting interval for mobile location tracking device 901 . in yet another embodiment , scriber service usage application ( stored in flash memory 912 ) may be controlled by an external clock 931 ( having similar functionality as internal clock 920 ) to computational processor 918 to regulate and control ( either in a primary or secondary capacity to supplement or replace internal clock 920 ) activation and deactivation of modules ( e . g ., gsm and / or gprs transceiver modules and / or gps acquisition module ) on the mobile location tracking device 901 . in another variant , gprs transmission device 908 includes a deactivated mode where gprs transmission device 908 switches - off ( switched - off mode ) and is not in service contact with subscriber 904 . in one variant , short message service ( sms ) messages sent during switched - off mode are received by the gprs transmission device during an upcoming switched - on mode . in another embodiment , gsm transmission device 908 reports position fix to the subscriber and deactivates the gsm transmission device 908 , e . g ., places gsm transmission device 908 in a deactivated mode , in accordance with the subscriber service usage pattern . in another variant , gprs transmission device 908 includes a deactivated mode where gprs transmission device 908 is in switched - off mode and not in service contact with subscriber and location tracking server 902 . in one alternative of this variant , gprs transmission device 908 receives sms messages sent during switched - off mode during an upcoming switched - on mode . in one embodiment , gps acquisition device 908 comprises a deactivated mode and internal clock 920 activates and deactivates gps acquisition device 906 independently of signaling from location tracking server 902 in accordance with subscriber service usage profile 907 . in one embodiment , subscriber 904 configures mobile location tracking device 900 by sending an sms message or sending text through an internet web interface inputs . in yet another exemplary embodiment , upon activation by internal clock 920 , gps acquisition device 906 receives current position fix , frequency to report the current position fix to subscriber is updated in accordance with current position fix , and gps acquisition device 908 returns to a deactivated mode . in another embodiment , an accelerometer and motion readings by accelerometer ( e . g ., accelerometer 130 shown and described in prior embodiment ) are analyzed in accordance with subscriber service usage profile 907 to determine if current position fix has entered one or more selected locations of zone management map 917 or violated one or more thresholds . in summary , a power management device disclosed above determines update rate and reporting of a position fix of a mobile location tracking device to a location tracking server . in one embodiment , an accelerometer is provided to allow motions of mobile location tracking device 901 to determine position fix update rate and reporting thereof to location tracking server 902 . included as part of power management device , a computational processor 918 having internal clock 920 . in accordance with a subscriber service usage profile 907 , internal clock 920 activates and deactivates location tracking coordinate transmission and acquisition gsm and / or gprs transceiver module 908 and gps module 906 of mobile location tracking device 901 substantially independently of communicated signals by location tracking server 902 . in one variant , internal clock 920 incorporates mobile location tracking device 901 motion inputs from accelerometer 130 to determine whether to activate and deactivate transmission and acquisition gsm and / or gprs transceiver modules of location tracking device 901 . in one alternative of this variant , upon activation by internal clock 920 , accelerometer 113 generates motion inputs that are inputted to update subscriber service usage profile 907 stored ( e . g ., resident ) on flash memory 912 to update a previous position fix to a current position fix for mobile location tracking device 901 . in yet another alternative variant , current position fix updates reporting frequency of position fix of mobile location tracking device 901 to location tracking server 902 . in another alternative embodiment , upon activation by internal clock 920 , gps acquisition module 906 receives current position fix , updates reporting frequency of the position fix of the mobile location tracking device 901 is updated in accordance with the current position fix at least partially in accordance with subscriber service usage profile 907 stored in flash memory device 912 , and the gps acquisition device 906 returns to the deactivated mode . in yet another embodiment , subscriber service usage profile 907 updates in accordance with an sms message communicated between a mobile cellular device 937 or location tracking server 902 and mobile location tracking device 901 . the subscriber service usage profile 907 comprises a zone management map 915 of selected location coordinates and updates in accordance with , for instance , an sms message communicated between mobile cellular device 927 or location tracking server 902 and mobile location tracking device 901 . in addition , subscriber service usage profile 907 includes previous and current subscriber usage patterns that are utilized for location tracking coordinate management and updating thereof . referring to fig1 , flow chart 1100 illustrates power conservation process when updating position fix of a portable location tracking device 901 being tracked and reported to a location tracking server 908 , as described in more detail in fig8 , and 10 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in step 1102 , a power conservation process updates position fix of a mobile location tracking device 901 in accordance with generation of a current position fix by gps acquisition device 906 . in step 1104 , current position fix is compared relative to a zone management map 917 of designated allowed 916 and restricted 914 location coordinate zones stored in a flash memory device 912 as part of subscriber usage service profile 907 associated with the mobile location tracking device 900 . in step 1106 , current position fix is reported by gprs and / or gsm transceiver device to location tracking server 902 . in step 1108 , gps acquisition device , gprs and / or gsm transceiver device 908 , and computational processor ( cpu ) 918 are activated or deactivated in accordance with subscriber service usage profile 907 and current position fix relative to zone management map 917 of designated allowed 916 and restricted 914 location coordinate zones . in step 1110 , internal clock 920 activates or deactivates substantially independent of communicated signals from location tracking server 902 to gps acquisition device 906 , the gprs and gsm transceiver device in accordance with the subscriber usage service profile 907 in response to a delta distance ( e . g ., differential distance ) between a position fix of the mobile location tracking device relative to one or more designated allowed location coordinate zones 916 and restricted location coordinate zones 914 or violated a threshold conditions , such as entering a boundary or contour or zone violation for a specified period or time . in one variant of step 1100 , deactivating the gprs and / or gsm transceiver device comprises switching - off the gprs and / or gsm transceiver device and not providing service contact with subscriber 904 and to receive sms messages sent to mobile tracking device 901 during the switched - off mode during an upcoming switched - on mode . in another variant of step 1100 , analysis of motion readings from accelerometer 130 by computational processor 918 determines if the current position fix has entered one or more designed allowed location coordinate zones 916 or restricted location coordinate zones 914 and causing a zone violation of one or more of these zones . in step 1112 , mobile location tracking device 901 actives gps acquisition device 906 by internal clock 920 , acquires current position fix by gps acquisition device 906 ; and updates reporting frequency of current position fix to subscriber 904 in accordance with current position fix , and returns gps acquisition device 906 to deactivated mode until activated by internal clock 920 . in one variant of step 1112 , a timer is started when mobile location tracking device 901 has passed a threshold into a restricted location coordinate zone ; readings of the timer are analyzed to determine how long the mobile location tracking device has entered the restricted location coordinate zone ; subscriber usage service application 907 is updated with a profile associated with expected zone responsive to entry into the restricted location coordinate zone that is part of location coordinate service library and previously communicated by the location tracking server 902 during an sms transmission ; the gps acquisition device 908 acquires an updated current position fix in response to selection of the profile associated with the expected zone to account for gps satellite displacement ( drift ) during measurement ; reporting frequency communicated including the updated current position fix in response to selection of the profile associated with the expected zone to account for the gps satellite displacement during measurement ; and the gps acquisition device returned to deactivated mode in accordance with the profile associated with the expected zone until activated by internal clock 920 . it is noted that many variations of the methods described above may be utilized consistently with the present invention . specifically , certain steps are optional and may be performed or deleted as desired . similarly , other steps ( such as additional data sampling , processing , filtration , calibration , or mathematical analysis for example ) may be added to the foregoing embodiments . additionally , the order of performance of certain steps may be permuted , or performed in parallel ( or series ) if desired . hence , the foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative of the broader methods of the invention disclosed herein . while the above detailed description has shown , described , and pointed out novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments , it will be understood that various omissions , substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device or process illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention . the foregoing description is of the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention . this description is in no way meant to be limiting , but rather should be taken as illustrative of the general principles of the invention . the scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims .	7

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